13256: Lewie Allen Is A Troublemaker.

Campaign spotlighted fortysix Managing Director Lewie Allen, who’s seeking to cause trouble by fostering diversity. The story included the following quote from MullenLowe Profero CEO Dale Gall: “Looking for a fresh approach and seeking digital natives from disadvantaged backgrounds, if pursued as literally and exclusively as that, actually becomes the opposite of diversity.” Okay, but continuing the hiring practices that literally perpetuate exclusivity actually becomes the opposite of diversity too. Plus, is Gall aware of the MullenLowe 25/40 Project? Gall has a lot of gall critiquing Allen’s efforts, especially when peeking at the leadership at MullenLowe Profero.

Young leader of Dentsu Aegis’ new venture aims to cause the ‘good kind’ of trouble

Lewie Allen, the youthful head of Dentsu Aegis Network’s digital agency Fortysix, may be new to the industry but he believes his original approach will prove the power of diversity.

Lewie Allen is wearing a red cap, grey hoody, red jeans and red trainers. But, despite appearances, he isn’t a young creative grad. Allen is, in fact, the managing director of Fortysix, Dentsu Aegis Network’s latest venture.

The digital creative agency, which was launched last month, has a remit to employ young people from diverse backgrounds. Dentsu Aegis worked on the project with Freeformers, a company that helps businesses with digital transformation, and then hired Allen, a former Freeformers employee, to lead it.

Fortysix’s launch clients are Santander and Kellogg and, over the coming months, the five-strong shop will work with other Dentsu Aegis clients on redesigning their websites, creating video content and helping develop their brands’ social media strategy. After establishing itself, Fortysix will start pitching for its own business. “I’m hoping to shake up the industry and cause a bit of trouble — the good kind — and demonstrate the power of diversity and different approaches,” Allen asserts. “In a lot of ways, I’m not sure [how we’re going to do this] because there will be a lot of testing and learning.”

In common with other Dentsu Aegis agencies, Fortysix is a standalone shop but will operate on the same profit-and-loss account. The agency will differ from its sister shops by taking a less traditional approach to briefs. It will be assisted by a panel of advisors from inside and outside the industry.

Allen is already making his mark by taking a fresh approach to recruitment. He hired his first four employees at Upload Live, a digital workshop for young people, organised in partnership with Freeformers. Dentsu Aegis also took on two people as a result of the event.

“The room was very much a reflection of London — very diverse,” Allen says. “Everyone came along knowing they were going to get something out of it.”

The event struck a chord with Allen, who found his own career path when he took a digital crash course at Freeformers. “The idea that I was able to make websites, apps and do different things quite easily was super-intriguing and I just ran with it,” he says.

Allen is a million miles from the stereotypical white, middle-class adman. He left school with just three GCSEs but knew he wanted a creative career.

Allen kept in touch with Freeformers and, when a job vacancy arose, jumped at the chance to become a trainer. In this role, he showed corporate bosses how to use digital technology to help their businesses.

While at Freeformers, Allen spent time with high-level clients, such as Ashok Vaswani, chief executive of Barclays personal and corporate banking. But while he is used to dealing with senior figures, Allen’s lack of an industry background means Tracy De Groose, chief executive of Dentsu Aegis Network UK, is taking a risk with his hiring. Allen does not think agency experience is necessary. “I think that might be my strength,” he says. “I am very digital, I consume things in a lot of different ways and this gives me an insight into audiences that other managing directors might not have.”

Gi Fernando, founder of Freeformers, says Allen can “communicate technical aspects of marketing and comms in an easy-to-understand way”.

De Groose says: “Lewie has strong beliefs on the role that marketing has in the world. He has real clarity in how he sees things working and he’s very articulate about it. The combination of his youth and vitality is very powerful.”

At 28, Allen may not have the experience of his fellow agency bosses but he has a clear opinion on how the industry needs to develop. “There’s a slight over-awareness of the fact that we are being advertised to — and digital has probably played a massive part in that,” he says. “I think once that sense washes away, it will be back to how it was.” He adds: “Brands will need to cement themselves into society and be pivotal in communities without necessarily advertising in the sense that we like to think of nowadays.”

Some would argue that De Groose should be bringing diversity into the network, rather than setting up a separate agency. Dentsu Aegis did not take part in the diversity survey Campaign and the IPA published earlier this year. De Groose insists that the group does make diverse hires but adds that, sometimes, people from non-traditional backgrounds feel different from their colleagues because they are still in the minority – something Fortysix will address.

Dale Gall, chief executive of MullenLowe Profero, says there’s much to admire in De Groose’s new venture. However, she will need to ensure Fortysix isn’t siloed. He explains: “Looking for a fresh approach and seeking digital natives from disadvantaged backgrounds, if pursued as literally and exclusively as that, actually becomes the opposite of diversity.”

Allen describes the job offer as “surreal” and something he didn’t see coming. Combining a humble nature with natural confidence, he clearly appreciates — and is excited about — the task ahead.

13255: Agents Of Shield.

MultiCultClassics planned to comment on the Wieden + Kennedy #BlackLivesMatter post, as well as the subsequent Hill Holliday copycat concern, but Brandon Burns’ commentary below exceeds anything this blog could have generated. White advertising agencies should complement #BlackLivesMatter with #BlackJobsMatter.

The Diversity Shield

A Response to Wieden+Kennedy’s statement on #blacklivesmatter

Last week, two black men were murdered by police officers, five police officers were executed by a revenge-seeking vigilante and, to much acclaim, Wieden+Kennedy replaced the homepage of its website with a statement on the matter. In publications from Advertising Week to The Washington Post, the beautifully written message, which was originally delivered by a black employee to colleagues via an internal email, was applauded after the advertising agency’s management team had the foresight to amplify its words by featuring them on the company website, along with a heads-up to the press.

On the surface, this was a commendable effort by one of the strongest voices in advertising. To start, there was the poignant message itself. Also, at W+K, black employees are few and far between, so the decision to feature the work of one so prominently deserves kudos. Clearly, intentions were good.

The effort, however, is likely net-negative.

As a black man with over a decade of experience in the ad industry — most recently at Wieden+Kennedy — I have seen small men hide behind big words. I have seen them discriminate, whether it was intentional or not, and then use the agency’s prior good deeds as shield against any blame for the current offense. And while my personal career has been net-positive, along the way I have lost jobs to objectively less qualified candidates, I have fought, and won, a case of racial-based wage depression, and I’ve even had to report a manager to HR for harassment, only to be fired by the accused 24 hours later. Each respective agency has voiced support for diversity in very public ways; nevertheless, each engaged in actions that broke the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.

Will Wieden+Kennedy’s #blacklivesmatter homepage change the fact that the agency’s management team is exclusively white? Will it change the fact that 28 of its 30 creative directors are not just white, but white and male? Or that roughly 80% of the copywriters, art directors, and technologists who create the agency’s output are also exclusively white males?

And while not related to black lives, but still concerning the topic of diversity, what about the gender issues at W+K? What about the fact that 20% of the female creatives quit at the end of last year? What about the fact that, during layoffs this March, women were disproportionately affected? What about the fact that after a group of women decided to communicate their frustration via an all-agency email, global management replied-all to say that they should not talk about such things out in the open? Where was the concern for diversity then?

