6869: The Seedy Sides Of Seabrook.

Wanted to spend a minute revisiting the recent revelations involving New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook. The man who has been a key figure in the Madison Avenue diversity drama is suddenly generating headlines for lots of lousy reasons.

In April, The New York Times reported the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and the Council’s Standards and Ethics Committee were investigating Seabrook’s role in helping his sister land a job with Omnicom’s diversity committee. This month, Seabrook is under the microscope for allegedly running shady rental schemes.

So far, the councilman is as quiet as, well, advertising executives ditching a special diversity hearing. Madison Avenue honchos are probably snickering behind closed doors, hatching plenty of chicken-ass-related jokes.

It just goes to the global problem of the industry’s diversity battles being waged by outsiders. After all, Seabrook’s supposed indiscretions only confirm the fact that he’s a stereotypical big city politician. Nepotism, cronyism and real estate scandals are common occurrences in Seabrook’s world.

Does it disqualify the accomplishments Seabrook has made to bring inclusiveness to the industry? Are the statements he uttered and the injustices he exposed any less valid? Should his apparent bad acts negate the deliberate inequities that have infested Madison Avenue for generations?

Hey, nobody has denied the charges against the industry. Au contraire, Dan Wieden admits things are “fucked up,” 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill acknowledges the “dearth of African Americans in middle and senior ranks,” and 4As members declare, “We suck at [diversity].” Nope, Seabrook remains credible and even supported on his Madison Avenue positions.

Would it be better to have a more upstanding citizen on the starting squad? Perhaps. But until the multicultural messiah arrives, we’re forced to back the head huckster.

6868: Project MC Projects Its Voice.

From Adweek.com…

Project MC Talks, Hopes for Action
New initiative will be supported by a social network and plans to approach the ANA

By Andrew McMains

NEW YORK Jo Muse expected a few hours of venting at the launch meeting of Project MC, an initiative designed to define the role and importance of agencies that specialize in marketing to African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics. Instead, said Muse, lead organizer of the initiative, he got a full day’s worth of gripes related to such shops feeling marginalized by clients and general-marketing agencies.

Also, opinions varied among the 23 participants at the spring meeting on key issues such as whether minority shops should regularly compete for general-market assignments. To weigh issues and opinions—and foster a greater sense of community within the group—Project MC is turning to social networking for help. In mid-July, it will start a social-networking group on Ning.com that will feature a blog and enable executives from minority shops to share knowledge, find talent and debate hot-button issues.

“This community that we’re creating is going to be an opportunity for the founders [of Project MC] to articulate points of view, [identify] resources and opportunities and [open things up] to a broader view of people,” said Muse, CEO of Muse Communications, a multicultural shop in Hollywood, Calif.

Social networking “is a good idea,” said Vicky Wong, president of Dae Advertising, an Asian-American shop in San Francisco and a Project MC participant. “How much time people have to engage in that, we’ll have to see.”

In addition, Project MC hopes to meet with executives from the Association of National Advertisers soon to express ongoing concerns about clients cutting back on minority-targeted efforts and general-market shops treading on speciality shop turf.

Project MC includes CEOs from African-American agencies such as UniWorld Group, Carol H. Williams Advertising and Burrell Communications Group; Hispanic shops like The Vidal Partnership and La Agencia de Orci & Asociados; and Asian-American shops such as PanCom International. The group also includes leaders from the American Association of Advertising Agencies and general-market shops Wieden + Kennedy and Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of a minority population surge in America—at the end of 2007, minorities represented 34 percent of the U.S population, up from 30 percent in 2000. Also, the ad industry again finds itself under scrutiny for its relative paucity of African-Americans, this time via civil rights attorney Cyrus Mehri and the NAACP.

A major topic of conversation within Project MC revolves around the pitfalls of being a specialist among generalists and whether specialists should regularly vie for general-market work. Some participants favor the latter, while others argue that you can’t have it both ways, even if general-market shops encroach on minority-market ground.

That said, minority agencies have created work—albeit from minority-market briefs—that has become mainstream. In 2006, for example, Hispanic shop Conill Advertising produced a spot for Toyota that ran on the Super Bowl. Also, spirits marketers from time to time employ minority shops as lead agencies. But those instances are relatively rare.

