MultiCultClassics Minutes for Mature Audiences…
• Ford Motor Company will run advertising in gay publications after all, reversing an earlier decision to cut the media. “It is my hope that this will remove any ambiguity about Ford’s desire to advertise to all important audiences and put this particular issue to rest,” wrote a company official. Great, now the automaker can resume submitting press releases about the impending layoffs of 30,000 employees.
• Nova Iguacu, a small city in Brazil, may create a law requiring public places to create a third restroom for transvestites. “A lot of lawmakers didn’t want to deal with this issue, but it’s a serious problem in society,” said Councilman Carlos Eduardo Moreira. It may also be a serious problem for the graphic designer who must create an icon to post on the restroom doors.
• The Wendy’s Chili Finger Couple had their sentencing delayed because of an incomplete probation report. Perhaps the report was missing a finger.
• Four Minnesota Vikings players were charged for participating in the infamous October 6 party boat scandal. News reports listed the various lewd acts. Moe Williams got a lap dance. Bryant McKinnie performed oral sex with a woman on a bar. Fred Smoot used sex toys on two women. And quarterback Daunte Culpepper received a lap dance from a naked woman. No word yet if backup quarterback Brad Johnson ultimately replaced Culpepper in this game too.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Essay 281
The following appeared in newspapers nationwide...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pryor’s flawed legacy
Comedian’s vulgarity made him no role model
by Stanley Crouch
Richard Pryor's world was filled with prostitutes, pimps, winos and those others of undesirable ilk.
This past Saturday Richard Pryor left this life and bequeathed to our culture as much darkness as he did the light his extraordinary talent made possible.
When we look at the remarkable descent this culture has made into smut, contempt, vulgarity and the pornographic, those of us who are not willing to drink the Kool-Aid marked “all’s well,” will have to address the fact that it was the combination of confusion and comic genius that made Pryor a much more negative influence than a positive one.
I do not mean positive in the way Bill Cosby was when his television show redefined situation comedy by turning away from all of the stereotypes of disorder and incompetence that were then and still are the basic renditions of black American life in our mass media.
Richard Pryor was not that kind of a man. His was a different story.
Pryor was troubled and he had seen things that so haunted him that the comedian found it impossible to perform and ignore the lower-class shadow worlds he had known so well, filled with pimps, prostitutes, winos and abrasive types of one sort or another.
The vulgarity of his material, and the idea a “real” black person was a foul-mouthed type was his greatest influence. It was the result of seeing the breaking of “white” convention as a form of “authentic” definition.
Pryor reached for anything that would make white America uncomfortable and would prop up a smug belief among black Americans that they were always “more cool” and more ready to “face life” than the members of majority culture.
Along the way, Pryor made too many people feel that the N word was open currency and was more accurate than any other word used to describe or address a black person.
In the dung piles of pimp and gangster rap we hear from slime meisters like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, the worst of Pryor’s influence has been turned into an aspect of the new minstrelsy in which millions of dollars are made by “normalizing” demeaning imagery and misogyny.
What is so unfortunate is that the heaviest of Pryor’s gifts was largely ignored by so many of those who praised the man when he was alive and are now in the middle of deifying him.
The pathos and the frailty of the human soul alone in the world or insecure or looking for something of meaning in a chaotic environment was a bit too deep for all of the simpleminded clowns like Andrew Dice Clay or those who thought that mere ethnicity was enough to define one as funny, like the painfully square work of Paul Rodriguez.
Of course, Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam is the ultimate coon show update of human cesspools, where “cutting edge” has come to mean traveling ever more downward in the sewer.
In essence, Pryor stunned with his timing, his rhythm, his ability to stand alone and fill the stage with three-dimensional characters through his remarkably imaginative gift for an epic sweep of mimicry.
That nuanced mimicry crossed ethnic lines, stretched from young to old, and gave poignancy to the comedian’s revelations about the hurts and the terrors of life.
The idea of “laughing to keep from crying” was central to his work and has been diligently avoided by those who claim to owe so much to him.
As he revealed in his last performance films, Pryor understood the prison he had built for himself and the shallow definitions that smothered his audience’s understanding of the humanity behind his work.
But, as they say, once the barn door has been opened, you cannot get all of the animals to return by whistling. So we need to understand the terrible mistakes this man of comic genius made and never settle for a standard that is less than what he did at his very best, which was as good as it has ever gotten.
Originally published on December 12, 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pryor’s flawed legacy
Comedian’s vulgarity made him no role model
by Stanley Crouch
Richard Pryor's world was filled with prostitutes, pimps, winos and those others of undesirable ilk.
This past Saturday Richard Pryor left this life and bequeathed to our culture as much darkness as he did the light his extraordinary talent made possible.
When we look at the remarkable descent this culture has made into smut, contempt, vulgarity and the pornographic, those of us who are not willing to drink the Kool-Aid marked “all’s well,” will have to address the fact that it was the combination of confusion and comic genius that made Pryor a much more negative influence than a positive one.
I do not mean positive in the way Bill Cosby was when his television show redefined situation comedy by turning away from all of the stereotypes of disorder and incompetence that were then and still are the basic renditions of black American life in our mass media.
Richard Pryor was not that kind of a man. His was a different story.
Pryor was troubled and he had seen things that so haunted him that the comedian found it impossible to perform and ignore the lower-class shadow worlds he had known so well, filled with pimps, prostitutes, winos and abrasive types of one sort or another.
The vulgarity of his material, and the idea a “real” black person was a foul-mouthed type was his greatest influence. It was the result of seeing the breaking of “white” convention as a form of “authentic” definition.
Pryor reached for anything that would make white America uncomfortable and would prop up a smug belief among black Americans that they were always “more cool” and more ready to “face life” than the members of majority culture.
Along the way, Pryor made too many people feel that the N word was open currency and was more accurate than any other word used to describe or address a black person.
