13645: So White Program So-So.

The Drum reported on the “Easter So White” campaign designed to expose the dearth of diversity—namely, the absence of Black, Asian and minority ethnic characters—in UK advertising campaigns. The holiday initiative is part of the So White Project, which was “founded to raise awareness of the lack of diverse imagery in marketing and advertising.” Supporters of the project include Google, BBH, DigitasLBi, Dentsu Aegis Network and Saatchi & Saatchi. Um, the supporters are among the key perpetrators. And the underrepresentation of minorities in advertising campaigns and advertising agencies is not news. A co-founder of the So White Project said, “It doesn’t end here and for #SummerSoWhite we are having exciting conversations with diversity organisations to represent the full wonderful diversity of the UK. There is no element of diversity we won’t represent.” How about Adland So White?

‘Easter So White’ campaign looks to draw attention to lack of BAME diversity in advertising

By Rebecca Stewart

Diversity is not just for Christmas — that’s the message behind ‘Easter So White’, the latest campaign from a group of creatives looking to find a solution to the under-representation of the Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities in advertising.

In the same vain as last year’s ‘Christmas So White’ initiative, the latest project aims to counter the “cultural white-wash” often presented in imagery around Easter.

Kickstarted by a team of creatives, the So White Project looks to normalise diverse imagery through real life photography. As part of its Easter campaign it has teamed up with Getty to make available a series of royalty free images for brands to use in their own ads.

The images were captured by photographer Helen Marsden and include shots of Easter egg hunts and egg painting as well as drawing attention to other culture’s Easter traditions.

The inspiration to include other cultural traditions occurred when Selma Nicholls, one of the So White Project founders, revealed Easter Egg hunts are not a typical tradition for her, explaining she would instead visit family and friends whilst eating bun and cheese and fried fish; both Caribbean Easter traditions.

Models for the campaign were supplied by Nicholls’ agency Looks Like Me, which seeks to raise the profile of underrepresented groups.

Using the hashtag #EasterSoWhite, users on social media will be driven to the So White Project hub, while a partnership with Exterion and Primesight will enable the imagery to be featured in OOH locations throughout the UK.

‘Easter So White’ has been backed by a roster of ten brands, platforms and agencies including: MediaCom; Google; Above+Beyond; AnalogFolk; BBH, DigitasLBi; Dentsu Aegis Network; New Look; Saatchi & Saatchi and Sunshine.

Nadya Powell, one of the co-founders of the scheme said: “With ‘Easter So White’ it was important to build on the diversity message we established at Christmas so including diverse cultural traditions was a really exciting next step.

“It doesn’t end here and for #SummerSowhite we are having exciting conversations with diversity organisations to represent the full wonderful diversity of the UK. There is no element of diversity we won’t represent,” she finished.

“As communicators, we should know better than anyone that the images we are exposed to, and the stories that businesses tell create the lens through which we all see the world,” said Matt Law, chief operating officer at AnalogFolk.

“We are glad to have had the opportunity to support the #EasterSoWhite campaign and make a small step to creating a culture more representative of everyone in it.”

13644: USAA Today.

This USAA commercial features an interracial family. Would the financial services company’s former White advertising agency—Campbell Ewald—have produced such a spot? Not sure the new White advertising agency from Publicis Groupe is much better. While the comments at YouTube have been disabled, there are currently more dislikes than likes for the commercial. Maybe disgruntled Campbell Ewald employees are casting the negative votes.

13643: Jumping All Over Jump In.

Too much has already been discussed regarding the Pepsi-Kendall Jenner video, but MultiCultClassics would like to examine one area that has not been critiqued enough. According to news sources including NBC, “Pepsi said the film, titled ‘Jump In,’ was produced by PepsiCo’s in-house content creation arm, Creators League Studio.” In 2016, Digiday and Advertising Age spotlighted the enterprise and its leader, Brad Jakeman. You know, the PepsiCo Global Beverage Group President who has boldly booted a recruiter and been solemnly saluted by the AD Club for his diverted diversity drivel. When it comes to inclusion, Jakeman likes to talk the talk; however, his continued partnership with White advertising agencies shows an inability to walk the walk.

Others contend the Pepsi debacle presents lessons on the industry’s dearth of diversity and monocultural workplaces, as well as insular in-house models. While these notions probably contributed to the overall mess, MultiCultClassics still believes the root dilemma goes beyond such easy targets.

Digiday revealed that Pepsi envisioned Creators League Studio would “let marketers, not agencies, sit in the creative driver’s seat.” Citing how the beverage maker annually generates up to 400 pieces of digital videos and content, the wondrous studio could “bring all of that in house and do it quickly, as well as cheaply.”

Advertising Age wrote that Jakeman declared, “Our goal is to really behave like a Hollywood studio.” The Tinseltown wannabe added, “The holy grail for me is to leverage the incredible power of our brands and their equities to essentially fund their own marketing. Will we ever get there? It is going to take a while. Are we making steps toward that direction? Absolutely, we are.”

Okey-doke. So here’s the problem. PepsiCo assembled an efficiency-focused—i.e., cheap—production factory and appointed an unqualified doofus to lead the revolutionary experiment. Hell, Jakeman could benefit from dialing the Omnicom hotline and begging the holding company to assign one of its White advertising agencies to take control. At this point, Fathom Communications would be a significant improvement. Let Creators League Studio cover the bulk of below-the-line digital content that customers will ignore. But don’t let Creators League Studio play in the big leagues. And don’t let Jakeman play the Hollywood mogul-creative director-procurement guru. The man should serve as a Global Beverage Group President instead, maximizing his core competencies and professional gifts.

In the end, the “Jump In” video underscores a simple truth: Pepsi has become a shitty client.

13642: Easter Greetings.

13641: Please Quit, BBDO.

This anti-smoking commercial is from Ireland via BBDO, declaring there are now more quitters than smokers in the country. However, there are clearly not more racial and ethnic minorities, as the only Black Irishman—not to be confused with Black Irish—appears in the background of a single scene (squint to spot him in the third frame presented here). Of course, that didn’t stop BBDO from hijacking Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” Not sure why they felt the need to caption the lyrics. Perhaps the White advertising agency feared Irish people wouldn’t understand Gaynor’s words…?

13640: Fearless Girl Follies.

The artist behind the “Charging Bull” sculpture on Wall Street is demanding that “Fearless Girl” be removed, as the new sculpture is messing with the original meaning of his work—which was intended to symbolize freedom, peace, strength, power and love. Of course, all the diverted diversity defenders are lashing back at the artist. But the truth is, the bull creator is right. Like it or not, “Fearless Girl” is a sponsored advertising stunt. Besides, there are other NYC locations where she could be positioned to make an even bolder declaration of fearlessness.