The other side to this story is that Wieden+Kennedy is well aware of these issues and is, despite mistakes along the way, actively making efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive environment. The agency has declared 2016 a Year of Diversity within the agency. They are encouraging all employees to take part in off-site workshops on inclusion and bias. A large Girl Wanted sign hangs in a prominent place on the creative floor. The company homepage now features the message that #blacklivesmatter.

It is very hard to assert that an organization is discriminatory when it has done so much in the name of diversity.

Or is it? As a hiring manager, I worked very closely with the in-house recruiting team; I am well aware of their valiant efforts to find new talent of all races and genders. Yet, nevertheless, when they share the portfolios of the best candidates with the Creative Directors — 93% of whom are white males — it is, time and again, the white male candidates who are pursued and hired.

Of course, each Creative Director has reasons why he may prefer one candidate’s portfolio over another’s. And while I sat on the other side of the building in the technology group, the majority of the Creative Directors I interacted with are perfectly pleasant people, and I never once felt unwelcome in their presence.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to remember that unconscious bias exists in every human being, no matter how kind. It is crucial to remember that humans, naturally, form faster connections with people similar to themselves. And it is crucial to remember that the human brain can always rationalize its own actions. The cop always has a reason why he shot the black guy. The bro always has a reason why he’s not into black girls. The lady on the subway always has a reason for grabbing her purse a little tighter. The creative director always has a reason why he hired, promoted or gave preferential treatment to someone who happens to look like him.

And despite all the diversity initiatives, despite the #blacklivesmatter homepage, despite honest efforts by some within the organization to create a truly diverse environment, there are reasons why a diverse environment has yet to manifest at Wieden+Kennedy.

But this is not just the story of one advertising agency. This is the story of an entire industry. There are few agencies that would skip out on the chance to attach its name to a feel-good diversity initiative, but what good is it if the company itself doesn’t become more diverse in the process? How can we applaud an agency for making an effort, and then look the other way when those efforts don’t lead to real, actualized change? How can we be sure that voicing support for diversity doesn’t become a shield, protecting agencies from the constructive scrutiny needed to come to terms with what its problems really are, and eventually find real solutions?

How do we move from talking about change to actual change?

Handicap Unconscious Bias

No matter the data, people will always have a stronger connection with people similar to themselves. The only way to remove bias from an individual is to remove it from the system itself. Review portfolios blind. Standardize parameters for promotions and raises. Conduct performance reviews regularly, without fail.

Again, in the chaos of an agency, these are often seen as low priority initiatives. But they will also serve as protection — of a more legitimate kind. The goodwill attributed to an agency for undertaking diversity initiatives is subjective, but being able to say that each and every employee receives rewards and punishments in the exact same way, via a blind, unbiased system, is objectively solid and your best defense.

Kill Subjectivity with Specificity

Agencies always say they want to hire people who are humble. But what does that mean? Growing up in a white household, that may mean staying quiet and not rocking the boat. Growing up in a black household, that could mean speaking up and falling on your sword for a cause. Who’s right?

Agencies look for creatives that have that “special something.” What does that mean? Work for a recognizable brand? A particular award? A headline that made you laugh?

From personality traits to skillsets, agencies often times fail to define success by specific, objective terms. Traits like being humble or “nice” are subjective, but ones like work ethic and leadership experience are not; either you’ve produced a volume of work or you haven’t, either you’ve been a manager before or you haven’t. A “good” copywriter is subjective; one that has experience in comedy is not. “That ad made me laugh,” is subjective; but a copywriter who wrote a humorous ad that won an award, or went viral, or produced sales results is probably more objectively talented when it comes to using humor in his job.

Minorities (and Women), Speak Up

Those who are in power will never fully see things from the perspective of those on the sidelines. Those who are in power will rarely put their concerns before yours. This is your fight, our fight. We must hold our employers to task, and not let the hush-hush culture of corporate America stop us from sharing our stories and calling out injustice when we see it.

White People, Don’t Take It Personally

Minorities, unfortunately, are used to discrimination. We’ve seen white friends, white teachers, and white colleagues — people we know and love — do and say discriminatory things. We’ve learned that, when it comes down to it, many perfectly decent people simply don’t know any better. And that’s okay; we can only make decisions using the filters that we have, and bias is a natural part of human behavior. So when it is brought to your attention that you may have discriminated against someone, don’t flip out. Don’t go into the, “Wait, you think I’m a racist?!” line of defense. Don’t get mad that your transgression has been exposed because, really, unconscious mistakes are made every day.

You don’t even have to truly understand. Just listen, acknowledge, and try to do better.

13254: You Da Manbassador.

Advertising Age published more diverted diversity dreck via The Martin Agency President and COO Beth Rilee-Kelley’s call to arms for “Manbassadors”—that is, White men advocating for the promotion of White women in the advertising industry. See, Rilee-Kelley admits that White men have helped her rise, and she acknowledges the need for their committed collaboration to create change. Of course, no mention is made about the way that White men and White women in the field have failed to take such deliberate action steps to foster actual diversity. Indeed, White men and White women have historically conspired to divert, defer and deny diversity. There are no “BlackManbassadors” advocating for Black men on Madison Avenue and beyond—rather, there are only self-absorbed hypocrites and covert racists.

Calling All Manbassadors

Better Gender Diversity Requires More Male Sponsors

By Beth Rilee-Kelley

I first heard the term “manbassador” at the 3% Conference a few years back.

And it resonated with me.

Manbassadors are men who are particularly tuned in to the roadblocks women face in business and do all they can to mentor, encourage and promote women in the workplace. In essence, they’re sponsors.

There’s a very important conversation going on right now about gender diversity and respect (or sometimes lack thereof) of women by men in our industry. But in the midst of this discussion, I want to acknowledge the men who elegantly served as manbassadors long before the term was coined and who played instrumental roles in the careers of women like me. And perhaps more importantly, I’d like to ask more men to step up and carry the manbassador torch for the aspiring female leaders of tomorrow.

Several weeks ago, I was named president of The Martin Agency. I’ve worked at this great company for 33 years and it’s a wonderful honor to be named president. And yes, it’s even more wonderful to be the first female president.

So, a moment like that naturally spurs a great deal of personal reflection. As I thought about what I might want to say to our staff following the announcement of my new role, I reflected on the most influential people in my career.

That’s when it struck me. They were all men. And of course they were, because early in my career there simply weren’t very many women in leadership positions in our industry.

Here are three lessons I learned from my “manbassadors:”

1. Have a presence. From the way you prepare for meetings to how you carry yourself, engage with a room full of people and speak your mind, work to have a presence in every interaction with co-workers and clients. This is one of the fastest ways to go from being bystander to participant to leader. Have an opinion and let your voice be heard.

2. Master and move on. I learned early on the importance of mastering the job or assignment at hand, training someone else to take over and then moving on to another assignment that needed me more. This advice—go where you’re needed and never get bored—is always in the back of my mind, and explains my winding career path through account management, to creative services and human resources, to chief operating officer and now president.

3. Be confident. Sounds simple, right? We all know it’s really not that easy. But a funny thing happens when you over-prepare for every meeting, presentation or one-on-one encounter. Your confidence goes up. And your confidence inspires others to be confident. (See how this pays it all forward?) And while some may believe rehearsals are so old school, think again. When you know your material like the back of your hand and you’ve practiced transitions and answering tough questions with your team (and in front of the mirror) you can bring swagger to a potentially nerve-wracking meeting.