In the dung piles of pimp and gangster rap we hear from slime meisters like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, the worst of Pryor’s influence has been turned into an aspect of the new minstrelsy in which millions of dollars are made by “normalizing” demeaning imagery and misogyny.
What is so unfortunate is that the heaviest of Pryor’s gifts was largely ignored by so many of those who praised the man when he was alive and are now in the middle of deifying him.
The pathos and the frailty of the human soul alone in the world or insecure or looking for something of meaning in a chaotic environment was a bit too deep for all of the simpleminded clowns like Andrew Dice Clay or those who thought that mere ethnicity was enough to define one as funny, like the painfully square work of Paul Rodriguez.
Of course, Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam is the ultimate coon show update of human cesspools, where “cutting edge” has come to mean traveling ever more downward in the sewer.
In essence, Pryor stunned with his timing, his rhythm, his ability to stand alone and fill the stage with three-dimensional characters through his remarkably imaginative gift for an epic sweep of mimicry.
That nuanced mimicry crossed ethnic lines, stretched from young to old, and gave poignancy to the comedian’s revelations about the hurts and the terrors of life.
The idea of “laughing to keep from crying” was central to his work and has been diligently avoided by those who claim to owe so much to him.
As he revealed in his last performance films, Pryor understood the prison he had built for himself and the shallow definitions that smothered his audience’s understanding of the humanity behind his work.
But, as they say, once the barn door has been opened, you cannot get all of the animals to return by whistling. So we need to understand the terrible mistakes this man of comic genius made and never settle for a standard that is less than what he did at his very best, which was as good as it has ever gotten.
Originally published on December 12, 2005
Essay 280
MultiCultClassics Minutes whips out Wednesday Wonders…
• Dave Chappelle was a no-show on Chappelle’s Show. Now his former manager is saying, “Show me the money!” Chappelle is being sued for nearly $1 million by the ex-manager, who claims he helped the comedian climb to the top. Wonder if the inevitable trial will play on Comedy Central or CourtTV.
• Europeans expressed outrage over the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. Austria was particularly testy, despite being the native country of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Damn, the man can’t even get respect from his own peeps.
• Ed Lover, a hip-hop radio DJ from New York, punched a woman in a trendy nightclub — sending the fly girl flying with a facial wound that required 20 stitches. Guess he’s a fighter, not a lover.
• Wal-Mart fired the store manager who called sheriff’s deputies when a Black businessman tried to buy $13,600 worth of gift cards (see Essay 262). Company officials stated the termination resulted from “poor judgment and poor customer service.” Aren’t “poor judgment and poor customer service” integral to the Wal-Mart experience?
• Dave Chappelle was a no-show on Chappelle’s Show. Now his former manager is saying, “Show me the money!” Chappelle is being sued for nearly $1 million by the ex-manager, who claims he helped the comedian climb to the top. Wonder if the inevitable trial will play on Comedy Central or CourtTV.
• Europeans expressed outrage over the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. Austria was particularly testy, despite being the native country of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Damn, the man can’t even get respect from his own peeps.
• Ed Lover, a hip-hop radio DJ from New York, punched a woman in a trendy nightclub — sending the fly girl flying with a facial wound that required 20 stitches. Guess he’s a fighter, not a lover.
• Wal-Mart fired the store manager who called sheriff’s deputies when a Black businessman tried to buy $13,600 worth of gift cards (see Essay 262). Company officials stated the termination resulted from “poor judgment and poor customer service.” Aren’t “poor judgment and poor customer service” integral to the Wal-Mart experience?
Essay 279
A blogger in Florida responds to Hadji Williams’ Talent Zoo column. Then some dude from India responds. Then Hadji responds. Then MultiCultClassics responds (though it remains to be seen if the blogger accepts the comments).
Respond by clicking on the essay title to join the dialogue.
Respond by clicking on the essay title to join the dialogue.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Essay 278
The Tuesday Ticker with MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• Stanley Tookie Williams was executed at 12:35 am by lethal injection. Officials allegedly had difficulty finding a vein in his muscular arm, but ultimately managed to do the deed. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could not manage to grant clemency, as he allegedly had difficulty finding just cause. “Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption.” Hasta la vista, baby.
• Time Inc. told 105 employees their time is up. The company cuts affected all levels, including executive VPs. Probably not quite the holiday bonus folks were hoping to get. However, they are still eligible to receive twelve bonus issues with each subscription renewal.
• Ford Motor Company met with gay and lesbian organizations unhappy over the automaker’s decision to cease advertising in gay publications. No details on the results of the conference. But don’t look for the Queer Eye team to choose a Ford Explorer for their new ride anytime soon.
• Associated Press research revealed Blacks are 79 percent more likely than Whites to reside in areas where industrial pollution can make you sick. However, moving Blacks to areas where Whites reside can make people sick too.
• Of the 7.9 million immigrants to arrive in the United States since 2000, 3.7 million entered illegally. Why is it possible to count these folks, but impossible to counter them?
• Australian Prime Minister John Howard denied that the problems and riots facing his country are rooted in racism. Right, folks are just protesting the unequal distribution of Vegamite. Or the continued presence of Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin.
• President George W. Bush denied that the problems involving the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are rooted in racism. “You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist,” Bush said. Wow, what an irresistible offer.
• Stanley Tookie Williams was executed at 12:35 am by lethal injection. Officials allegedly had difficulty finding a vein in his muscular arm, but ultimately managed to do the deed. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could not manage to grant clemency, as he allegedly had difficulty finding just cause. “Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption.” Hasta la vista, baby.
• Time Inc. told 105 employees their time is up. The company cuts affected all levels, including executive VPs. Probably not quite the holiday bonus folks were hoping to get. However, they are still eligible to receive twelve bonus issues with each subscription renewal.