Stand before Fox News headquarters to protest Bill O’Reilly’s sexual harassment.

Face off with Trump Tower to generate a huge political statement.

Hey, why not bring attention to the discriminatory dearth of diversity in the advertising industry by returning to her birthplace at McCann New York?

13639: Scarcity & Scarier.

Digiday interviewed Karmarama Chief Strategy Officer and PrideAM Founder Mark Runacus, who stated, “…People often fear the bigoted minority who will create a backlash.” Okay, but the scarier problems usually come from the bigoted majority. Digiday also pointed to research indicating LGBT people constitute only .06% of people in ads. Not sure how the figure could be valid, as commercial actors are not typically required to supply such personal data. Wonder how the true percentage compares to similar stats for racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in adverts.

Agency exec on scarcity of LGBT people in ads: ‘People fear the bigoted minority’

By Grace Caffyn

As Kendall Jenner’s ad catastrophe at Pepsi illustrates, those who hitch their wagon to socio-political causes (however vague) can, and do, get burned.

Agencies’ fear of this, according to chief strategy officer at Karmarama and PrideAM founder Mark Runacus, is what’s holding the industry back from better representing its audiences, including those lumped together in the LGBT umbrella: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and other variations of sexual and gender identity.

Case in point: According to research from Lloyd’s Banking Group, which examined 1,300 ads from 40 top-spending brands, LGBT people make up just .06 percent of people in ads.

We spoke to Runacus about his thoughts on the issue. Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

You’ve said previously that agency planners are holding back representation of LGBT people in advertising. Tell me more.

It comes from both sides, but agencies are more often the blockage than the client. This happens for two reasons: ignorance and fear. First, there is an expectation you only include LGBT content if you’re targeting the so-called “pink pound.” But the community doesn’t like being ghettoized, and that term is actually offensive. We don’t think of ourselves in that way. Second, people often fear the bigoted minority who will create a backlash.

Give me an example.

They know who they are, and they’ll have heard my comments. Hopefully they have managed to work through that ignorance.

So some planners still see LGBT audiences as niche?

Often it’s because they think their brand isn’t relevant to LGBT audiences. It’s right that as planners we should think of how to target and better communicate with an audience, but it’s wrong to only include LGBT content if you are targeting LGBT people. We know that 49 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds don’t identify as straight or gay; this is part of everyday life for them. So for modern brands with purpose, it’s important to use this diverse content to create better engagement.

What are the challenges for agencies wanting to get this right?

The main challenge is understanding how to communicate without falling into stereotypes. But LGBT people don’t always have to be front and center, just part of real life. When it’s done well, like the recent Lloyd’s Bank advert, it’s fantastic. It can be done.

Does a lack of diversity inside agencies make this harder? You’ve mentioned before that the ‘scariness’ of making inclusive ads is amplified by agencies that aren’t diverse.

Agencies are still not inclusive enough. There are leaders in the advertising community who are predominantly white, middle-class men. It’s proven that when you remove homogeneity, you create an environment that’s more creative. If we’re reflective of our target audience, I’m confident we’re much less likely to witness this fear and ignorance I’ve talked about.

How so?

Agencies should challenge the existing recruitment process, for example, by reviewing CVs anonymously and doing one-on-one interviews. Young people aren’t convinced in you saying you’re actually doing it; they want to see it. For instance, does your website look inclusive? Do you have gender-neutral toilets? This all shows you’ve paid attention to the detail. However, I’m optimistic as I’m surrounded by young people who believe we have to change.

Do brands care enough?

There are loads of people who want to do this because trust in advertising is at an all-time low. Brands are vying for attention, and if they do this authentically and sensitively, they will connect better with consumers. But brands aren’t challenging agencies enough to accurately reflect their current and aspirational audience with an understanding of how progressive the U.K. population is today. In their briefs, brands need to include a challenge. Agencies will then be empowered to respond.

What’s your advice to brands?

It’s important that you’re authentic, which starts by looking within. If consumers can see that the brand’s external manifestation is a genuine representation of what happens inside its walls, they shouldn’t be fearful. If companies have an LGBT network, they should ask how they want to be portrayed and use them as a powerful insight and advocacy tool. Then, in an unlikely event of a backlash, they’ll have ready-made supporters.

13638: Ben Carson Movin’ On Up.

Q. What does HUD Secretary Ben Carson have in common with Hollis?

A. Click here.

13637: Probing Pepsi’s Problems.

Campaign published another perspective by a pseudo-thought leader taking advantage of the Pepsi-Kendall Jenner debacle to leverage personal agendas. In this case, Reframe The Brand Founder and CEO Jeffrey L. Bowman opined the disaster resulted from a “monocultural workplace” that presumably led to cultural cluelessness. Bowman actually makes a few interesting points, including “Women have become the new black”—which is essentially recognizing the rise of diverted diversity in the industry. Plus, Bowman nicely notes that diversifying a staff isn’t enough; in fact, the benefits of diversification can be negated if the workplace environment remains dominated by a singular culture. That is, slowly seeding racial and ethnic minorities into White World isn’t really achieving the true goal. Regardless, it’s tough to agree that Pepsi’s current advertising problems are rooted in failed diversity. After all, some of the brand’s greatest campaigns with the broadest appeal were created decades ago by White advertising agency BBDO. And blaming things on the in-house model is too easy. Maybe there’s a simpler explanation. It seems like the dilemma started with the 2008 birth of the globe logo and escalated to global lameness. In short, Pepsi has become a shitty client.

When black and brown is not enough

By Jeffrey L. Bowman

Pepsi’s epic failure is emblematic of the problems of a monocultural workplace, writes the founder and CEO of Reframe The Brand.

PepsiCo has a long history that demonstrates the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion efforts. Most recently, the company won the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Award. The Kendall Jenner spot, however, was both a failure of epic proportions and completely avoidable. That’s been reviewed ad nauseum. The larger question is how did this event happen? And how did it happen to a brand like Pepsi with a legacy of getting commercial advertising right?

It’s simple. Women have become the new black.

Women are the new sought after target. Supporting feminism is the new message to be aligned with. As women move on up so too does corporate spending and marketing attention.

My hypothesis is that Pepsi thought that swapping a gender issue (demonstrated in Kendall dropping her artificial look) for a black one (the Black Lives Matter movement) was OK. Women? Blacks? They’re all underserved right?