These three pieces of advice were critically important to me and they were not simply shared with me. I watched the best of the best, in action. And they’re good reminders for us all, no matter your gender, job title or industry.

I hope that I have, or will make, as much of a difference in someone else’s career as my manbassadors made in mine. So years from now, what will young men and women remember as my rallying cry? Only time will tell for sure, but I hope it would include these two things:

1. Be a mentor. Better yet, be someone’s ambassador. At almost any level in your company you can lead by example, be an encouraging role model and help accelerate career growth for someone else. Mentoring doesn’t need to be a formal, regularly-scheduled process. It can be casual conversations, phone calls or even text exchanges. Whatever works. And by the way, I can’t imagine not mentoring. I find it a rewarding experience watching others grow. I think of it as a daily way to live my work life.

2. Seek out an ambassador. When you find that person with the experience and talent you admire, reach out to him or her, ask for advice and get a conversation started. Think of it as an important step in managing your career. Most leaders I know enjoy this part of their jobs. In fact, it’s a highlight.

Sometimes the issues in our industry seem so big and complex that it’s hard to know how any of us, as individuals, can contribute to the solution. But take the manbassadors in my career as an example; their positive influence wasn’t the direct result of any one thing at any one point, but instead was the sum of little things done consistently over time.

If you want to make a difference in a future leader’s career, you might start with something as simple as having a cup of coffee.

Beth Rilee-Kelley is president and chief operating officer of The Martin Agency.

13253: Bacardi Loves Hip Hop.

Advertising Age reported Bacardi enlisted Swizz Beatz and handed him a “Global Chief Creative for Culture” title. Wow, that’s an original idea. Wonder if Bacardi’s lead White advertising agency—BBDO—will count the move as a diversity hiring.

Bacardi Names Swizz Beatz ‘Chief Creative for Culture’

Celeb Won’t Appear in Ads, But He Could Influence Them

By E.J. Schultz

Bacardi Limited has named Swizz Beatz as its “global chief creative for culture.” But the celebrity music producer won’t be appearing in ads for the liquor marketer anytime soon.

The multi-year agreement covers Bacardi’s entire brand portfolio, which includes its namesake rum, along with Grey Goose, Martini, Bombay Sapphire and Dewars. “The goal is to develop partnerships, activations and ideas that further incorporate the Bacardi brands into the worlds of music, art and film,” Bacardi said in a statement. Swizz Beatz will also represent Bacardi brands at cultural events in the U.S. and in emerging markets, although details have not yet been released.

There are no immediate plans to put him in ads, according to a Bacardi spokeswoman. But the music maven could hold influence over Bacardi’s marketing. “As the Bacardi global chief creative for culture, I will be involved in all aspects of the product—from brand marketing and advertising to innovation and selling platforms—areas to which I will bring a new, fresh perspective,” he said in a statement. Bacardi will work with him to “forge deals with the most creative icons in sports, fashion, technology, art and film around the world in the coming months,” according to the statement.

Bacardi Limited CEO Mike Dolan stated that “consumers are identifying with brands that fit their lifestyle in culturally relevant ways and Swizz is the perfect partner to identify and forge these new consumer connections.” Bacardi did not release dollar terms of the deal.

Bacardi’s lead agencies are BBDO Worldwide for creative and OMD Worldwide for media. The Omnicom shops won the accounts in April 2015.

Under BBDO, Bacardi rum has pivoted away from ads that played up its heritage, while taking a more contemporary approach. Bacardi will “go harder at embedding our brands back into culture,” Mauricio Vergara, Bacardi Limited’s chief marketing officer for North America and the global lead for the Bacardi brand, told Ad Age last year. “We have one of the most iconic brands in the industry, but over the last few years we were not really connecting as effectively as we could with our target consumers and the new millennial.”

TV ads link the brand to house parties by showing drinkers partying in a house that is being towed on streets and highways.

13252: Soap Scum.

Campaign reported on a BBDO campaign designed to root out racism in Lebanon. The agency introduced a fake soap brand exclusively for African and Asian domestic workers, seeking to tap into racist perceptions that the minority laborers smell worse than other people. Gee, wonder where the Lebanese creative team got their inspiration for such a product concept…

In Lebanon, BBDO campaign sniffs out racism against domestic workers

By Eleanor Dickinson

Local attitudes about the hygiene of African and Asian immigrants inspired a feminist nonprofit to take the issue to Beirut supermarkets

BEIRUT — With the help of Impact BBDO Beirut and a fictional brand of soap, a new campaign here seeks to scrub out racist attitudes toward African and Asian domestic workers.

The satirical video, which was produced by Impact BBDO Beirut for Lebanese NGO Kala, is based on the results of a study by the American University of Beirut, which revealed that 27% of Lebanese employers think domestic workers aren’t clean. The study was conducted with the help of the International Labour Organisation.

For the campaign Kafa produced a fake soap brand called Clensen Ozo Trio, which it gave out for free at a supermarket in Beirut. The brand was marketed to Lebanese employers looking to improve the body odor of domestic workers.

“We produced the video based on the results of a study that was published last January and conducted last year,” said Maya Ammar, communications co-ordinator at Kafa, a feminist, secular, nonprofit civil society organization seeking to create a society that is free of social, economic and legal patriarchal structures that discriminate against women. “The national study showed that 27% of Lebanese employers think that ‘domestic workers are not clean’, and we find this to be a very racist assumption. The percentage of people who believe this is not small.

“So we came up with an idea with the creative team who worked with us on the campaign to spot how people would react if there was an actual soap for domestic workers. The idea was to prove that there are still racist assumptions and perceptions in Lebanese society against migrant people and people of color.”

The video is part of a broader campaign about employers’ perceptions and treatment of domestic workers, with reaction to the video mixed.

“Most people were shocked that many customers didn’t mind taking a soap specifically made for domestic workers,” said Ammar. “However, some accused us of exaggerating [the issue] in defense of domestic workers’ rights. And the Ministry of Labour in Lebanon actually thought the soap exists for real and called on people not to buy it.”

Leo Burnett won a Glass Lion at Cannes for its “Legally Bride” video for Kafa, which sought to raise awareness of child brides in Lebanon.

13251: TBWA\Chiat\Day\Exclusivity.

AgencySpy posted on new White hires at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, and the associated photograph depicting agency leadership fails to reflect the actual diversity in Los Angeles. The only non-White in the group is a dog. Plus, it appears that the GEICO Caveman has a better chance of landing a job at the shop than minorities.

13250: 25/40 Is 100% Contrived.

MullenLowe has launched the 25/40 Project to finally solve the dearth of diversity in the advertising industry. According to the MullenLowe website, “MullenLowe is really unlike any other agency out there.” Okay, but MullenLowe’s solution to diversity makes it really like every other White advertising agency out there. The breakthrough concept involves asking 25 advertising agencies to engage 40 minority students each—for a theoretical total of 1,000 potential candidates. Recruitment via minority student engagement is hardly a new idea. And given the actual decline of minorities in the advertising industry, it’s hard to argue the tactic is effective. Hey, based on viewing the agency’s leadership depicted below, such schemes seemingly haven’t worked for MullenLowe either.

13249: Fade To Blacks.

The New York Times reported on how Black-owned media is in a death spiral. Which runs parallel with the near-death state of Black-owned advertising agencies. Which coincides with the dearth of Blacks in the advertising and media fields.