• Ford Motor Company met with gay and lesbian organizations unhappy over the automaker’s decision to cease advertising in gay publications. No details on the results of the conference. But don’t look for the Queer Eye team to choose a Ford Explorer for their new ride anytime soon.
• Associated Press research revealed Blacks are 79 percent more likely than Whites to reside in areas where industrial pollution can make you sick. However, moving Blacks to areas where Whites reside can make people sick too.
• Of the 7.9 million immigrants to arrive in the United States since 2000, 3.7 million entered illegally. Why is it possible to count these folks, but impossible to counter them?
• Australian Prime Minister John Howard denied that the problems and riots facing his country are rooted in racism. Right, folks are just protesting the unequal distribution of Vegamite. Or the continued presence of Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin.
• President George W. Bush denied that the problems involving the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are rooted in racism. “You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist,” Bush said. Wow, what an irresistible offer.
Welcome, New and Old Readers.
Welcome to MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com
The blog launched in March 2005. The initial goal was to spark discussions and debates about multiculturalism in the advertising industry — including all the good, bad and ugly complexities and contradictions.
Admittedly, there wasn’t a master plan or long-term strategy. Just decided to begin typing and see where it might go.
Many essays and months later, the plan is no clearer. The strategy is being reworked daily too.
Nonetheless, the conversation continues — despite the fact that it’s more of a monologue versus dialogue.
Here’s what MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com offers you:
If you’re deep into the multicultural advertising scene, this is the place for relatable, relevant insights and more. It’s all the stuff you’d toss around the virtual water cooler.
If you’re semi-clueless to the world outside of your personal universe, this is the place for you as well. One deliberate tactic here is to expose the masses to progressive, 21st century diversity. It’s not something exclusive to the human resources department. Think of the blog as delivering a recommended daily allowance of culture.
Please read the blog starting at Essay One (click on the essay title). You’re encouraged to agree or disagree with anything posted.
Please visit often. Admission is free. Open to the public 24 hours a day.
Finally, please share the blog with everyone you know. It works best with an inclusive spirit.
Click on the essay title and join the revolution.
The blog launched in March 2005. The initial goal was to spark discussions and debates about multiculturalism in the advertising industry — including all the good, bad and ugly complexities and contradictions.
Admittedly, there wasn’t a master plan or long-term strategy. Just decided to begin typing and see where it might go.
Many essays and months later, the plan is no clearer. The strategy is being reworked daily too.
Nonetheless, the conversation continues — despite the fact that it’s more of a monologue versus dialogue.
Here’s what MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com offers you:
If you’re deep into the multicultural advertising scene, this is the place for relatable, relevant insights and more. It’s all the stuff you’d toss around the virtual water cooler.
If you’re semi-clueless to the world outside of your personal universe, this is the place for you as well. One deliberate tactic here is to expose the masses to progressive, 21st century diversity. It’s not something exclusive to the human resources department. Think of the blog as delivering a recommended daily allowance of culture.
Please read the blog starting at Essay One (click on the essay title). You’re encouraged to agree or disagree with anything posted.
Please visit often. Admission is free. Open to the public 24 hours a day.
Finally, please share the blog with everyone you know. It works best with an inclusive spirit.
Click on the essay title and join the revolution.
Essay 277
Marketing y Medios, the Hispanic marketing magazine from the publishers of Adweek, never fails to deliver interesting material. The December 2005 issue features an interview with Graham Hall, Chief Insights Officer at The Bravo Group.
Hall has worked in research, planning and brand development since 1983, playing on the client and agency sides in the U.K. and U.S. He founded youth brand agency Informer in the 1990s, focusing on 15- to 30-year-olds. The Bravo Group hired Hall around September 2005.
Hall is an anomaly in his new position. Mostly because he’s an Englishman who just started learning to speak Spanish. While he acknowledges the controversies of his appointment, he also makes statements that might fuel criticism.
For example, when asked about his lack of linguistic fluency, Hall says, “It takes [more] years to get the expertise in strategic planning than it does to learn how to speak Spanish.” Perhaps, but some might argue that mastering a language is not nearly as complex as understanding the meanings behind and beyond the spoken words. There’s serious immersion involved in honing these skills.
Some of Hall’s most provocative comments are left dangling for details. When probed on the challenges of Hispanic marketing, he offers, “A lot of the issues troubling this market are based on hegemony and vested interest.” Unfortunately, Hall sidesteps any deeper explanations.
When discussing the changes needed for progress, Hall proclaims, “Take away this whole Hispanic overlayer. [We] would move a lot more quickly if we get out of this idea that there is an Anglo market and a Hispanic market.” Let’s hope he didn’t mean for this notion to be taken literally.
Regardless of how you interpret the interview, Hall represents a unique twist in the category. Sadly, he’s discovering things that multicultural specialists already know too well — from inferior budgets to superior general market agencies. And his observations about the culture are hardly revolutionary. But maybe Hall’s outsider status can provide others with a fresh perspective. Time will tell.
Read Hall’s dialogue and decide for yourself. To view the interview, click on the essay title or simply continue scrolling.
--------------------------------------------------
The interview
Graham Hall
Born and raised in England, Graham Hall only recently began taking Spanish lessons, after landing at Young & Rubicam’s The Bravo Group this summer as chief insights officer, a newly created position. Prior to joining the New York-based shop, he ran Informer, a brand development firm in London. Marketing y Medios’ Mariana Lemann spoke with Hall about strategizing for the U.S. Hispanic Market.
Q: Chief insights officer? What does that mean?
A: You have to ask [Bravo chairman and CEO] Gary Bassell. Y&R has a chief insights officer, so we probably just got [the title] from there. The idea behind it is that Bassell wants Bravo to be planning-centric. One of our main goals is to elevate planning in the Hispanic agency and in the Hispanic world. He wants to make planning part of the decision-making, not just a department.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you face as a planner?