“If anything, the exceptions suggest that there is a common ground and that [it] isn’t exploited to the degree it could be,” said Muse.

Project MC’s short-term goal is to produce a guide for multicultural shops to most effectively operate in this economy that will be presented at the ANA’s Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in October. Long term, Muse hopes the effort will attract more participants and ignite a dialog that will continue within the Ning.com group.

The bigger challenge, of course, is turning dialog into action. “It’s a good start and I do hope to see some meaningful tactics or actions,” said Wong. “Otherwise, it’s just talk. I don’t think that’s productive. We can always talk at parties. There’s a group together, [so] you want to achieve something.”

6867: Photoshop® Diversity.

Check out boingboing for the diverse details. This is actually similar to the way Madison Avenue shops doctor staffing figures to keep Cyrus Mehri at bay.

6866: Live Report From Cannes? More Like Dead.

Yes We Cannes with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• USA TODAY reported attendance at Cannes is down about 40 percent this year, and entries are off by 20 percent. Hey, if President Obama displayed outrage over CEO bonuses, what will he think about ad honchos lounging in France—especially the wonks hoping to make General Motors’ “critical vendors” list?

• The FTC is preparing to target bloggers who receive compensation for reviews, creating new guidelines to follow. “If you walk into a department store, you know the (sales) clerk is a clerk,” said and FTC official. “Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and … they have an economic motive for what they’re saying, that’s information a consumer should know.” In the meantime, everyone feel free to send money and swag to MultiCultClassics.

• Drugstore chain Walgreen reported fiscal 3Q profits dropped 9 percent. Note to Walgreen accountants: Cymbalta® can help.

• A new study shows great white sharks display many of the same traits as human serial killers. However, the Black sharks will still probably receive harsher sentences.

6865: Catch A Late Flight For Tuskegee Airmen.

From The Los Angeles Times…

L.A. museum honors the Tuskegee Airmen

A long-overdue tribute to pioneering black military pilots features photographs, uniforms and documentaries on the historic WWII unit. It runs at the California African American Museum through Nov. 1.

By Corina Knoll

Flight was always on his mind.

As he plowed soybean fields and chopped cotton in his tiny hometown of Heth, Ark., Jerry Hodges passed the time by imagining himself streaking across the sky in the cockpit of a Navy plane. As a teenager growing up in the 1930s, it seemed an impossible dream. There was no such thing as a black fighter pilot and the Navy was not about to accept its first.

But on Sunday, a gray-haired Hodges regaled a small audience with tales of flying bombers during World War II. The slim 83-year-old earned his wings in 1944 with the U.S. Army Air Corps’ all-black combat unit, known as the Tuskegee Airmen. And now those history-making pilots are featured in the California African American Museum’s latest exhibit, “Tuskegee: The Journey to Flight.”

Running until Nov. 1, the exhibit at the museum in Exposition Park will be supplemented by question-and-answer sessions with members of the Tuskegee Airmen, a paper airplane workshop, a theatrical performance and other programs.

Gathering the artifacts to display proved to be a challenge, said Tiffini Bowers, who curated the exhibit along with Dr. Christopher Jimenez Y West. Pilots have passed away and their belongings have been lost; items that are now coveted were not valued in the era of segregation.

“That’s because of the time period it took place,” Bowers said. “People were not of the mind-set that, ‘We need to save this, and this is historic and should be in a museum.’ Some of the Tuskegee Airmen’s efforts were underappreciated.”

Among the relics on display are olive-drab uniforms, giant replicas of squadron badges, pilot logs yellowed with age, and a royal-blue flight simulation plane, known among airmen as “the Blue Box.” Also on hand are original letters between pilot Cecil Peterson and Eleanor Roosevelt, who had been a supporter of the program. “Your letters and gifts have been very inspiring and have prompted me to try to be a better soldier,” Peterson wrote in green ink to the first lady on July 7, 1942.

Museum visitors Yvonne Pope, 37, and Michael Lockett, 36, said they were inspired after seeing the stories of the thousands who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The couple, on a weekend getaway from Sacramento, had stopped by the museum and browsed the exhibit for an hour before starting the drive back home.

Pope said the displays made her proud of her African American heritage and noted that the Tuskegee Airmen were not in her history books.

“It’s really profound,” she said. “You never see these pictures and it’s not spoken of that often.”