The real issue isn’t Pepsi. It’s that it’s actually easy to see how they came to that conclusion. When you dissect it, Pepsi was again very much operating in “the marketing norm.”

So how did we get here? Over the past 30 years, we’ve put a lot of great minds and effort towards getting it right. The major shift birthed from the economic results of trade agreements with foreign governments in the 1980’s led to a boom in titles like chief diversity and inclusion officers with various reporting structures for most Fortune 500 companies. This sounds like a great thing, but there was one major oversight. Even though the workplace population was shifting and growing a multicultural candidate pool, diverse candidates were entering a monocultural workplace.

What’s a monocultural workplace? It is a business environment dominated by a singular culture. Which means that even if the faces of the organization have become more diverse, its practices and culture stay largely the same. Individuals are encouraged to participate but when push comes to shove, everyone is expected to fall into single file. That singularity is the mono of the monocultural workplace.

Last month, the findings of our “State of the Total Market Industry Vertical Report” revealed big brands and agencies within the workplace are two generations culturally removed from the marketplace. This means marketing practices are still very much a product of the 1960s as well as the workplace. Back then, the sought-after target was the upwardly mobile blacks, 20 years later the growing Hispanic population, and so on. Today the minority du jour is women. The mission is feminism and thus we see a lot of “separate but equal” budgets once reserved for people of color directed at women, primarily white women. This should be a good thing, but in reality, it’s not because the real underlying issue remains.

Black or female in 2017, we now have specialized hiring practices and specialized practitioners. But those “specialized practitioners” wind up isolated, underfunded, and misunderstood. They are viewed as necessities and so they exist, but the hands of the specialized practitioners are often cuffed by the monocultural operations of the place where they work. This means the employees of these groups wind up short when it comes to the tools and resources they really need to understand the new marketplace. Again, Pepsi is not immune.

I believe the team at Pepsi produced this commercial with the best of intentions with targeting, however, they simply lacked the cultural insights needed to get it right.

According to industry sources, PepsiCo shifted away from the idea of cultural fluency structural support, education and tools when Javier Farfan left PepsiCo in 2014. They did not see the immediate volumetric gains and dismantled their cultural fluency group. In doing so, they also lost key senior leaders who had their pulse on culture and the idea of developing a culturally-maturing organization from the inside-out diminished. They lost their insights and soon after the Pepsi marketing team too became a victim of the lens of their own monocultural workplace. They tried, and I believe tried hard, to get it right. But they didn’t have the leadership for what they needed to succeed.

The result? The internet is calling for the removal of Kendall Jenner’s head. We are looking for a responsible party, someone to blame. Pepsi is faceless; Kendall is not. But the real guilty party is our own workplace. Everyone needs to ask, is the company we work for diverse but monocultural?

If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. From Hollywood to Silicon Valley to Wall Street, every practitioner within the talent and diversity space is asking, “How do we avoid being Pepsi?”

There has to be a major rethink and disruptive ideation to modernizing brands and agencies from the inside-out. There’s a lot of work to be done.

—Jeffrey L. Bowman is an author, founder and CEO of Reframe The Brand.

13636: Start Over, Goodby.

Adweek asked creative leaders for the best advice they ever got in their careers. Here’s what Goodby Silverstein & Partners Co-Chairman Jeff Goodby said:

“Start over.”

—Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners

“Very often people—we just fall in love with our ideas that we can’t let them go—so we try to force them down a client’s throat,” Goodby says. “I think that learning to go, ‘OK, I’m just going to leave that alone. I’m gonna start over and come up with something else’ takes a lot of faith in yourself to do that. But I think many times you look back on it and go, ‘Shit, I’m really glad I did that, because that first idea wasn’t that good.’”

Hmmm. Why won’t Goodby and other alleged creative leaders apply such advice to addressing the industry’s dearth of diversity? Instead, when tasked with actually doing something about the exclusivity, award-winning trailblazers regurgitate all the contrived and clichéd “solutions” that have historically failed to deliver measurable and meaningful change—the idiots embrace the first ideas that were never very good and run with them. What’s more, they execute the ideas believing that no one has ever done it before. If Cannes introduced a Diversity Lion, saluting attempts by advertising agencies to ignite progress, all submissions would lose and/or be identified as scam ads.

13635: Insipid In-House Inspection.

Adweek published a vapid viewpoint from North Principal and Chief Creative Officer Mark Ray, who opined the Pepsi-Kendall Jenner debacle resulted from “a lack of perspective” from the soda maker’s in-house advertising agency. Here’s the gist of Ray’s rumination on in-house creative departments:

But there is one major consideration about the in-house model—and that is loss of perspective. When you walk in every day to the same corporate culture, you can’t help but get swallowed up, to varying degrees, by that culture. The politics, the worries about job security, the sheer number of meetings where the brand is necessarily exalted in the extreme—these take a toll.

And that toll is losing touch with the realities of your customers. The best agencies provide a vital role to their clients by representing the consumer’s needs. They remind a brand how to stay in touch with them, that some corporate cultures can become their own worst enemy in staying relevant.

Okay, but take a peek at the North staff and see how it’s easy to make the same argument against Ray’s crew. That is, advertising agencies that perpetuate exclusivity and White privilege are no less culturally clueless than corporate cubicle communes. Ray pontificates on “representing the consumer’s needs” while maintaining an environment representing a narrow vision of society. Who’s really losing touch with reality in this scenario?

Pepsi Showed the Ultimate Downside of In-House Creative: A Lack of Perspective

Efficiency can come at the cost of awareness

By Mark Ray

I’ve made my share of tone deaf, ill-conceived, spots in my 25-year advertising career, almost all of that time spent at agencies. So far be it from me to point a judgmental finger at the creatives who made the new Pepsi Kendall Jenner ad.

But I do think Pepsi could have avoided a fiasco if they hadn’t brought the assignment in-house.

Full disclosure: I own an agency, and we’ve seen many of our clients consolidating substantial amounts of their creative work in-house. Which might make you think I have a chip on my shoulder about this. But you’d be wrong.

I have, for many years, advocated that much of a brand’s work should indeed be done in-house. There is an understanding of the brand and efficiency of execution that only comes when your job is to walk into the company and think about its brand every hour of every day.

Also, in-house creative departments will always beat agencies at knowing its internal, key account and core loyalist audiences better—especially as the media landscape has shifted rapidly from broad, impression-based traditional media to digital ecosystems where success or failure reports itself in real time. The multitudes of award-winning work done by brand creative teams is evidence of this, and the bottom-line results they create are proof.