A: The U.S. Hispanic market, the second largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world, [has] fairly rudimentary marketing techniques. A lot of the issues troubling this market are based on hegemony and vested interest.
Q: Vested interest?
A: I don’t want to paint a picture of anything sinister going on. At least, within the Hispanic market, there is a good reason to question how we think about consumers.
Q: Do you think there is a misperception about consumers?
A: I am talking about how we define Hispanics: By country of origin? Who they think they are? What language they speak? It is actually more complicated than that. It is the same way in the general market. We put too much emphasis on income level and educational experience. From those definitions, an awful lot is assumed of somebody, but that is too simplistic. More controversial is that the Hispanic market is still patronized; there are a lot of assumptions in the general market of the less sophisticated audience, which isn’t true. But there is also the assumption that because you are Hispanic you are [all] the same. Good marketing addresses primal needs.
Q: So what needs to change?
A: Take away this whole Hispanic overlayer. [We] would move a lot more quickly if we get out of this idea that there is an Anglo market and a Hispanic market. There are markets full of consumers, and we have to start developing techniques and specialties that understand the various needs of the consumer.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the barriers to the best practices?
A: Clients are beginning to realize and allocate higher budgets, but they’ve got to start having much more of a dialogue with all their agencies and align their Hispanic agencies to contribute more to the general marketing strategy of their brands. The Hispanic agency has to be at the beginning to contribute to the strategy.
Q: Do you find any resistance from the people you work with?
A: Yes. I still see a [skeptical] mentality in general-market agencies. The clients are more aware of the numbers than general-market agencies. I still talk to my [former] colleagues and they are not aware of why I moved to the Hispanic market. They think it is a small, marginalized audience.
Q: How do people react to the fact that you don't speak Spanish?
A: Obviously there is a debate [about] me coming to Bravo. It takes [more] years to get the expertise in strategic planning than it does to learn how to speak Spanish. I am not a woman, but I can market to women. You can generally come up with a great strategy regardless of whom you are talking to.
Q: You said recently that the Hispanic market is not the melting-pot model. What is it then?
A: If you imagine a big pot and you have some ingredients, then you add some more ingredients, the flavor will change gradually. America's culture is being inundated with Hispanic culture to the degree to which the nature of the meal has changed dramatically. This is a torrent of ingredients in a short space of time. The melting pot idea assumes that the status quo remains constant and that is not what is going to be happening here. The status quo is changing because of the scale of the influx of new culture.
Hall has worked in research, planning and brand development since 1983, playing on the client and agency sides in the U.K. and U.S. He founded youth brand agency Informer in the 1990s, focusing on 15- to 30-year-olds. The Bravo Group hired Hall around September 2005.
Hall is an anomaly in his new position. Mostly because he’s an Englishman who just started learning to speak Spanish. While he acknowledges the controversies of his appointment, he also makes statements that might fuel criticism.
For example, when asked about his lack of linguistic fluency, Hall says, “It takes [more] years to get the expertise in strategic planning than it does to learn how to speak Spanish.” Perhaps, but some might argue that mastering a language is not nearly as complex as understanding the meanings behind and beyond the spoken words. There’s serious immersion involved in honing these skills.
Some of Hall’s most provocative comments are left dangling for details. When probed on the challenges of Hispanic marketing, he offers, “A lot of the issues troubling this market are based on hegemony and vested interest.” Unfortunately, Hall sidesteps any deeper explanations.
When discussing the changes needed for progress, Hall proclaims, “Take away this whole Hispanic overlayer. [We] would move a lot more quickly if we get out of this idea that there is an Anglo market and a Hispanic market.” Let’s hope he didn’t mean for this notion to be taken literally.
Regardless of how you interpret the interview, Hall represents a unique twist in the category. Sadly, he’s discovering things that multicultural specialists already know too well — from inferior budgets to superior general market agencies. And his observations about the culture are hardly revolutionary. But maybe Hall’s outsider status can provide others with a fresh perspective. Time will tell.
Read Hall’s dialogue and decide for yourself. To view the interview, click on the essay title or simply continue scrolling.
--------------------------------------------------
The interview
Graham Hall
Born and raised in England, Graham Hall only recently began taking Spanish lessons, after landing at Young & Rubicam’s The Bravo Group this summer as chief insights officer, a newly created position. Prior to joining the New York-based shop, he ran Informer, a brand development firm in London. Marketing y Medios’ Mariana Lemann spoke with Hall about strategizing for the U.S. Hispanic Market.
Q: Chief insights officer? What does that mean?
A: You have to ask [Bravo chairman and CEO] Gary Bassell. Y&R has a chief insights officer, so we probably just got [the title] from there. The idea behind it is that Bassell wants Bravo to be planning-centric. One of our main goals is to elevate planning in the Hispanic agency and in the Hispanic world. He wants to make planning part of the decision-making, not just a department.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you face as a planner?
A: The U.S. Hispanic market, the second largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world, [has] fairly rudimentary marketing techniques. A lot of the issues troubling this market are based on hegemony and vested interest.
Q: Vested interest?
A: I don’t want to paint a picture of anything sinister going on. At least, within the Hispanic market, there is a good reason to question how we think about consumers.
Q: Do you think there is a misperception about consumers?
A: I am talking about how we define Hispanics: By country of origin? Who they think they are? What language they speak? It is actually more complicated than that. It is the same way in the general market. We put too much emphasis on income level and educational experience. From those definitions, an awful lot is assumed of somebody, but that is too simplistic. More controversial is that the Hispanic market is still patronized; there are a lot of assumptions in the general market of the less sophisticated audience, which isn’t true. But there is also the assumption that because you are Hispanic you are [all] the same. Good marketing addresses primal needs.