Lockett added, “It’s like the hidden truth.”

When 2nd Lt. Hodges entered the dimly lit room—decades after he had first dreamed of becoming a pilot—he leaned heavily on his cane and surveyed the model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, the giant black-and-white photos on the walls and the flat-screen TVs continuously playing documentaries.

“This is rather nice,” he said, slowly making his way to a photo of a group of pilots who received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest expression of national appreciation awarded by Congress.

Now a Los Angeles resident with 16 great-grandchildren, Hodges has outlived many of his comrades. Such a tribute, he said, was long overdue.

6864: Gorilla Marketing.

Did the NBC “We The People” series on Latino culture cover Moco de Gorila® hair styling products? Made in Mexico, the “gorilla snot” provides a powerful hold. It makes “There’s Something About Mary” seem almost tame.

6863: Recession-Proof Not Proven.

This actual craigslist ad offers employment opportunities in a recession-proof industry. Not so fast, Mr. Facts Fluffer. Reports indicate that profits are going limp in the adult marketplace too. Plus, Advertising Age cited a study showing brand loyalty is eroding during the economic crisis. Will consumers also proceed to purchase generic lubricants, dildos and butt plugs? It’s only a matter of time, good citizens.

Opportunity Knocking With Adult Wholesale Company
Reply to: job-yft3u-1232195136@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-06-21, 8:28AM CDT

We have been providing online retailers, home party reps and brick-and-mortar businesses with an amazing selection of products for the past 7 years. Each year has been better than the past and this year promises to be another successful one! If you are interested in becoming part of a recession-proof industry with exploding growth potential, you found the right company!

6862: Relivin’ La Vida Loca.

At The Big Tent, Laura Martinez wonders about the recent NBC “We The People” series that focused on Latino culture in the United States. The program presented many of the usual suspects—from Ricky Ricardo to Gloria Estefan to Shakira to Dora the Explorer—to show how Latinos are “changing the face of America.” Technically, Dora is changing the cartoon face of America. Wonder if the series paid homage to Terminator’s “Hasta la vista, baby,” or Bart Simpson’s “¡Ay, caramba!” Madison Avenue has certainly chipped in cultural contributions with the Frito Bandito and Taco Bell’s Mariachi Band—the former created by FCB and the latter by Draftfcb. Anyway, check out Martinez’s perspective here.

6861: Everyone’s A Hustler.

Kicking it with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A California cop initially gained semi-positive notoriety when videotaped kicking a gang member in the head after a high-speed chase. Then it was revealed that the officer also runs a business on the side—selling “authentic jailhouse wear” online. The clothing includes t-shirts with gang symbols. Maybe he was kicking the banger after he failed to pay for some gear.

• Um, haven’t the fast feeders learned their lessons regarding free food giveaways?

6860: Enforcing Diversity.

From The Los Angeles Times...

All the colors that make blue
Police Academy graduation spotlights changes in the department since the arrival of Chief William J. Bratton.

By Sandy Banks

It had the hallmarks of a typical graduation ceremony—awards, speeches and hordes of excited families.

But these graduates were not in caps and gowns. They wore blue uniforms, white gloves and holstered guns.

And from my vantage point on the Police Academy lawn, the 44 cadets who graduated into the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday looked impressively tough—and impossibly young.

At the morning ceremony, I was invited to join the procession of officials passing down the row of cadets, checking the “function and lubrication” of each graduate’s gun. But I looked past the Glocks and into their eyes, studying the name tags pinned to their chests.

Sosa and Singh, Doherty and DelGado, Maynard, Moya and Vaidhayakul.

I heard accents that tied some to foreign countries. And saw a hint of street swagger in some of their marches.

There were veterans with military ribbons. And diminutive women, hair tucked under their caps, with “Sharpshooter” badges.

Some came to the LAPD straight out of college. Others left careers to join: accountant, musician, locomotive conductor. One—the wife of a cop—was 34. A young man from Florida had just turned 21.

And for all we joke dismissively about the “melting pot,” it was a pleasure to see, through their ranks, what our city—and our police force—has become.

Read the full story here…

6859: House Music.

From The New York Times…

Music in the (White) House

By Rush & Molloy

White House social secretary Desirée Rogers is firing back at critics who think the Obamas are letting pop culture cheapen the presidential residence.