Pillars of Black Media, Once Vibrant, Now Fighting for Survival

By Sydney Ember and Nicholas Fandos

For the black community in Chicago and elsewhere, Johnson Publishing Company represented a certain kind of hope.

The company’s magazines, most notably Ebony and Jet, gained prominence during the struggle for civil rights — Jet published graphic photos of the murdered black teenager Emmett Till that helped intensify the movement — and made it their mission to chronicle African-American life.

At a time when much of the media was ignoring black people, or showing them primarily in the context of poverty or crime, Ebony and Jet celebrated their success, featuring stars like Muhammad Ali and Aretha Franklin on their covers. When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, the first print publication he granted an interview to was Ebony.

So when Johnson Publishing, which is based in Chicago, announced a little more than two weeks ago that it had sold Ebony and Jet to a private equity firm in Texas, there was a sense of loss.

“It was a very heartbreaking day,” said Melody Spann-Cooper, the chairwoman of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, which owns a Chicago radio station, WVON, aimed at a black audience. “Ebony gave to African-Americans what Life didn’t.”

Ms. Spann-Cooper’s reaction underscored a deeper concern: As racial issues have once again become a prominent topic in the national conversation, the influence of black-owned media companies on black culture is diminishing.

“Ebony used to be the only thing black folks had and read,” Ms. Spann-Cooper said. “As we became more integrated into society, we had other options.”

To that end, Time Inc. now owns the magazine Essence and Viacom owns Black Entertainment Television. The Oprah Winfrey Network, a partnership between Ms. Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has been around since 2011. The Undefeated, ESPN’s site covering the intersection of race and sports, debuted in May. The emergence of Black Twitter has also given African-Americans a powerful voice on social media.

Johnson Publishing stressed that the Clear View Group, the private equity firm that bought Jet and Ebony, was an African-American-led company and positioned the sale more as a partnership. “We are very, very committed to Ebony,” said Michael Gibson, the chairman of Clear View.

Traditional media companies have struggled for years to adapt to a digital world, but the pressure on black-owned media has been even more acute. Many are smaller and lack the financial resources to compete in an increasingly consolidated media landscape. Advertisers have turned away from black-oriented media, owners say, under the belief that they can now reach minorities in other ways.

Since well before the Civil War, publications and, more recently, radio and television stations owned and operated by African-Americans have provided an important counterweight to mass market media, simultaneously celebrating and shaping black culture — from politics and government to fashion and music.

Johnson Publishing was started in 1942 with a modest $500 loan, and eventually turned into a media empire big enough that in 1982, its founder, John H. Johnson, became the first black person to make Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. When the radio station WVON ran a program in 2007 for Black History Month called the “28 Blacks Who Changed America,” Mr. Johnson, who died in 2005, was No. 7 on the list, behind luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall.

“If we don’t own our press, we don’t have a platform to speak,” said Leonard Burnett Jr., whose company, the Uptown Ventures Group, owns Uptown Magazine, a lifestyle publication aimed at affluent African-Americans.

Several owners also pointed to another benefit: Their companies hired more minorities. Ms. Spann-Cooper of the Midway Broadcasting Corporation said 90 percent of her employees were African-American. “When we are African-American-owned, the work force looks like us,” she said.

But as financial resources dwindle, black-owned media companies are struggling to maintain their presence. Jet, for instance, became a web-only publication in 2014.

“It’s tougher and tougher for African-American companies,” said Desirée Rogers, the chief executive of Johnson Publishing, “to have the capital to compete in a landscape that’s increasingly crowded, increasingly changing.”

Mr. Burnett, who also owns Hype Hair, a magazine for African-American women, said his company was “marginally profitable.” But he said supporting his print business had been challenging largely because advertisers, particularly luxury brands, would rather connect with African-American consumers “by speaking broadly.”

“I think at times there’s a feeling that they do not want to directly speak to that audience because there’s a fear of bringing down their brand perception,” he said.

Earl G. Graves Jr., the president and chief executive of the business-focused magazine Black Enterprise, said his company was “not as strong as it was,” but preferred that it remain independent. Like many magazines, it has cut its publication schedule and focused more on its events business as a potential revenue source.

The picture is bleak in radio and television as well. In 2013, there were 166 black-owned radio stations and 68 black-owned radio companies, compared with 250 stations and 146 companies in 1995, according to the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

Only 12 commercial television stations in the country are black-owned, and they tend to serve very small markets. The future of Howard University Television, the country’s only black-owned public television station, is also in question, as the university’s participation in Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction has raised the possibility that it could end up selling its place on the airwaves or stop broadcasting entirely.

“Black ownership is dying,” said Armstrong Williams, whose Howard Stirk Holdings owns seven of the black-owned commercial television stations. “Newspaper ownership, radio ownership — but it’s probably hit TV the hardest.”

In the late 1970s, the F.C.C. put into place a minority ownership policy that used credits and deferrals on capital gains taxes to help make minority businesses more competitive in the bidding process and promote the sale of existing stations to minorities.

The policy, while not without critics, was largely considered a success among advocates of minority ownership. But in 1995, after a Supreme Court ruling that established new standards for race-based government policies, the F.C.C. began to disassemble the program. A year later, Congress ended the tax-deferral policy that had helped drive sales to minorities. It also did away with most restrictions on the number of radio stations a single company could own.

The resulting wave of consolidation in the broadcast industry has made it more difficult for black entrepreneurs to enter the industry, said Alfred C. Liggins III, the president and chief executive of Radio One, which while publicly traded is the country’s largest black-controlled multimedia company.

“That means that the likelihood that minority owners are going to own a TV station in New York or Los Angeles gets lower and lower,” said Mr. Liggins, whose mother founded the company with a single radio station in 1980.

For Johnson Publishing, which also owns the Fashion Fair cosmetics line, pressures on the business proved too difficult to overcome. In the last several years, it sold its historic building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, brought on JPMorgan Chase as a minority investor and reduced its staff.

“We did not feel that we had adequate capital and resources,” said Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, who was chief operating officer of Johnson Publishing and is now chief executive of Ebony Media Operations.

Yet as stories like Johnson Publishing’s have become more common across the industry, those who see their companies as following in its footsteps say the notion of black ownership continues to resonate.

Mr. Williams, who referred to Ebony as “a staple” of his upbringing, said that young African-Americans regularly expressed awe that he, a black man, really owned television stations.

“It does change the dynamic,” he said, “of what they believe they can become.”

13248: Ad Council Cluelessness, Cont’d.

The Ad Council continues its Love Has No Labels propaganda with a painfully long video staring John Cena pontificating about patriotism, tying the phrase to diversity. The YouTube post includes the following pap:

To love America is to love all Americans. John Cena takes a break between dropping body slams to drop some truth—that patriotism is more than pride of country, it’s love beyond labels.

Cena drones on and on about America’s diverse citizenry, even slipping in some diverted diversity by stating females account for 51 percent of the U.S. population. He then proceeds to ask viewers to rethink their perceptions of how the “Average American” is defined—that is, it’s not a White man.

Once again, for a message like this to come from the Ad Council—which continues to conspire with White advertising agencies where diversity is diverted, deferred and denied—displays hypocrisy taken to the highest level. Label this campaign what it is: culturally clueless bullshit.

13247: Inflection Point Not Inclusive.