Q: So what needs to change?
A: Take away this whole Hispanic overlayer. [We] would move a lot more quickly if we get out of this idea that there is an Anglo market and a Hispanic market. There are markets full of consumers, and we have to start developing techniques and specialties that understand the various needs of the consumer.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the barriers to the best practices?
A: Clients are beginning to realize and allocate higher budgets, but they’ve got to start having much more of a dialogue with all their agencies and align their Hispanic agencies to contribute more to the general marketing strategy of their brands. The Hispanic agency has to be at the beginning to contribute to the strategy.
Q: Do you find any resistance from the people you work with?
A: Yes. I still see a [skeptical] mentality in general-market agencies. The clients are more aware of the numbers than general-market agencies. I still talk to my [former] colleagues and they are not aware of why I moved to the Hispanic market. They think it is a small, marginalized audience.
Q: How do people react to the fact that you don't speak Spanish?
A: Obviously there is a debate [about] me coming to Bravo. It takes [more] years to get the expertise in strategic planning than it does to learn how to speak Spanish. I am not a woman, but I can market to women. You can generally come up with a great strategy regardless of whom you are talking to.
Q: You said recently that the Hispanic market is not the melting-pot model. What is it then?
A: If you imagine a big pot and you have some ingredients, then you add some more ingredients, the flavor will change gradually. America's culture is being inundated with Hispanic culture to the degree to which the nature of the meal has changed dramatically. This is a torrent of ingredients in a short space of time. The melting pot idea assumes that the status quo remains constant and that is not what is going to be happening here. The status quo is changing because of the scale of the influx of new culture.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Essay 276
Wondering out loud with MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• Gangs of White youth rioted and assaulted immigrants on a public beach. Immigrants retaliated by attacking police, vandalizing cars and property. The nation’s leader condemned the ruckus, but insisted, “I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country.” Paris? Arizona? New Mexico? No, it’s Australia — where the citizens are facing off with Arab immigrants. One rioter’s back presented the painted statement: “We grew here, you flew here.” Wonder if it’s another reason for the koala bear to mutter, “I hate Qantas.”
• Conservative immigration activists in California are taking their fight to a new level — by attempting to expose and embarrass the people hiring illegal immigrants. The groups shoot photos of people hiring the workers, ultimately posting the pictures and more on sites like wehirealiens.com and operationshameonyou.org. Wonder if Al Gore still wants to take credit for having invented the Internet.
• Deputies in Los Angeles can’t keep up with gang violence. Gang-related homicides rose 30 percent in the past year. The force is apparently grossly understaffed. Plus, the officers are not properly distributed according to the needs of communities. Experts warn things could inevitably get ugly. “People need to realize that Compton’s problems won’t stay in Compton. Absolutely, they ought to be concerned about what’s happening, and they ought to help…We give foreign aid to other countries so they won’t fall apart. How about some domestic aid?” one law official stated. Wonder if someone should consider deputizing illegal immigrants.
• A new Black television network launched three weeks ago. “I was never able to identify with what I saw on television,” the network’s creator said. “What I saw was not part of my reality…nor did it embody the racial plurality that prevails [in the country]…Blacks will have starring — and not just secondary — roles as in other channels.” Should BET be worried? No, it’s TV da Gente, or our TV, in Brazil. Wonder how long it will be before the majority of its programming is music videos.
• The San Francisco police officers who created obscene videos continue to insist they did nothing wrong. “The precinct where they work is the Iraq of the city of San Francisco,” said a police union spokesperson. “They are outgunned and outmanned, and just a year ago one of their numbers was murdered…And so a bunch of officers, White, Black, Asian, women and gay, got together and made a video they thought was going to be shown at their captain’s retirement dinner. It was their way of dealing with the futility of their jobs.” Wonder if their captain would have preferred a gold watch.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to grant clemency to Crips gang founder Stanley Tookie Williams. “After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency…The facts do not justify overturning the jury’s verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case,” said Schwarzenegger. Williams is scheduled to be executed tonight.
• Gangs of White youth rioted and assaulted immigrants on a public beach. Immigrants retaliated by attacking police, vandalizing cars and property. The nation’s leader condemned the ruckus, but insisted, “I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country.” Paris? Arizona? New Mexico? No, it’s Australia — where the citizens are facing off with Arab immigrants. One rioter’s back presented the painted statement: “We grew here, you flew here.” Wonder if it’s another reason for the koala bear to mutter, “I hate Qantas.”
• Conservative immigration activists in California are taking their fight to a new level — by attempting to expose and embarrass the people hiring illegal immigrants. The groups shoot photos of people hiring the workers, ultimately posting the pictures and more on sites like wehirealiens.com and operationshameonyou.org. Wonder if Al Gore still wants to take credit for having invented the Internet.
• Deputies in Los Angeles can’t keep up with gang violence. Gang-related homicides rose 30 percent in the past year. The force is apparently grossly understaffed. Plus, the officers are not properly distributed according to the needs of communities. Experts warn things could inevitably get ugly. “People need to realize that Compton’s problems won’t stay in Compton. Absolutely, they ought to be concerned about what’s happening, and they ought to help…We give foreign aid to other countries so they won’t fall apart. How about some domestic aid?” one law official stated. Wonder if someone should consider deputizing illegal immigrants.
• A new Black television network launched three weeks ago. “I was never able to identify with what I saw on television,” the network’s creator said. “What I saw was not part of my reality…nor did it embody the racial plurality that prevails [in the country]…Blacks will have starring — and not just secondary — roles as in other channels.” Should BET be worried? No, it’s TV da Gente, or our TV, in Brazil. Wonder how long it will be before the majority of its programming is music videos.