The administration took some heat when it recently let Mariah Carey’s husband, Nick Cannon, use the North Lawn to tout “America’s Got Talent.” But Rogers tells us, “The President wants the White House to be a stage.

“We want Americans feeling they’re part of the house,” the stylish Rogers told us at a gathering of the Creative Coalition this week.

The Obamas’ populism — and this woeful economy — explain why they’ve chosen to host fewer grand state dinners and more public events where children are invited.

“It’s great to see a performance there,” she said. “It is more than great when you’re also teaching.”

On Monday, Wynton Marsalis was there teaching jazz. On July 21, the subject will be country music.

The Obamas dig country?

“They like all kinds of music,” said Rogers, who promised classical and Latin will follow.

And, since the White House screening room has only 42 seats, she said, “We might have a big screen on the lawn.”

Rogers, who schmoozed with a Coalition crowd that included Dana Delany, Tim Daly, Rocco Landesman and designer Nanette Lepore, said she was told the black-tie crowd at state dinners would never dance.

“So we got Earth, Wind and Fire,” said Rogers, the first African-American to hold the job. “And by the end, they were doing a conga line.”

6858: Give The Gift Of Meat.

Nothing like heading to the slaughterhouse to find the perfect gift for Dad.

6857: Bermuda Short.

Don’t expect Jim Edwards of BNET to get invited to Bermuda anytime soon. Ditto Southfield, Michigan, the home of Globalhue. Edwards continues to report on the alleged scandals surrounding Globalhue and the Bermuda Tourism account. In the latest news, Bermuda’s former auditor declared it’s a “fact” that Globalhue overbilled the client, and he hinted at “possible criminal activity.” Let’s hope it doesn’t involve New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook.

6856: Beef And Bull.

Digesting the news with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Mickey D’s is primed to launch its Anus Angus Burger, the third-pound slab of beef on a bun. Um, isn’t the fast feeder a little slow to market with this product? At this point, even Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are probably offering Angus burgers.

• Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, seeking to end the controversy ignited by Republicans, ended her membership with a women’s club. Let’s hope Sotomayor was never a Girl Scout. Regardless, the move should accelerate her admission into the Supreme Boy’s Club.

6855: Knight Shift.

This actual craigslist ad seeks Free Lance Artists. Volunteer knights with jousting skills are encouraged to apply.

Free Lance Artists (Illinois)

Reply to: job-hyrhj-1229350613@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-06-19, 10:19AM CDT

Free Lance artist we are a textile print shop in Northern Illinois seeking creative graphics related to the motorcycle (biker) market place. We are looking to market creative V twin, biker, motorcycle, Gothic-related designs. Designs should be creative and able to print in one or two colors either full back with a left chest or a full front. Designs can be related to appeal to one or either sex. We need designs for women and others that would be considered unisex and also those directed towards men. We are willing to purchase the art. All design MUST be original concepts. Vectored art in CS2 is preferred or more detailed art in Photoshop can also be used. If you have a really kick-ass design we want to talk to you. We plan to run several designs in the next month—why not make some money with us? Thanks for looking. If interested send me a sample of your work or a letter of interest and we can discuss your work.

6854: iLove iPhone, iHate AT&T.

Here’s another reason why there’s a growing hate for AT&T. USA TODAY presented a story on the recent Senate panel exploring the impact of the exclusivity deals like AT&T’s iPhone monopoly.


But when visitors click on the headline for the full story, they are first greeted with an annoying ad brought to you by—you guessed it—AT&T.

6853: Old News.

Aging gracefully with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Supreme Court made it more difficult to succeed with age-bias lawsuits after overturning a jury award originally won by a 54-year-old employee who was demoted. The court ruling declared employees bear the full burden of proving that age was the deciding reason for dismissal or demotion. Better break out the Just For Men hair dye, guys.

• KFC is facing a lawsuit over the grilled chicken promotion gone awry, with angry customers charging the fast feeder with false advertising, fraud, unfair business practices and more. In the United States, it’s easier to get away with ageism than bungled free chicken dinners.

• Miami is about to name its first Black Fire Chief. Maurice Kemp, who has been the deputy chief since 1999, is a 24-year department veteran who worked his way up the ranks. Hey, how come Tubbs never got promoted after all his years of service on Miami Vice?