But there is one major consideration about in the in-house model—and that is loss of perspective. When you walk in every day to the same corporate culture, you can’t help but get swallowed up, to varying degrees, by that culture. The politics, the worries about job security, the sheer number of meetings where the brand is necessarily exalted in the extreme—these take a toll.

And that toll is losing touch with the realities of your customers. The best agencies provide a vital role to their clients by representing the consumer’s needs. They remind a brand how to stay in touch with them, that some corporate cultures can become their own worst enemy in staying relevant.

Someone at Pepsi forgot this. Someone let the holy grail of in-house efficiency blind them to what’s actually happening just outside their walls.

So here we have a piece of film, with excellent production values, obviously created by talented people from a brief asking for deep cultural relevancy and impact. And yet it lacks any sense of reality, any insight into the human condition, any soul that makes you want to see it again and again. There’s a reason Coke’s I’d Like to Teach The World to Sing became a radio hit after its airing. This ad wanted to be Pepsi’s “Hilltop,” but it didn’t come close.

If I were doing a post-mortem with Pepsi’s in-house creatives, I would tell them to go home, have a glass of wine, or beer, or iced tea—anything but a Pepsi (just this once). Put this behind you, reconnect with the world, and get on with being the talented creatives you obviously are. We all have misfires.

As for everyone else, a little thoughtful and grounded perspective never hurts. Even for one of the world’s biggest brands.

Mark Ray is principal and chief creative officer at Portland, Ore.-based North (@north).

13634: McChange Is Good.

Advertising Age reported Mickey D’s replaced top executives including McDonald’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl, who now won’t be around to experience the awesome power of We Are Unlimited. The Omnicom-fabricated “Agency of the Future” probably isn’t worried, despite having produced the worst campaign in the fast feeder’s recent history. After all, Wahl’s replacement—Morgan Flatley—comes from PepsiCo, which has obsessive ties to the holding company. Hell, We Are Unlimited will likely pick up the Propel Zero account before long.

Wahl Out as McDonald’s U.S. CMO, Replaced by PepsiCo’s Flatley

By Jessica Wohl

McDonald’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl and two other U.S. executives are being replaced at the Golden Arches, with PepsiCo’s Morgan Flatley being named to the top U.S. marketer spot. Ms. Wahl is out after three years at McDonald’s. She joined in 2014.

The changes, announced Tuesday night, come after Chris Kempczinski was promoted to president of McDonald’s U.S., effective Jan. 1. Along with the U.S. CMO shakeup, Farhan Siddiqi was promoted to the role of head of U.S. digital and Starbucks VP Linda VanGosen is being brought in as McDonald’s head of U.S. menu. All three are set to begin their new roles this month, McDonald’s said.

Ms. Wahl, who helped the chain bounce back from a prolonged sales slump with marketing for All Day Breakfast, also led the selection and creation of a new dedicated creative agency for McDonald’s U.S. business, We Are Unlimited, last year. She could not be immediately reached for comment.

Ms. Flatley, who had been chief marketing officer for PepsiCo-owned Gatorade and Propel, in late summer took on a new role of CMO for the global nutrition group and senior VP-global grains. She had been in various roles at PepsiCo over more than a decade and is most closely associated with her work on the Gatorade business. Before joining PepsiCo, Ms. Flatley handled work on Tide and Tylenol while at Saatchi & Saatchi.

“This is an exciting time for McDonald’s as we continue to raise the bar on how we prepare and source our food, offer our customers more modern experiences and redefine convenience through new initiatives like delivery and mobile ordering and pay,” Mr. Kempczinski said in a statement. “I am confident these new team members will help McDonald’s only accelerate the already great progress we have made in the U.S.”

Ms. Flatley takes over as McDonald’s top U.S. marketing executive at a critical time. McDonald’s, which recently said it would use fresh beef to prepare its signature Quarter Pounder sandwich in most restaurants, needs to find ways to attract customers and hold onto them. Other changes it is making include plans to introduce mobile order and pay nationwide later this year. Such tweaks come as comparable guest counts, or the number of transactions at longstanding restaurants, have fallen for four years in a row. And U.S. same-store sales fell 1.3% in the fourth quarter after four consecutive quarters of growth, which had stemmed in large part from the introduction of All Day Breakfast.

“We want to thank Morgan for her many contributions to PepsiCo over the years,” PepsiCo said of Ms. Flatley. “PepsiCo is renowned for developing a deep bench of talent, not only within our company, but within the industry as a whole, and Morgan’s appointment at McDonald’s continues that tradition.”

Mr. Siddiqi is the only one of the three executives appointed Tuesday who has been at McDonald’s. He joined the Golden Arches in 2016 and was VP-global digital experience, overseeing digital areas including global product strategy, design, innovation and business development. Now, he will add responsibility “for delivering and managing digital solutions for the U.S. that increase customer engagement and drive sales through digital channels,” McDonald’s said.

Ms. VanGosen joined Starbucks in 2014 and was its VP overseeing Starbucks Evenings, that chain’s effort to enhance the experience at its stores in later hours including with wine and beer at some locations. Prior to Starbucks, she was VP of brand strategy, insights and menu innovation at TGI Friday’s and was VP of product innovation at Chili’s Grill & Bar.

Along with the departure of Ms. Wahl, McDonald’s said U.S. digital VP Julia Vander Ploeg and menu VP Lance Richards are leaving the company.

The U.S. overhaul comes less than two weeks after McDonald’s brought in Mondelez International Inc.’s Bob Rupczynski in the newly created role of global VP-media and customer relationship management. He reports to McDonald’s Exec VP and Global CMO Silvia Lagnado.

Contributing: E.J. Schultz

13633: 75 Years Of Exclusivity.

Adweek saluted the Ad Council for 75 years of churning out PSAs for social change. Yet the philanthropic propaganda has featured a fair share of cultural cluelessness over the decades. Highlights include:

• Casting an Italian American to play an iconic Native American weeping over litter was a garbage move.

• Young & Rubicam, the White advertising agency that hatched “A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste” for the United Negro College Fund, also water-bombed Black protestors in 1966.

• “Love Has No Labels” advocates for love and inclusion, brought to you by R/GA, which can be labeled as a stereotypical White advertising agency that loves to include exotic dancers at company parties.

The Ad Council touts itself as a revolutionary champion for social change, yet its partnership with White advertising agencies perpetuates discriminatory exclusivity and stymies actual progress.