• The San Francisco police officers who created obscene videos continue to insist they did nothing wrong. “The precinct where they work is the Iraq of the city of San Francisco,” said a police union spokesperson. “They are outgunned and outmanned, and just a year ago one of their numbers was murdered…And so a bunch of officers, White, Black, Asian, women and gay, got together and made a video they thought was going to be shown at their captain’s retirement dinner. It was their way of dealing with the futility of their jobs.” Wonder if their captain would have preferred a gold watch.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to grant clemency to Crips gang founder Stanley Tookie Williams. “After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency…The facts do not justify overturning the jury’s verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case,” said Schwarzenegger. Williams is scheduled to be executed tonight.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Essay 275
“Born from Jets” — the new advertising brainstorm from Saab — appears to be utilizing stealth tactics to defend the position.
When the campaign launched about a month ago, the industry reaction was a collective shrug and yawn. Ernie Schenck panned the work on his blog, and AdPulp.com questioned Saab’s ability to push the envelope (which incidentally, is a phrase rooted in aeronautics). Adfolks joined the threads, agreeing the idea sucks. After all, it’s not the first time carmakers featured such imagery. Nissan once produced a stunning spot with a jet fighter pursuing the Turbo Z. Volvo unveiled an inane Super Bowl commercial comparing its rides to a space rocket. In addition, Saab has tapped its own airplane heritage before. So the latest stuff seemed very “been there, done that” — and others had even done that better.
Now, it’s hardly extraordinary for bloggers to critique new campaigns. But this Saab story is a little different. As pundits posted comments, rebuttals started to pop up. The opposing viewpoints gushed over the new ads and cars, reading suspiciously like the writings of Saab brand managers, Saab advertising agency executives and Saab dealers. It almost looked as if the people responsible for “Born from Jets” were firing counterstrikes.
Then the December 5, 2005 issue of Advertising Age ran a full-page promotional ad from Lowe (Saab’s AOR). The headline declared:
“‘Born From Jets’ has to be one of automotive history’s greatest marketing taglines.” Advertising Age, 11/7/05 on Saab’s new advertising
A review of the November 7, 2005 edition referenced in the Lowe promo piece failed to uncover the quoted praise. MultiCultClassics will send an autographed photo of Jet Li to the first person that locates the real puffery.
Advertisers today are hyping their goods and services via vehicles beyond traditional media. But it’s bizarre that anyone deemed it necessary to confront bloggers and assorted online smart alecks.
In the end, the responses from Saab backers seem born from desperation and paranoia.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(To view one of the Saab-related threads mentioned above, click on the essay title.)
When the campaign launched about a month ago, the industry reaction was a collective shrug and yawn. Ernie Schenck panned the work on his blog, and AdPulp.com questioned Saab’s ability to push the envelope (which incidentally, is a phrase rooted in aeronautics). Adfolks joined the threads, agreeing the idea sucks. After all, it’s not the first time carmakers featured such imagery. Nissan once produced a stunning spot with a jet fighter pursuing the Turbo Z. Volvo unveiled an inane Super Bowl commercial comparing its rides to a space rocket. In addition, Saab has tapped its own airplane heritage before. So the latest stuff seemed very “been there, done that” — and others had even done that better.
Now, it’s hardly extraordinary for bloggers to critique new campaigns. But this Saab story is a little different. As pundits posted comments, rebuttals started to pop up. The opposing viewpoints gushed over the new ads and cars, reading suspiciously like the writings of Saab brand managers, Saab advertising agency executives and Saab dealers. It almost looked as if the people responsible for “Born from Jets” were firing counterstrikes.
Then the December 5, 2005 issue of Advertising Age ran a full-page promotional ad from Lowe (Saab’s AOR). The headline declared:
“‘Born From Jets’ has to be one of automotive history’s greatest marketing taglines.” Advertising Age, 11/7/05 on Saab’s new advertising
A review of the November 7, 2005 edition referenced in the Lowe promo piece failed to uncover the quoted praise. MultiCultClassics will send an autographed photo of Jet Li to the first person that locates the real puffery.
Advertisers today are hyping their goods and services via vehicles beyond traditional media. But it’s bizarre that anyone deemed it necessary to confront bloggers and assorted online smart alecks.
In the end, the responses from Saab backers seem born from desperation and paranoia.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(To view one of the Saab-related threads mentioned above, click on the essay title.)
Essay 274
Open on Sundays with MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• The neo-Nazi rally in Toledo failed to spark any riots this time, thanks to police efforts that separated the protestors and counter-protestors by quite a bit of distance. Also, the cops stood about 700 strong, with at least two snipers and an M113 armored personnel carrier. That’s quite a force, considering there were only 63 neo-Nazis and 170 counter-protestors. In the end, police made 29 arrests, including two photographers. Nazi-paparazzi, perhaps?
• Jesse Jackson made another appeal to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on behalf of Stanley Tookie Williams. Jackson presented an argument over Williams’ original conviction, attempting to imply the trial and investigation were flawed. “We know if you are [Robert] Blake or O.J. [Simpson] with a dream team of lawyers, you walk free,” Jackson said. “If you don’t have a dream team of lawyers, you will die.” Not sure this is making a strong case in Williams’ favor.
• Comments collected by the Associated Press on comedian Richard Pryor, who died Saturday:
“By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form.” — comedian Steve Martin.
“Richard Pryor was one of the true pioneers of his art form. He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him. Our friendship went back to his days as a young comedian at Cafe Wha in New York, and although I will miss him like a brother, the legacy that he leaves will forever be with us.” — music producer Quincy Jones.
“He was the single most seminal, comedic influence in the last 50 years. It was so appropriate that he received the inaugural Mark Twain prize, as they both did the same thing. Mark Twain showed us what it was like on the frontier and living on the Mississippi and what it was like living at the turn of the century, and Richard Pryor showed us what it was like to live in the inner city. His concepts are so hysterically funny and unique.” — comedian Bob Newhart.