Advertising Age recently published a report titled, “Ad Industry Hits ‘Inflection Point’ on Women. Now What?” Um, it’s more like a Deflection Point, where discussions on the industry’s diversity dilemma are being diverted to focus on the alleged plight of White women in the field. In the words of Don Draper, “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation.” The modern-day Peggy Olsons and Joan Harrises—conspiring with today’s Don Drapers—are doing just that. And the result is an exclusive workplace that makes Mad Men look progressive.

Ad Industry Hits ‘Inflection Point’ on Women. Now What?

After Years of Talk, Movement to Get More Women Into Executive Suites Gears Up

By Jessica Wohl, Lindsay Stein

When Hill Holliday Chairman-CEO Karen Kaplan speaks to groups, she sometimes asks the audience whether anyone is left-handed, then discusses how the world caters to right-handed people with things like dinner table settings. “It’s similar in business—the default is male,” she said she tells them. “You have two options: Get better at playing the game despite disadvantages, or change the game.”

Whether it’s sexist slurs as alleged in the lawsuit against former J. Walter Thompson CEO Gustavo Martinez or unspoken and even unconscious biases, the ad industry’s male/female divide persists. For all the applause when women such as DDB’s new North American CEO Wendy Clark reach the top of the ladder, there are jeers over the low percentage of women in roles from copywriter to creative director.

But the Martinez suit has kicked into gear a determined, if nascent, movement to stop talking the issue over and truly, as Ms. Kaplan put it, change the game. Its efforts include initiatives to help women advance by offering more childcare assistance, destigmatizing flex time, correcting salary inequalities, implementing bias training and accentuating the positive by spotlighting women’s accomplishments.

“The discussion over gender and diversity finally hit an inflection point,” said Nancy Hill, president-CEO at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, who used part of her opening speech at the group’s March conference to push for change within the industry.

“Our goal is threefold: to keep the conversation front and center, to raise awareness regarding female and diverse experiences in our industry and to offer programs that advance the careers of female and diverse professionals,” she told Ad Age.

Getting to the numbers

Astonishingly, there are no comprehensive numbers quantifying gender disparities in advertising, even if there’s a visible lack of women in senior roles.

“Without data you really can’t talk about the problem,” said Advertising Women of New York President-CEO Lynn Branigan. “Are we being successful? We can’t really say.”

That’s why AWNY commissioned research on the number of women in the industry. Its partners on the project are LinkedIn, the media entertainment practice at professional services firm EY and the U.S. chapter of The 30% Club, a group of business leaders working to increase women’s representation on S&P 500 boards to 30% by the end of 2020.

They plan to use the findings, which are due later this summer, to inform a new plan for the industry. The 4A’s is also conducting research on topics including how women are treated at agencies and the way ads portray them.

There are a few bright spots, if you can call them that. Across industries, women hold 23% of leadership posts at U.S. businesses, up from 21% a year earlier, according to a Grant Thornton report released in March. While that’s an increase, the report also pointed out that 31% of U.S. businesses have no women in senior management. Of the women in senior management roles, 11% are chief marketing officers, the report said.

In fact, women are better represented in the marketing suite than elsewhere within corporations. “About a third of marketing leadership is women,” said Caren Fleit, senior client partner and leader of the Global Marketing Center of Expertise at Korn Ferry. “That sounds low, and of course we’d like to see it be higher, but in actual fact it is higher than it is for CEOs, it’s higher than it is for CIOs, higher than it is for everything except for CHROs, which tends to be about 50/50 male/female.”

Creative conundrum

One of the biggest gaps seems to be in the creative department, a fact highlighted by The 3% Conference, named for an estimate of female creative directors when the group was formed. Its survey last fall, called “What Women Want,” found that women make up 46.4% of the advertising industry as whole but only 11% of creative directors. The movement, dedicated to supporting more female creative leadership in agencies, reached out to 328 women in both creative and non-creative roles for the survey, 60% of whom said their current employer falls below the 11% mark.

13246: Odious Ogre Orlov Out.

Campaign reported RAPP Global CEO Alexei Orlov resigned, presumably in response to a lawsuit branding him a sexist, racist, harassing bully. Now, such character defects are hardly unique for the average honcho in the advertising industry. For proof, simply combine the RAPP debacle with the Campbell Ewald and Gustavo Martinez scenarios to complete a culturally clueless trifecta featuring the Big Three holding companies (Campbell Ewald represents IPG, Martinez represents WPP and RAPP represents Omnicom). WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell probably breathed a sigh of relief to realize he doesn’t employ Orlov, as it would have demonstrated a pattern of bad boy behavior dating back to former WPP Worldwide Creative Director Neil French at least. But wait! Orlov was on the WPP payroll while leading Wunderman from 2000-2008—so it’s tough for Sir Marty to ignore the facts. Somebody please ask Cyrus Mehri to dust off the Madison Avenue Project.

Rapp global boss Alexei Orlov resigns amid racism, sexism claims

By Shona Ghosh

The global CEO was hit with accusations he’d derided women and Jews in a suit brought by former US President Gregg Anderson

Rapp’s global chief executive officer, Alexei Orlov, has resigned in the midst of allegations about bullying, sexism, racism and harassment.

Orlov is replaced by Marco Scognamiglio, considered his number two and formerly the agency’s president for EMEA, APAC and executive vice president for client relations.

Scognamiglio, a Rapp veteran of 17 years, will work closely with chief operating officer and chief financial officer Matthew Hafkin.

The agency is currently battling a lawsuit brought by former US president, Greg Andersen, who is suing for wrongful termination, retaliation and discrimination. Andersen claims he was sacked after complaining about Orlov to Rapp’s HR department.

His catalogue of claims against Orlov include the outgoing CEO’s alleged description of women as “fat cows” and stereotyping a Jewish colleague as “miserly.”

Sources have also pointed out to Campaign the long list of leavers from the Omnicom agency’s London shop, blaming wider bullying and abuse.

Rapp denied Andersen’s allegations in a statement filed to the LA Superior Court earlier this month, and described his sacking as “lawful and appropriate.” It has also denied the allegations made to Campaign about its London arm.

Neither the agency nor Orlov commented directly on the lawsuit, with the latter stating: “I am very proud that Rapp has grown in terms of clients and scope of work, which is a testament to our incredible talent.

“Marco and I have worked closely across a number of initiatives these past two years, and Rapp is in good hands.”

It is not known whether Orlov has a job to go to.

13245: Annie’s Five Buck Bullshit.

Hopefully, this Popeyes commercial didn’t cost more than five bucks to produce.

13244: No Amore For Amor Benamor.

Fred & Farid created this campaign for Amor Benamor—which appeared in Algeria—comprised of commercials featuring a variety of stereotypes. Cultural cluelessness is a global phenomenon.

13243: Boning Annie The Chicken Queen.

Let’s kick off the holiday weekend celebrating with Annie the Chicken Queen and her boneless wings!

13242: Cons Of Cannes.

Marketing Magazine spotlighted the big winners at Cannes, and the list shows how cheating and cultural cluelessness will never adversely affect an agency’s chances for awards success. AlmapBBDO was named Agency of the Year, despite being caught entering a sexist scam ad which temporarily won a Bronze Lion—and there were seven women serving as judges in the category. Meanwhile, 180LA won the Grand Prix for Good, despite also producing a racist spot for 360FLY. Expect Cannes 2017 to feature keynote speakers Gustavo Martinez and Neil French—who both worked for WPP, honored as Holding Company of the Year.