13632: Unintelligent Life On Mars.

Digiday interviewed Mars VP of Marketing Michele Oliver on leading “one brand who has succeeded in connecting with its audience on diversity issues.” Really? Really? Oliver declared that for an upcoming project, “I will mandate that it will be a female director because I want that ad seen through the eyes of a woman.” Okay, so the brand is starting to show interest in diverted diversity issues. Yet until folks like Oliver deliver mandates to White advertising agencies that go beyond promoting the White women’s bandwagon posing as gender equality, it’s all just sugarcoated rhetoric. Honey-soaked hypocrisy. Chocolate-covered crap.

How Mars prods diversity in its advertising, agencies

By Grace Caffyn

As Pepsi has discovered this week, wading into social causes is a risky business.

But with risk comes reward. Mars is one brand who has succeeded in connecting with its audience on diversity issues. Its three lauded 2016 Maltesers campaigns—which featured actors with disabilities—increased sales by 10 percent, its biggest boost in eight years.

Digiday caught up with vp of marketing at Mars, Michele Oliver, at Wednesday’s DIMA Summit in London, to hear about how brands can avoid cause-washing and make an impact.

You’ve mentioned you’re keen to push the diversity agenda harder at media agencies. What does this look like?

MediaCom, under Karen Blackett, do an amazing job on diversity internally. The bit I’m not sure we’re maximizing is extending our diversity agenda through media. I don’t think we’ve really thought about it as much as I’d like us to. We are a mass market brand. We might make an ad for Maltesers featuring women with disability, but our target is everyone. So how do we maximize our reach through our media plan to make sure we’re not only talking to the mainstream, but all aspects of society?

And how do you stop these messages feeling like tokenism for those communities?

What stops the creative being about tokenism is where you challenge yourself. For instance, does it have to be the dad kicking the football with the child and the woman cooking the dinner? I know advertisers in the past have literally had a box-ticking exercise for diversity. There is something about tokenism that in some way you can smell it on the ad. You can tell when the people making it believe what they’re doing.

And having people with first-hand experience of these issues on the team must help too.

That’s where the ideas [for Maltesers] came from. As the main woman working on the account has a disability, it reduced the fear we might get it wrong. It puts a different experience of life in the room. I often say diversity is the mother of creativity, it puts a creative tension in the room.

Stonewall CEO Ruth Hunt has spoken about the advertising’s affinity bias, saying the industry only accommodates certain types of difference. Do you agree?

I think she’s right. It’s human instinct to want something similar reflected back to you and to connect with what makes you feel safe. The evolution is to say ‘I will actively recruit someone who makes me feel uncomfortable.’ You can’t be so uncomfortable you can’t produce anything because you’re too anxious, but you need people who make you think ‘Ok, maybe I haven’t got it right.’ You’ll have better results and better work.

Is that at play with your agencies too, then? For instance, are you asking them to consider diversity when they assemble a team for you?

We’re shooting a new Galaxy ad. I will mandate that it will be a female director because I want that ad seen through the eyes of a woman. Chocolate is mostly bought by women, after all. I would have been very uncomfortable doing that a year ago, but that’s what is needed this time.

The structures you’ve described so far sound flexible. But what about quota systems?

I don’t know about quotas. As a business we believe in promoting the best people for the job and being open to all backgrounds in the selection process. Personally, I oscillate between thinking ‘We’ve just got to do it because we won’t move fast enough without them’ and ‘I don’t want do to them.’ So, it’s a complex topic.

And how do you ensure the work you’ve done around diversity isn’t a one-time thing?

It’s my year of saying yes. I’m speaking at any event I can and we’re entering every award we can to ensure success breeds success. We’re also showing that it works internally, so we’re extending it to work on Snickers and the LGBT community and we’re looking from the gender point-of-view on Galaxy. Really, we’re being as visible with the success as we can.

13631: DDBullying, Bigotry & Bias.

AgencySpy posted on an anti-gay discrimination suit against DDB New York, involving some heinous alleged behavior from an ex-DDB creative director. Once again, it looks like Bob Garfield might have been onto something after all. The post included the following quote from the Gay City News:

“Reading [the complainant’s] factual allegations, it’s amazing that a supervisor behaving the way [the ex-DDB creative director] is alleged to have acted would be tolerated by a socially conscious employer in New York, much less a large advertising agency.”

Newsflash to the Gay City News: Using “socially conscious” and “large advertising agency” in the same sentence demonstrates complete cluelessness on the subject.

Judge Rules That $20 Million Anti-Gay Discrimination Suit Filed Against DDB and Omnicom Can Proceed

By Patrick Coffee

This week saw new developments in a 2015 sexual harassment/discrimination case as the Chief Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled in favor of DDB New York creative director Matthew Christiansen, reversing a previous dismissal of his complaint.

Just under two years ago, Christiansen and his lawyer Susan Chana Lask, Esq. filed suit against DDB and Omnicom, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

The claims specifically regarded former DDB chief digital officer Joe Cianciotto, who was Christiansen’s supervisor when the alleged harassment occurred between 2011 and 2013. According to the complaint, which Lask later described in a LinkedIn post, Cianciotto began making fun of Christiansen’s status as a gay, HIV-positive man directly after he came to work for DDB.

The filing claimed that Cianciotto “drew multiple sexually suggestive and explicit drawings of Christiansen on an office whiteboard” and “accused him of having AIDS” during a meeting with DDB and State Farm employees.

The case was dismissed last year, and both that ruling and this week’s hinged on one issue: whether Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights act, which forbids discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex and national origin,” also inherently extends to sexual orientation.

Just over a year ago, US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla “reluctantly” ruled that the complaint held no merit because it amounted to an attempt to “squeeze the case into the sex stereotype theory,” as reported by New York’s Gay City News. The judge did state that Cianciotto was “openly resentful and hostile toward Plaintiff because of his sexual orientation” but dismissed the complaint because sexual orientation—even in the context of effeminate stereotypes of an openly gay man—does not equal gender.

But Christiansen appealed. And in the new filing, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann wrote, “we reverse the district court’s dismissal of Christiansen’s Title VII claim and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

This means that the case can proceed. From the ruling:

“…we disagree with the district court’s conclusion that Christiansen failed to plausibly allege a Title VII claim based on the … stereotyping theory of sex discrimination articulated in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins.”