“I wish that every new and young comedian would understand what Richard was about and not confuse his genius with his language usage.” — comedian Bill Cosby.
“The Comedy Store could never thank you enough for the gift you gave us all - the gift of yourself ... to the audience, to the other comics and the elevation of your humor to a one-man art form.” — Mitzi Shore, owner of The Comedy Store club in Los Angeles.
• The neo-Nazi rally in Toledo failed to spark any riots this time, thanks to police efforts that separated the protestors and counter-protestors by quite a bit of distance. Also, the cops stood about 700 strong, with at least two snipers and an M113 armored personnel carrier. That’s quite a force, considering there were only 63 neo-Nazis and 170 counter-protestors. In the end, police made 29 arrests, including two photographers. Nazi-paparazzi, perhaps?
• Jesse Jackson made another appeal to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on behalf of Stanley Tookie Williams. Jackson presented an argument over Williams’ original conviction, attempting to imply the trial and investigation were flawed. “We know if you are [Robert] Blake or O.J. [Simpson] with a dream team of lawyers, you walk free,” Jackson said. “If you don’t have a dream team of lawyers, you will die.” Not sure this is making a strong case in Williams’ favor.
• Comments collected by the Associated Press on comedian Richard Pryor, who died Saturday:
“By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form.” — comedian Steve Martin.
“Richard Pryor was one of the true pioneers of his art form. He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him. Our friendship went back to his days as a young comedian at Cafe Wha in New York, and although I will miss him like a brother, the legacy that he leaves will forever be with us.” — music producer Quincy Jones.
“He was the single most seminal, comedic influence in the last 50 years. It was so appropriate that he received the inaugural Mark Twain prize, as they both did the same thing. Mark Twain showed us what it was like on the frontier and living on the Mississippi and what it was like living at the turn of the century, and Richard Pryor showed us what it was like to live in the inner city. His concepts are so hysterically funny and unique.” — comedian Bob Newhart.
“I wish that every new and young comedian would understand what Richard was about and not confuse his genius with his language usage.” — comedian Bill Cosby.
“The Comedy Store could never thank you enough for the gift you gave us all - the gift of yourself ... to the audience, to the other comics and the elevation of your humor to a one-man art form.” — Mitzi Shore, owner of The Comedy Store club in Los Angeles.
Essay 273
The following appeared in The Chicago Sun-Times…
-------------------------------------------------------------
Elders ‘misinformed’ about hip-hop, young CEO writes
December 11, 2005
BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Recently, I ran into Carl West, the 30-something CEO of MIDWEST GAP Enterprises, a publishing and promotional company. West challenged me to a debate about hip-hop, an exercise I deem pointless. It took the births of my two granddaughters for my own son -- a hip-hop artist himself -- to listen to my point of view.
But I invited West to use my column to have his say. So without further ado, this is West’s response to my criticisms of hip-hop over the years:
“I’ve had the same conversation with misinformed old heads, which prompted me to organize a town hall meeting next month with three dozen prominent businessmen to defend and explain the importance of hip-hop. The theme of the meeting is ‘Bridging the Generational Gap Between the Misinformed and the Misunderstood.’ Guess who’s who?
“You’re in the group that continues to down play and criticize the hip-hop generation. That makes you misinformed. You know me and many other young men like me who are educated, neatly dressed, very well mannered and game-fully employed or self employed for that matter, and we’re hip hop heads. That means we love, breathe and many even make our business in this multi-billion dollar industry.
“Kenard Gibbs, one of the coolest brothers around, is deeply embedded in hip hop [and] is the president of VIBE magazine, but if you saw him, like me and millions of other men and women, you wouldn’t know that Tupac or Common was our music of choice.
“Another example is the hottest criminal defense attorney has hip-hop flowing through his veins like no other. Attorney Andre Grant met some young brothers from Rockford ten years ago while defending them in another matter. Today they are blowing up like the world trade, and Mr. Grant’s investment is about to come back ten fold.
“I hang with shorties on the block. I chill on Thursdays at Blu 47 with the bourgeois, or you might find me posted up with Bill Garth and Larry Huggins listening to tales of old wise men.
“But the one missing denominator is respect for a culture that has dominated America’s appetite for all things hip-hop. Fashion, music, style, bling, language and entourages have captured the hearts and souls of every race from every corner of the globe.
“Think about these several facts. One is that when the old heads criticize hip-hop, they’re dogging out their sons, daughters and grand kids, who most likely love and live hip-hop. Secondly, in the next ten years, most political figures, business and community leaders will have all come from the hip-hop generation.
“With all those things said, why not get involved in the movement, so you and other old heads can have some say about what’s booming from my jeep and into the minds of the next generation.
“I suggest to you, the same thing I tell my other misinformed homies. Support and invest in future hip-hop leaders, because the other man has, and check out how he’s living.”
In reply: ‘You’ve shamed me’
Dear Carl:
Obviously, you know as well as I do that not everyone who listens to hip-hop wears their pants off their butts. So we aren’t talking about fashion, are we? My objection to hip-hop’s influence has nothing to do with how much money the industry has made, either. After all, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?
Think about this: The illegal drug trade, too, has made people millionaires.
But drug dealing has also sent tens of thousands of black men to prison, scattered their children to the wind, and drove their women to early graves.
Unfortunately, too many hip-hop artists are just as poisonous. They glamorize violence (we won’t even get into the number of gangsta rappers who have killed each other), the sexual abuse of women, and poison the environment with their profane use of the “N” word.
But more importantly, I oppose any music genre that consistently depicts black people as only being interested in having sex, getting drunk, and killing each other.
When black sons and daughters find fame and fortune by marketing their mothers and sisters as ‘hos and Bs’, they deserve to be dogged out by elders who are the guardians of our culture.