6852: Senate Says, “Sorry, Slaves.”

From The New York Daily News…

U.S. Senate apologizes for slavery

By Michael Mcauliff

Daily News Washington Bureau

Washington — The U.S. Congress is saying sorry for slavery.

The Senate voted unanimously Thursday for a resolution acknowledging “the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws,” which authorized the segregation that followed the Civil War.

If the House passes a similar measure next week, as expected, it would mark the highest official mea culpa for the hundreds of years of discrimination that had been enshrined by the Constitution and courts.

“Slavery and Jim Crow, and their continuing consequences, are not the historical baggage of one state, one region or one company,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the resolution’s sponsor. “They are an enduring national shame.”

Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had both expressed remorse for slavery. And Congress has recognized other injustices, such as the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

“No one pretends that a mere apology — or any words — can right the wrongs of the past,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “But it represents our recognition of that past and our commitment to more fully live up to our nation’s promise.”

The measure does have one caveat. It says it doesn’t imply support for paying reparations.

6851: Lunchbox News.

Jamming with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• J.M. Smucker reported fiscal 4Q profits more than doubled, citing the 2008 acquisition of Folgers coffee. Or maybe the lousy economy has more Americans drinking cheap joe and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

• The Brooksville City Council in Florida passed a new employee dress code mandating that city workers wear underwear and use deodorant. The measure also prohibits exposed underwear, clothing featuring foul language and piercings anywhere except the ears. Not sure how the rules will be enforced, and don’t really want to know.

6850: Seabrook Is Fishy.

Great. The New York Times is reporting that New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook—a key figure in the diversity drama with Madison Avenue advertising agencies—is now being investigated for shady rental schemes. Let’s hope he’s not involved with the new Ogilvy headquarters.

Subpoenas Issued to Landlords Who Rented to Councilman

By Ray Rivera

Federal investigators have begun issuing subpoenas to landlords who leased space to City Councilman Larry B. Seabrook and several nonprofit groups closely linked to him after a published report last week that the groups had billed New York City more than $100,000 in inflated rent payments.

At least one of the landlords confirmed receiving a subpoena this week from the Justice Department but said he was instructed not to discuss it.

“I got it, that’s all I can say,” said Herb Brooks, who leases a building at 3687 White Plains Road in the Bronx and sublets it to Mr. Seabrook for his City Council district office and for nonprofit groups linked to him.

The New York Times reported last week that in at least two cases, Mr. Seabrook rented buildings from landlords at one price and struck side deals with the landlords to share the space, for an additional fee, with a nonprofit organization he founded. The organization, the African-American Bronx Unity Day Parade Inc., then sublet the space at far higher rates to three other nonprofit groups that were run by the councilman’s associates and funded through his Council discretionary funds, city records and interviews showed. Two of the nonprofit groups also billed the city for a building they did not occupy.

From July 2004 through March 2007, the city paid more than $156,900 in rent reimbursements for space that cost the parade organization only $40,000 to rent, The Times found.

Mr. Brooks, for example, said Mr. Seabrook personally arranged a deal with him in 2005 to rent part of the building at $30,000 a year for his district office to be paid directly by the City Council, and to use the remaining space for nonprofit groups for an additional $10,000 a year.

But city records show that two nonprofit groups, the Northeast Bronx Redevelopment Corporation and the African-American Legal and Civic Hall of Fame, submitted invoices to the city indicating they had paid $72,000 a year, on top of the $30,000 paid by the Council. The invoices listed the African-American Bronx Unity Day Parade as the landlord. Mr. Brooks said he had nothing to do with the city billings and only received the $40,000 he billed directly to Mr. Seabrook.

A lawyer for another landlord said he could not discuss whether his client had been subpoenaed. A third landlord said she had not yet been contacted by the authorities.

The subpoenas appear to be an expansion of an investigation underway by the city’s Department of Investigation and the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, which have been looking into the spending practices of nonprofit groups that receive money through the City Council and other government agencies. The inquiry has led to the arrests of two Council aides and two nonprofit officials, but has not implicated any council member. Both agencies declined comment on Wednesday, and calls to Mr. Seabrook’s office were not returned.

Russ Buettner contributed reporting.