The PwC case mentioned involved a (female) senior manager at the firm who was repeatedly described as “macho” and told that she needed to “walk more femininely, talk more femininely, dress more femininely, wear make‐up, have her hair styled, and wear jewelry” in order to increase her chances of becoming a partner. The Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled against PwC in that 1989 case, thereby establishing gender stereotyping as a form of sex discrimination. This week’s ruling held that “The gender stereotyping allegations in Christiansen’s complaint are cognizable under Price Waterhouse and our precedents.”

Omnicom’s argument in court essentially stated that, while the holding company believes discrimination based on sexual orientation should be included in the Title VII law, its absence renders Christiansen’s complaints invalid.

The holding company’s statement:

“While we believe the claims in this individual case are without merit, Omnicom supports any change to the applicable federal law that would extend protection to employees who experience harassment on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Another issue that will almost certainly be addressed in future hearings is the 300 Day Employment Law Statute of Limitations, which requires Title VII charges to be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days of the alleged incidents in question.

Regarding those incidents, the Gay City News wrote last March:

“Reading Christiansen’s factual allegations, it’s amazing that a supervisor behaving the way Cianciotto is alleged to have acted would be tolerated by a socially conscious employer in New York, much less a large advertising agency.”

Several parties have told us since news of the case first broke that Cianciotto apologized and later left DDB to work at Translation—again on the State Farm account.

“The question is, how much longer does Omnicom want to bleed this out?” said Lask when we discussed the case with her this week.

She stated that she intends to deposition various agency leaders to “find out why this happened,” adding, “everyone will be called in.” The initial post mentioned former DDB New York chairman and CEO Peter Hempel (who is no longer employed by Omnicom) and current CEO Chris Brown (who was not in that position when the alleged harassment occurred).

13630: JWTraining Day.

Adweek reported “JWT Is Training Former Underage Sex Workers in India for Careers in Law”—and included a subhead declaring, “School for Justice turns prostitutes into prosecutors.” It would be so fitting if a School for Justice graduate represented Erin Johnson in taking down rape master Gustavo Martinez.

13629: What’s Old Is News.

Advertising Age asked, “After the Rise of ‘Femvertising,’ Is ‘Oldvertising’ the Next Big Thing?” Probably. Just as White women have hijacked the diversity discussion, Old White Guys are primed to follow close behind. And Oldvertising will be followed by LGBTvertising, Disabledvertising and a host of other allegedly marginalized segments—while Multicultural Advertising continues to receive crumbs.

13628: By The Color Of Their Beer…

Advertising Age reported on a Brazilian beer campaign that is celebrating diversity by offering cans in a variety of skin tone colors. Skol even produced a video promoting the concept. Gee, this awful idea isn’t even original, as an agency in Germany pulled an equally dumb move with cola. Brazilian adpeople should just concentrate on creating scam campaigns and landing jobs in U.S. advertising agencies seeking to boost diversity figures.

This Beer Brand Is Celebrating Diversity With Skin-Colored Cans

Campaign Follows Female-Powered ‘Reposter’ Effort

By Ann-Christine Diaz

Brazilian beer Skol has been actively reshaping its brand to become an advocate of inclusivity. Last month, it tapped a group of female artists to reimagine its misogynistic campaigns of old, for modern-day with its “Reposter” campaign. Now, it’s changing up its packaging as a toast to diversity.

Working with its agency F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, the beermaker has debuted Skolors, special-edition cans in a spectrum of skin colors. Consumers can pre-order the set of six cans on the Skol site. The campaign also features a sumptuous, colorful music-video-style film featuring a diverse cast, as well as a social extension that leverages an algorithm that identifies skin colors on profile pictures to allow users to “toast” others through the Skol cans.

To create the campaign, F/Nazca teamed with MOOC, an independent group of young black creative professionals comprising musicians, stylists, filmmakers and more.

13627: Pure Stupidity From NIVEA.

Campaign reported NIVEA is red-faced over a Facebook post that prompted charges of racism by trumpeting: White Is Purity. The skin care company released the following statement:

“We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post. After realising that the post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn.

Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of Nivea. The brand represents diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity.

We value difference. Direct or indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions by, and in all areas of our activities.”

Okey-doke. But this isn’t the first time NIVEA has caught heat for its cultural cluelessness. Just ask Rihanna or any civilized Black man.

Nivea sorry for ‘white is purity’ Facebook ad

By Omar Oakes

Skincare brand Nivea has apologised for running a Facebook ad that ran the tagline “white is purity” and prompted accusations of racism.

The ad, for the Nivea invisible deodorant range, has since been deleted from Facebook.

Nivea, which has 19 million fans on its global Facebook page, was directed to Middle East social media users.

An image of a woman wearing a white bathrobe was accompanied by the tagline “white is purity”. Alongside the image, Nivea posted the message, “Keep it clean, keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, #invisible.

In a statement, Nivea’s owners Beiersdorf said it accepted the post was misleading and was immediately withdrawn in response to “concerns” about ethnic discrimination.

It went on to say, “We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post. After realising that the post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn.

“Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of Nivea. The brand represents diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity.

“We value difference. Direct or indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions by, and in all areas of our activities.”

13626: Neutering The Cannes Lion.

Advertising Age reported diverted diversity dipshits are now requesting that the iconic Cannes Lion be transformed into a gender-neutral trophy. But don’t worry—it will still be an elitist, racist and culturally clueless cat.

Should the Cannes Lion Be Shorn of Half Its Mane?

#CallForEquality Demands a Gender-Neutral Trophy

By Emma Hall

Should the famous Cannes Lion become half lioness in a bid to become a more gender-neutral symbol of success in the industry?

Jose Papa, the new managing director of the Cannes Lions International Festivity of Creativity, has not dismissed the idea out of hand. He has said that he is willing to meet with Richard Pinder, Crispin Porter & Bogusky’s CEO U.K. and International, and Ali Hanan, founder and CEO of gender diversity organization Creative Equals, to discuss their proposal.

Pinder and Hanan sent a package to Mr. Papa, which included a prototype of their suggested new award and a letter that read, “This is not just a design tweak for one year, to be seen to be doing ‘the right thing.’ This is a symbol of change and equality…” The pair suggested that the new statue be “a constant reminder of the power of parity in our industry.”

Mr. Papa is travelling so has not seen the prototype statue, but he responded by email, “Would love to get together to discuss the idea, maybe after I have got this festival out of the way—it’s my first so you can imagine I am snowed under learning the ropes!”

With the festival only 10 weeks away, Mr. Papa added that it was too late for any new initiatives in 2017.