AlmapBBDO, Droga5, Ogilvy, WPP, Tool, UNICEF Got Final Top Honors at Cannes

Cannes Lions announced its final winners on Saturday night (25 June) with WPP and Ogilvy & Mather both continuing and extending their winning streaks by receiving the Holding Company of the Year for the sixth year in a row and Network of the Year awards for the fifth consecutive year. The Agency of the Year award went to AlmapBBDO, while Droga5 won the Independent Agency of the Year award for the second year in a row.

WPP, of which agencies from 46 countries won Lions this year, won Holding Company of the Year, followed by Omnicom in second place and Interpublic in third. Ogilvy & Mather, got 120 Lions across 31 offices “earned Network of the Year, followed in second by BBDO and in third by Y&R.

The Agency of the Year award, collected from all the awarded and shortlisted work earned by a single agency, was won by AlmapBBDO – which was subdued to some controversy and had to return a Bronze Lion for a Bayer campaign the client did not even pay to run. The Palme D’Or which honours the most awarded production company, went to Tool (USA).

REI’s Anti-Black Friday (also called “the greatest anti promotion of all time) campaign #OptOutside won the Titanium Grand Prix. Just a few days earlier, the campaign won top award in Promo & Activation. “We loved it because it took Black Friday, this day when people are driven to spend even more money, and REI decided to do the opposite and close their stores, asking everyone and their staff to go outside and have a good time,” said jury president and BBH founder Sir John Hegarty at the press conference.

However, Harvey Nichols and Under Armour took top Film Lions for Film. Adam&EveDDB‘s “Shoplifters” for Harvey Nichols and Droga5‘s “Rule Yourself: Michael Phelps” for Under Armour took the same prize in Film Craft.

“The Grand Prix goes to a new way to use security camera footage to sell a rewards card, of all things, for a retailer. It’s just a phenomenal piece,” Film Lions jury president Joe Alexander, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency said. “I think the best pieces now cross over. This one ran in cinema, it ran as an incredible viral piece. It’s a very modern piece of film that lived in both worlds.”

According to the Film Craft jury, Droga5 was competing against itself as they had to choose between “Rule Yourself: Michael Phelps” and Droga5’s Hennessy’s “The Piccards,” before finally choosing the former. “We chose this piece because, at the end, it’s the one that transcended the craft and just reached out and touched us,” said Film Craft juror Steffen Gentis, chief production officer of BBDO Germany. “The craft became completely invisible, and we just found ourselves completely immersed.”

180LA and UNICEF got the Grand Prix for Good for “Malak and the Boat,” from the “Unfairy Tales” campaign that features a series of films that first seem to start out like sweet stories but then take turn: the children are actually running for their lives from war-torn Syria.

BBH New York’s “FU2016” campaign for House of Cards’ fourth season earned took home the top prize in Integrated. Integrated juror Pete Favat, chief creative officer of Deutsch, said BBH New York‘s campaign hit all the right marks in the category. “We were looking for brilliant execution through the line of every one of the pieces,” Favat said. “This was a slam dunk.”

13241: Globalhue’s IOUs.

AgencySpy posted that Globalhue has not paid its employees for over three months. Hey, it’s hard to generate cash from crumbs. Are any Black advertising agencies in the black?

Former ‘Multicultural Agency of the Decade’ GlobalHue Has Not Paid Employees in More Than 3 Months

By Patrick Coffee

New York–based GlobalHue, which has been named the industry’s top African-American agency by AdAge multiple times and designated “Multicultural Agency of the Decade” by Adweek in 2009, has failed to pay its employees’ salaries for more than three months.

Yesterday, founder, chairman and CEO Don Coleman conceded in an email that the agency has been unable to compensate its remaining staffers since March 15 and that their health care benefits expired on April 31. He attributed this extended delay to an unspecified financial issue, writing, “We have over a million dollars that has been held up by my bank over a dispute.”

Coleman, who launched the agency in Southfield, Michigan in 1988, wrote, “This is the first time in 28 years we’ve had this problem. There are a number of reasons why.” He then claimed that the issue would be resolved “this week.” When asked to clarify, Coleman stated that all parties currently owed money by GlobalHue will be paid, including any outside vendors and former employees.

Coleman also wrote, “No office is closing.” On Monday, however, we spoke to the director of business development at a company called Motor City Computer who said that his company had recently been hired to clear GlobalHue’s Detroit-area location of all computers and related electronics in addition to wiping hard drives. He told us that his company completed the work for which it was contracted but that it has not been paid by the agency despite repeated queries. Todd Palmer then said that he had recently begun to post comments on the agency’s Facebook page after he did not receive any response to emails and voicemails regarding the allegedly unpaid bills.

The agency has worked with clients such as Verizon, MGM Grand Detroit and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Its best-known work in recent years was a 2014 Super Bowl campaign for Jeep starring Bob Dylan, and an article that appeared Crain’s Detroit Business the following week called the campaign “a step to general accounts.”

In March 2015, a FIAT Chrysler spokesperson confirmed that the company had parted ways with the shop, which had been creative AOR on the Jeep brand for more than five years. That statement came several days after an agency spokesperson confirmed that the organization would move its headquarters from Southfield to Manhattan with the Detroit-area location serving as “a smaller satellite office.” Former EVP/chief creative officer and DDB Chicago veteran Vida Cornelious then went to Walton Isaacson, and Chrysler eventually sent the Jeep business to DDB Chicago after telling us that it did not plan to name a new agency of record for the brand.

GlobalHue’s LinkedIn page currently lists its total employee count as 200-500, but multiple sources have independently told us that the number of staffers remaining in New York is approximately 15-20. We also hear, again from individuals who reached out to us individually rather than using the anonymous tip box, that employees have been told not to come into the office in recent weeks. Two sources claim that the only recent exception to that rule involved a day on which team members were told to be present when a Walmart representative visited the New York location.

Regarding Coleman’s note about a banking dispute, a former freelance creative director tells us that the CEO has been making similar statements to current and former employees since January. This CD claims that he began working for the agency last October but has not been paid for his work since mid-January, and he also says that agency representatives no longer respond to any related queries after initially reassuring him that he would eventually be paid. Today he forwarded us an auto-reply that he received on May 18 from former director of finance Christopher Christie. It read, “I no longer work at GlobalHue. Please direct all HR, payroll and benefit questions to [other executives].”

GlobalHue has also recently experienced some changes in its client lineup. In May, a spokesperson for U.S. Bank confirmed that the company had ended its relationship with the organization, which won its multicultural AOR account in late 2013.

“I am very appreciative of my employees who have remained loyal to the agency during this time of disruption,” Coleman wrote yesterday. “And we will be back to normal very soon.”

13240: White Supremacy In Adland.

Advertising Age published a perspective titled, “Five Ways Agencies Can Dismantle Systems Keeping Diversity Out”—and the author declared White supremacy is a root cause of the global dilemma. Actually, White supremacy is not as big a problem as White complacency in our industry. That’s why the “Five Ways” don’t present a true solution. Why would Madison Avenue’s ruling majority consider taking five action steps when they haven’t even bothered to take a single step toward progress? Hell, the typical advertising agency leader makes the average Grand Wizard look like a Boy Scout.