Mark St. Andrew, Cannes’ head of editorial output, also emailed a response to Hanan and Pinder, after he had seen the package. He wrote, “It’s certainly an interesting idea! Naturally we welcome anything that raises the profile of the industry diversity discussion.”

The #CallForEquality campaign has gained traction on social media, including a tweet from gender equality campaigner Cindy Gallop.

13625: Equal Pay, Maybe. Equality, No.

Adweek reported on Doner propaganda staged for Equal Pay Day, whereby the White advertising agency let employees leave work early to highlight the disparity in pay between genders. Based on peeking at the people section of the company website, highlighting the dearth of diversity would require letting the staff take a few weeks off.

Doner Stages an International Walk Out Stunt for Equal Pay Day and Promises to Audit Salaries

All employees will work for 80% of the day

By Patrick Coffee

Global ad agency Doner is using Equal Pay Day as an opportunity to take a stand in support of gender equality as applied to both representation and compensation … while potentially getting a bit of positive press in the process.

Equal Pay Day was created by the U.S.-based National Committee on Pay Equity just over 20 years ago in an effort to demonstrate the gap between average pay rates for men and women in the professional world. The event, which falls on a Tuesday each April to avoid religious holidays and other big cultural events, effectively illustrates “how far into the next work week women must work to earn what men earned the previous week.”

Doner’s stunt, “Exit 3:24,” is simple: Each of Doner’s 500-plus employees around the world will leave the office at 3:24 p.m. after working 80 percent of the day in order to bring attention to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ estimates that women make, on average, 80 percent of the pay awarded to men in similar positions.

The agency made this video to illustrate that fact in the simplest possible way: with children and cupcakes.

In addition to the video and the literal act of walking out, Doner also promises to “commit to a comprehensive wage audit” in the interest of ensuring that its male and female employees are paid fairly for the work they do.

“Our hope is that others will join us in this commitment to making progress on an issue that unreasonably persists across a majority of industries,” said Doner global president and CEO David DeMuth, noting that the project stemmed from an internal survey that identified “fairness” as a potential area for improvement.

Chief integration officer Monica Tysell called it “one step we can collectively take toward advancing diversity and inclusion in our industry,” adding that Doner’s male employees have been some of the project’s “most vocal advocates.”

In another such step, Doner is partnering with The 3% Conference to bring that event to its hometown of Detroit for the first time on May 18. The subject of the discussion that evening will be “the lack of female creative leadership in advertising” and its effects on agencies’ ability to reach what remains “an overwhelmingly female marketplace.”

“Kudos to Doner for committing to equal pay and inviting other agencies to take the pledge to join them,” said a statement from 3% Conference founder Kat Gordon.

In a symbol of solidarity, Doner will also change the O on its Detroit office to the international women’s symbol.

But to what degree is this project consistent with the agency’s own operations?

A spokesperson for Doner’s parent company MDC Partners told Adweek that 40 percent of agency employees at the executive vice president level or higher are women. The agency’s Los Angeles office, led by evp and managing director Zihla Salinas, is currently 65 percent female and 28 percent people of color—and Doner claims to have successfully doubled its minority recruitment efforts over the past three years while raising the number of women hired from 49 percent to 55 percent of its overall total.

Yet Doner itself serves as evidence that there’s work left to be done. The network’s global creative department is currently 38 percent female, and that fact might make its headquarters a particularly fitting home for next month’s 3% Conference event.

13624: Black Like She.

Campaign presented five lessons learned at “Their Truth: The Summit on Black Women in Advertising, Marketing and Media”—a diversity smokescreen sponsored by IPG and The Advertising Club of New York.

First of all, why is it “Their Truth” versus “The Truth”? Is the implication that Black women have a separate version of the truth? Would Kellyanne Conway insist there are alternative facts and alternative truths?

If the advertising industry indeed features fewer than 100 Black female executives—as revealed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—how many people appeared for the event? Heaven forbid Kat Gordon or Cindy Gallop might express outrage over the far-less-than-3% representation of Black women in the C-Suites.

Of course, as the accompanying image depicted above shows, Michael Roth turned the affair into a photo-op that will probably be added to the patronizing propaganda IPG presents to position itself as dedicated to diversity. Perhaps panelists were invited to an after-party hosted by Campbell Ewald in San Antonio.

Campaign could have added a few key takeaways from the event:

6. There’s no room on the White women’s bandwagon for Black women—they don’t even rate a backseat on the bus.

7. For every Black female panelist, there is at least one Black female stereotype in advertising: Aunt Jemima, The Pine-Sol Lady, Annie the Chicken Queen, The Honey Bunches of Oats Lady, Summer’s Eve Talking Vagina, Aunt Flo and Lady Rerun.

8. “Their (Black adwomen’s) Truth” is a result of “Their (White adpeople’s) Lies.”

5 lessons learned about black women in marketing and media

By Kathryn Luttner

IPG and The Advertising Club of New York examine “their truth” at the Paley Center.

The Interpublic Group and The Advertising Club of New York hosted a frank discussion about what it’s like to be a black woman working in marketing and communications at the Paley Center for Media in New York on Monday night. A night of programming billed as “Their Truth: The Summit on Black Women in Advertising, Marketing and Media” tackled the industry’s diversity issues head-on, sharing research about black female leadership and personal stories from industry luminaries about survival and success.

Speakers included advertising veteran Valerie Graves, who read from her book “Pressure makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be,” and a panel discussion moderated by MSNBC’s Joy Reid that included Jocelyn Carter-Miller, president of TechEdVentures and SoulTranSync and IPG board member; Pam El, CMO of the NBA; Vita Harris, chief strategy officer of FCB; Jeanine D. Liburd, EVP of marketing, corporate communications and corporate social responsibility at BET; Lisa Price, SVP, founder and creative director of Carol’s Daughter; and Carol H. Williams, CEO and chief creative officer of Carol H. Williams Advertising.

Here are five key takeaways from the event.

1. Black women are more confident and qualified than white women

Sheryl Sandberg doesn’t need to convince black women to lean in. A study from the Center of Talent Innovation found that women black women are more confident than white women and more likely to hold a graduate degree.

Tai Wingfield, SVP of communications at the organization, kicked off the evening with findings from the 2014 study “Black Women: Ready to Lead.” The non-profit surveyed black and white women employed in white-collar occupations and found that 22 percent of African American women aspire to a powerful position with a prestigious title, compared to just 8 percent of white women. What’s more, they’re 9 percent more likely than white women to hold a graduate degree, with 71 percent earning Master’s degrees and 65 percent earning doctoral degrees. And when black women get promoted, they’re 44 percent more likely than white women to be confident that they can succeed.