Five Ways Agencies Can Dismantle Systems Keeping Diversity Out

Ad Agencies Would Be Remiss If They Did Not Address the Uncomfortable Topic of White Supremacy in the Industry

By Bethany Iverson

I’m grateful to those taking up the charge to build an industry reflective of the world we live in, though we would be remiss to talk about the progress we’re working toward without addressing the most pressing and uncomfortable issue keeping diversity out of agencies. I’m talking about white supremacy—a core component of inequality most ad agency folks are reluctant to acknowledge.

Wait! Don’t stop reading, I know it seems dramatic to see the words “white supremacy” and “ad agency” in the same sentence, but hear me out. My hope in writing about such a charged topic is not to shame our industry, but rather to start a conversation about the root problem preventing us from being inclusive. Once we move past the initial shock, it becomes clear that white supremacy is nearly invisible in our everyday lives—all the more reason to call it out.

White supremacy is an ugly term with an uglier past, conjuring images of Nazis and the KKK, undoubtedly two of the reasons it’s uncomfortable talking about it. It’s a shameful part of our history we’d rather bury because acknowledging it means we’re complicit and that’s all it takes to shut most of us down. That said, it’s critically important to acknowledge a much wider definition of white supremacy apart from the overtly racist symbols of Civil Rights-era America and hate groups. It’s our misguided aversion to the subject of white supremacy that keeps wide-reaching, sustainable diversity beyond our grasp.

To further complicate things, the phrase “white privilege” is sometimes confused with “white supremacy.” While we’ve begun to open up about privilege in recent years, our role in the system of white supremacy has gone largely unaddressed. Put simply, white privilege represents all the perks we have as white people. White supremacy is why white privilege exists; it’s the system our industry was built on because it’s the system our country was built on. Evidence of white supremacy can be found in imbalanced political power and representation, incarceration rates and sentencing disparities, wage gaps and skewed unemployment rates, discriminatory housing practices, and inequitable access to education. Acknowledging white privilege without addressing white supremacy is like treating a symptom while ignoring the disease.

Our industry was born to push against complacency and yet when it comes to issues of race we find ourselves quietly burrowing into it. We navigate our way through oftentimes cloudy conversations about diversity without understanding that it is we who continue to hold it back. But we can do something about it.

Here are five immediate actions we must take to meaningfully address the structural inequities in our industry. I offer these in addition to best practices such as recruiting from historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions; tapping professional organizations dedicated to advancing young people of color; continually investing in employees of color via mentorship; and unconscious bias training for managers:

1. Remove four-year college degree requirements, create an apprenticeship program for new talent (or partner with an organization like BrandLab), and recruit from places like community and technical colleges.

2. Create culturally competent agency leaders. There are organizations in every major market dedicated to helping people learn about racial equity (shout out to Interaction Institute for Social Change and the YWCA).

3. Get other white people thinking critically about race by facilitating discussions with co-workers in a judgment-free zone where they don’t have to be afraid of saying the wrong thing.

4. Make it easy for agency employees to develop a deeper understanding of race and racism by organizing a listserv, blog or book club dedicated to articles, podcasts and books by people of color.

5. Don’t monopolize the conversation. You should be listening more than talking in conversations with people of color who are working to address our industry’s structural inequities.

It’s time to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Our privilege will always prevent us from perfectly navigating discussions about race and inequity. We’ll make inaccurate statements and ask awkward questions in front of friends and colleagues of color. I’ve personally fumbled my way through countless conversations about race, I’ve inadvertently offended people I respect, and I’ve resigned myself to continue trying. What matters is that we don’t let shame or pride get in the way of progress. And that we don’t try to fool ourselves into thinking we’re making measurable strides toward an inclusive future unless we’re also willing to talk about the ways the industry we built is set up at the expense of diversity.

Bethany Iverson is director of strategy at Space150, a full-service digital ad agency.

13239: Greyed Out.

Campaign reported Grey London Chairman and CCO Nils Leonard, Chief Executive Lucy Jameson and Managing Director Natalie Graeme have bailed out, apparently to start their own White advertising agency. Given the partners he chose to exit with, it looks like Leonard really is a modern-day feminist.

Grey London rocked as Leonard, Jameson and Graeme resign

Grey London’s chairman and chief creative officer Nils Leonard, chief executive Lucy Jameson and managing director Natalie Graeme have officially handed in their notice today.

It is believed they are planning to set up their own business.

Grey has moved quickly to shore up its leadership by announcing Leo Rayman as the new chief executive. He was previously chief strategy officer.

David Patton, the president and CEO of Grey EMEA, thanked the trio for their work over the past few years and said he wished them every success in the future, adding: “all have been prime movers in Grey London’s reinvention.”

He added that the new CEO of Grey London, Leo Rayman, “has done a superb job” over the past three and a half years, leading to IPA Effectiveness Company of the Year and Euro Effie Agency of the Year. “Having achieved such strategic successes, he has been ready to step up to the leadership role for some time,” he said.

Vicki Maguire and Dominic Goldman will continue in their executive creative director roles and the day-to-day running of the London creative department. Likewise, Perry Nightingale will continue in his role as executive creative technology director.

Patton added: “Grey London is in a very strong place. It has never had a deeper, more diverse bench of talent with strong creative, strategic planning and account leadership in place to fuel our momentum and break new ground, with culturally-ambitious ideas and experiences across platforms.

“Whilst not wanting to trigger such events, we’ve long had succession plans in place so management transition will happen smoothly – as such I’m very confident the new management team will be very well supported by all of the 450 employees at Grey London.”

Rayman said: “Grey’s culture is what makes us different and it’s bigger than any one of us. We’re now going to accelerate the Grey project, strengthening our position as the most progressive creative firm in London, with brave culturally-impactful work and acquisitions in tech and data.”

Leonard joined Grey in 2007 as executive creative director. He was later promoted to chief creative officer and, in 2014, took the chairman role.

Jameson joined the agency as chief strategy officer in 2012, until she was promoted to chief executive in February 2015, replacing Chris Hirst, who joined Havas Creative Group to be CEO of UK and Europe.

Graeme joined as managing partner at Grey in 2013 from Mother London. She was promoted to managing director in May 2015.

Rayman joined the agency as head of planning in 2013 from Adam & Eve/DDB where he was the planning director. He was promoted to CSO in 2015, shortly after Jameson took the CEO role.

Grey London was Campaign’s runner up creative agency of the year in 2015. It was recently the most awarded agency at the D&AD Awards, winning 15 Pencils.

13238: Muslim Diversity.

Fairly certain this campaign was not sponsored by Donald Trump.

13237: Cannes Crap Continued.

AgencySpy posted on the Cannes BBDO Bayer bullshit and noted the following factoid:

JWT CCO Ricardo John, who served as president of the Outdoor jury which awarded the ad, issued his own apology to [Adweek], saying, “The jury, which [included] seven women, did not feel that this campaign, when looked at as a whole, was offensive. Even so, as the jury president, I would like to apologize for those who took it as such.”

Gee, this is getting more pathetic by the minute. First of all, Ricardo John hails from JWT in Brazil, land of the scam ad. JWT and Cannes undoubtedly viewed his jury presidency as a coup for diversity. John’s announcement that the jury awarded a Bronze Lion to an arguably sexist ad—despite featuring seven women jurists—makes Cindy Gallop’s gripe a tad ridiculous. Apparently, adwomen are as culturally clueless as admen. Can’t wait to hear the Cannes Lionesses’ perspective on all of this. Oh, and Bayer is hardly without its own controversies, as evidenced by the advertisement below and 2014 commentary from former Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers.

13236: The Scambags At BBDO.

Adweek reported BBDO has withdrawn all Brazilian Bayer ads after a scam ad won a Bronze Lion in the Cannes competition. “I learned last night that one of our very own agencies had a pretty scammy ad in the festival, and it won a Lion,” said BBDO Global Creative Chief David Lubars. “I told them to return it. Because I don’t want that kind of Lion. BBDO doesn’t want that kind of Lion.” Um, there was nothing “scammy” about it. It was a scam ad—pure and simple—as the Brazilian BBDO shop created it exclusively for the award show; plus, the agency paid for the media placement. Cannes has specific policies forbidding the entry and awarding of scam ads, including fuzzy penalties that read as follows:

We believe that banning agencies from entering on a wholesale basis is unfair on blameless individuals. There are many people who work in agencies who may not be involved with an erroneous entry and therefore should not be penalised. Our policy will be to ban the individuals named on the credit list if a scam is discovered.

The length and nature of the ban will be decided based on the seriousness of the case involved. We take the view that not all issues are the same and each case should be dealt with on its own merits.

Of course, the profit-generating machine called Cannes is not about to ban the entire BBDO universe, as it would lead to serious revenue losses. So far, there have been no reports on the banning of a handful of BBDO Brazilians—who were probably surprised to hear from Lubars too. Was it the first time they had ever connected? Did anyone from BBDO have to call the Bayer brass and explain the PR mess was the work of rogue Brazilians? Regardless, it’s funny how the culturally clueless nature of the scam ad is apparently more heinous than the fraudulent factor. An opportunity to promote diverted diversity trumps integrity—both of which trump diversity. Oh, and BBDO probably counts the Brazilians as evidence of its commitment to diversity.

BBDO Withdraws All Brazilian Bayer Ads From Cannes With Apology to Festival and Client

Lubars says AlmapBBDO work was ‘scammy’

By Kristina Monllos, Tim Nudd

CANNES, France—AlmapBBDO, facing criticism for questionable wins at this week’s Cannes Lions, has withdrawn all its Bayer work from the festival at the request of BBDO global creative chief David Lubars.

“I learned last night that one of our very own agencies had a pretty scammy ad in the festival, and it won a Lion,” said Lubars, from the stage of the Debussy Theatre during BBDO’s Cannes Lions session today. “I told them to return it. Because I don’t want that kind of Lion. BBDO doesn’t want that kind of Lion.”

This follows the agency’s apology for its bronze Lion-winning work, which was accused of being sexist, and—per the client’s own description—appears to have been created solely to win awards for the agency.

“All Bayer work created by AlmapBBDO has been withdrawn from the Festival,” a BBDO network spokesman said in a statement. “The work was approved by the local client to be run in Brazil. However, the media was paid for by AlmapBBDO, which contravenes the Cannes entry regulations.”

The spokesman added: “We regret this and apologize to the festival organizers and our client for any embarrassment caused.”

Work for Bayer from the agency included the “.MOV” ad which was one of three ads in a campaign that won a bronze Lion in Outdoor. The agency also submitted a separate campaign that won a bronze Lion in the Print & Publishing category.

13235: Fast-Talking Wendy Clark.

Adweek published a Cannes interview with DDB CEO Wendy Clark, who blathered on about the need for speed in today’s business environment. Clark also touched on diversity and diverted diversity, announcing all DDB employees will receive “unconscious bias” training by the end of 2016. Plus, the agency is partnering with a consultant specializing in gender equality, whose primary action steps will include auditing the current staff “to help DDB achieve a more balanced workforce within the next year.” Okay, but will DDB publicize the audit results—or will Omnicom continue to hide its EEO-1 data? Clark admitted diversity remains an industry problem and remarked, “Talk is good, but action is way better.” Of course, she didn’t connect the need for speed with the need to address DDB’s dearth of diversity. Heaven forbid diversity should be handled with any sense of urgency.

DDB Global CEO Thinks Agencies Have to Speed Up or Be Left Behind

Wendy Clark says, ‘Talk is good, but action is better’

By Patrick Coffee

CANNES, France—“You have to ask yourself, are agencies changing enough to keep up with this changing marketplace?”

DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark told Adweek that, as major clients like McDonald’s make increasingly strict demands of their advertising partners, all agencies must adapt as quickly as possible or risk being left behind.

“Our models now have to be built for speed. Clients and brands are moving in real-time,” she said, adding, “It has to be efficient [but] we can’t do that at the cost of great work.”

DDB has attempted to balance this contradiction in recent months by introducing a new model called Flex that will allow teams across its 12-office network to collaborate on pieces of business, thereby transcending the sort of multi-agency patchwork that frustrates so many client-side marketers.

Clark is also one of the industry’s most passionate advocates for increased diversity in the agency world. Earlier this week, J. Walter Thompson’s global chairman and CEO Tamara Ingram told Adweek that the conversation around diversity in advertising will continue for the foreseeable future, and Clark agrees—but she also thinks that most agencies have yet to effectively make the transition from talk to action.

“I don’t think we’re seeing enough movement and impact,” Clark said. DDB has now begun to institute “unconscious bias training” as well as partnering with a third-party “gender equity” firm that aims to help DDB achieve a more balanced workforce within the next year.

Will the Omnicom network’s efforts pay off? Clark’s success depends on it.

13234: People In Ivory Towers…

Adweek published an interview with FCB Global CEO Carter Murray where he declared, “You’ve got to have people in charge who actually care about the people, who don’t just talk it but work on it. C-suite people sitting in an ivory tower just trying to make big bonuses and not do much work … it’s pretty hard to survive in this industry being like that in this day in age.” Murray seemed oblivious to the contradictions of making such bold statements while lounging in a swanky Cannes location. Ivory tower exclusivity leads to cultural cluelessness.

FCB Global CEO Says the Age of the ‘Ivory Tower’ Agency Executives Is Over

Carter Murray predicts more tech partnerships to come

By Patrick Coffee

CANNES, France—According to FCB global CEO Carter Murray, the ad industry may well be nearing the end of an era dominated by outsized personalities with titles and pay packages to match.

“You’ve got to have people in charge who actually care about the people, who don’t just talk it but work on it,” he said. “C-suite people sitting in an ivory tower just trying to make big bonuses and not do much work … it’s pretty hard to survive in this industry being like that in this day in age.”

Murray also dismissed those who say the agency business model is dead, telling Adweek that he’s been hearing the same argument for almost 20 years.

That said, the model is changing at the speed of a swipe. As Snapchat and other platforms become ever-larger players in the paid media equation, Murray predicts more deals between agencies, clients and tech companies—many of them presumably made inside gated “secret compounds” like the one Evan Spiegel’s company set up right next to the action at the Palais in Cannes. “You have to partner every year with an exponentially larger number of people,” Murray said.

The festival itself clearly isn’t going anywhere, despite some grumbling about the event serving as more of a cash cow and a corporate showcase than a celebration of creative endeavors. “It’s more intense than it’s ever been,” Murray said, and Cannes will continue to serve as a focal point for global dealmakers, promoters and celebrity exhibitionists in the years to come.