“I understand the unique insights we bring to the table as black women, and if our organizations and our clients fail to tap into those insights, we all stand to lose,” Wingfield said.

Black women are doing it all, she added, pointing out that 54 percent of them out-earn their spouses or partners and 43 percent hold leadership roles outside of work, giving back to their communities in the form of mentorship and involvement.

2. “Racism in the workplace isn’t my problem—it’s theirs”

If black women are more confident and more qualified, then why aren’t they running the show? One reason is inherent racism, according to the panelists. Bosses promote talent who look and act like them, which creates a majority of straight, white men in positions of power. But FCB’s Harris advised African American females to not internalize racist experiences, citing an experience from early in her career when her boss asked her to be taken off a piece of business because the client was uncomfortable with her skin color.

“I didn’t see that quite honestly as my problem,” she said, causing the room to erupt in laughter. “One of the things I see often is that young, black women take that on as their problem, and that discourages them, that causes them to exit this industry.”

It’s the company’s responsibility to address those problems, she said. “I always see it as the other person’s problem, so in that particular instance, I asked, ‘What is the company going to do?’” recalled Harris. “What ultimately happened was the agency that I was working for at the time resigned the business. I had to have a voice in that; it didn’t just happen on its own.”

TechEdVentures’ Carter-Miller, who once worked as the CMO of Motorola, reflected the time she was up for a promotion to lead the company’s Latin American division. Rumors flew that her colleagues didn’t think a “tall, black woman” should be considered, which made Carter-Miller confront the sector president and say, “If you have a problem with my qualifications, we can discuss that, but if you have a problem with my packaging, then this is not the company that [I] thought it was nor the company that I want to work for.”

3. Control your emotions or your emotions will control you

Agency founder Williams, however, advised women to take a more tempered approach when dealing with workplace adversaries. She quoted a line from “Star Trek,” in which Spock’s mom said, “Control your emotions, or your emotions will control you.” Her cool-handed approach has served her well over the years, elevating her from “a kid on Chicago’s Southside” to “making millions of dollars” as one of the few black women to run her own eponymous advertising agency.

“In my mind, I’ve knocked the hell out of some people,” she said. “But guess what? They didn’t know it.”

4. Black women need to be invited in

Not only do black women in advertising need to be included in conversations, Carter-Miller pointed out that the black consumer needs to feel wanted, too. “One of the things that always struck me about multicultural marketing,” she said, is “the difference between a black consumer and a white consumer is that black people need to be invited in. We need to feel we’re welcome here. We do.”

Inclusion was the main theme of the night, from the importance of finding a sponsor or mentor to creating a work culture that values diversity. For IPG’s part, CEO Michael Roth said he views diversity events as “recruiting opportunities.” “Frankly, if the industry doesn’t” hire more black women, he said, “we’re going to do it at IPG and use it as a competitive advantage.” With 40 percent of its board members being female, IPG is committed to inviting women, especially black women, in.

5. The biggest lie in advertising is “I can’t find them”

When it came time for audience Q&A, NBA’s El bounced in her seat for the chance to answer the question about what agencies and brands can do to diversify their staffs. Companies need to work harder at finding candidates, she said.

“The problem is CEOs go to used car lots to buy new cars,” she said. “You find the same people who you’ve interviewed before. If you wanted that talent bad enough, you would go find it.

“The sad part is, I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and we’re still talking about diversity 30 years later,” she added. “I believe the biggest lie that’s ever been told in advertising is ‘I can’t find them.’ That is bull.”

13623: Girls Gone Wildlife.

This campaign from India boasts that jeweler P.N. Gadgil & Sons has been creating art since 1832. Okay, but the art in these advertisements seem to be perpetuating the objectification of women—and fair-skinned women to boot.

13622: Gender Equality Exclusivity.

Ads Of The World published the Gender Equality in Advertising collection, featuring the latest diverted diversity designs from all over the planet. The patronizing propaganda is accompanied by the following explanation:

Gender equality is becoming a very popular topic, especially in today’s society. Gender equality focuses on people’s rights and encourages the same opportunity, no matter what gender one may be. Many agencies around the world are ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and creating ads drawing attention to the importance of women and girls, while also informing the public to let their voices be heard. The collection focus on International Women’s Day, the inequality of women across the globe and the overall importance of gender equality, just to name a few.

Hey, when there’s a chance for an award, White advertising agencies suddenly transform into dedicated defenders of diversity. Forget that the advertising industry’s interpretation of gender equality ultimately stifles genuine equality—and even segregates gender via its favoritism for White women. In the end, “gender equality in advertising” is an oxymoron. And it’s becoming a very popular topic changer, especially when the topic of conversation involves true diversity and equality.

13621: Quota Quotes.

Campaign presented a video featuring industry figures promoting the use of quotas to achieve gender equality. While the commentators included a few remarks regarding racial and ethnic diversity, the conversation really centered around jumping on the White women’s bandwagon. Hey, when quotas for racial and ethnic minorities were discussed in 2015, there was not equal enthusiasm for the equality tool. Imagine that.

13620: Dames Of Future Past.

“Creativity’s female future” is Campaign’s collection of 31 female creative trailblazers bound to lead the industry. Um, the predominately White women’s group, including a handful of women of Asian descent, looks a lot like the present—which doesn’t bode well for the future of racial and ethnic minorities.

13619: Seamless & Culturally Clueless.

Adweek spotlighted a Seamless commercial that celebrates the diversity of New York City and its food scene. However, NYC diversity is not reflected by BBH New York, the White advertising agency responsible for the campaign—as well as responsible for perpetuating exclusivity in the industry. Bon Appétit!

13618: Omnicom Hires Black Man.

In a totally unexpected move, Omnicom announced the hiring of a Black man for a C-Suite position within the holding company. The new executive, pictured here, has not yet been officially identified. Plus, Omnicom is still seeking a suitable role for him. He has, however, been known as the hardest-working man in Black advertising for many years.

Omnicom President-CEO and Pioneer of Diversity John Wren gushed, “We’re delighted to welcome a qualified person of color to the organization. Diversity is a priority at Omnicom—despite our steadfast unwillingness to share EEO-1 data with the public.”

“This extraordinary appointment is a win-win,” added Omnicom SVP Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany R. Warren. “Now we’re able to deflect charges of racism and ageism.”

In addition to his extensive advertising experience, the new executive is a doting grandfather and devoted family man.