With the help of powerful media moguls, members of your generation gave the world a distorted view of the African-American community and partied all the way to the bank.
The hip-hop culture was an assault on the “black is beautiful” image of our era. Today, we have “educated, neatly dressed, very well mannered and game-fully employed or self employed” hip-hop heads to thank for the thuggin’, sexin’, pimpin’ and killin’ images that are being broadcast 24/7 around the world today.
And we have these same people to thank for the resurrection of the “N” word as both a racial slur and an endearment.
So you see, Carl. You didn’t win me over. You’ve shamed me.
We should have put you hip-hop-heads in check a long time ago.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Elders ‘misinformed’ about hip-hop, young CEO writes
December 11, 2005
BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Recently, I ran into Carl West, the 30-something CEO of MIDWEST GAP Enterprises, a publishing and promotional company. West challenged me to a debate about hip-hop, an exercise I deem pointless. It took the births of my two granddaughters for my own son -- a hip-hop artist himself -- to listen to my point of view.
But I invited West to use my column to have his say. So without further ado, this is West’s response to my criticisms of hip-hop over the years:
“I’ve had the same conversation with misinformed old heads, which prompted me to organize a town hall meeting next month with three dozen prominent businessmen to defend and explain the importance of hip-hop. The theme of the meeting is ‘Bridging the Generational Gap Between the Misinformed and the Misunderstood.’ Guess who’s who?
“You’re in the group that continues to down play and criticize the hip-hop generation. That makes you misinformed. You know me and many other young men like me who are educated, neatly dressed, very well mannered and game-fully employed or self employed for that matter, and we’re hip hop heads. That means we love, breathe and many even make our business in this multi-billion dollar industry.
“Kenard Gibbs, one of the coolest brothers around, is deeply embedded in hip hop [and] is the president of VIBE magazine, but if you saw him, like me and millions of other men and women, you wouldn’t know that Tupac or Common was our music of choice.
“Another example is the hottest criminal defense attorney has hip-hop flowing through his veins like no other. Attorney Andre Grant met some young brothers from Rockford ten years ago while defending them in another matter. Today they are blowing up like the world trade, and Mr. Grant’s investment is about to come back ten fold.
“I hang with shorties on the block. I chill on Thursdays at Blu 47 with the bourgeois, or you might find me posted up with Bill Garth and Larry Huggins listening to tales of old wise men.
“But the one missing denominator is respect for a culture that has dominated America’s appetite for all things hip-hop. Fashion, music, style, bling, language and entourages have captured the hearts and souls of every race from every corner of the globe.
“Think about these several facts. One is that when the old heads criticize hip-hop, they’re dogging out their sons, daughters and grand kids, who most likely love and live hip-hop. Secondly, in the next ten years, most political figures, business and community leaders will have all come from the hip-hop generation.
“With all those things said, why not get involved in the movement, so you and other old heads can have some say about what’s booming from my jeep and into the minds of the next generation.
“I suggest to you, the same thing I tell my other misinformed homies. Support and invest in future hip-hop leaders, because the other man has, and check out how he’s living.”
In reply: ‘You’ve shamed me’
Dear Carl:
Obviously, you know as well as I do that not everyone who listens to hip-hop wears their pants off their butts. So we aren’t talking about fashion, are we? My objection to hip-hop’s influence has nothing to do with how much money the industry has made, either. After all, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?
Think about this: The illegal drug trade, too, has made people millionaires.
But drug dealing has also sent tens of thousands of black men to prison, scattered their children to the wind, and drove their women to early graves.
Unfortunately, too many hip-hop artists are just as poisonous. They glamorize violence (we won’t even get into the number of gangsta rappers who have killed each other), the sexual abuse of women, and poison the environment with their profane use of the “N” word.
But more importantly, I oppose any music genre that consistently depicts black people as only being interested in having sex, getting drunk, and killing each other.
When black sons and daughters find fame and fortune by marketing their mothers and sisters as ‘hos and Bs’, they deserve to be dogged out by elders who are the guardians of our culture.
With the help of powerful media moguls, members of your generation gave the world a distorted view of the African-American community and partied all the way to the bank.
The hip-hop culture was an assault on the “black is beautiful” image of our era. Today, we have “educated, neatly dressed, very well mannered and game-fully employed or self employed” hip-hop heads to thank for the thuggin’, sexin’, pimpin’ and killin’ images that are being broadcast 24/7 around the world today.
And we have these same people to thank for the resurrection of the “N” word as both a racial slur and an endearment.
So you see, Carl. You didn’t win me over. You’ve shamed me.
We should have put you hip-hop-heads in check a long time ago.
Essay 272
Nighttime is the right time for MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• Ford Motor Company may ultimately lead GM in one category — employee layoffs. Analysts predict Ford will shut down 10 plants and eliminate 30,000 jobs. GM planned similar numbers; however, GM is a larger company. One expert said, “Ford and GM are now in a race to shrink.” Or maybe disappear.
• Thanks to the 140-year-old 14th Amendment, any child born in the U.S. — even the offspring of illegal immigrants — automatically receives American citizenship. Now Congressional conservatives want to change things, which is sure to piss off Latino voters. But it’s also another indicator of the growing issues surrounding illegal immigration. You know it’s bad when legislators seek to revise the Constitution.
• There’s a California campaign supporting the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. However, the effort is the brainchild of a pair of radio shock jocks hosting “The John and Ken Show” on KFI-AM. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Their broadcasts have drawn outrage from those who perceive whispers of racism coursing through radio dialogues that have included one of the hosts reading Williams’ co-written ‘Gangs and Drugs’ book in an affected street accent, mocking the speech of some of Williams’ African American defenders.” Regardless of your personal stance on the issue, one thing is clear: John and Ken need to be eliminated from the public airwaves.
• NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is now an official reserve officer for the Miami Beach police department. Wonder if Philip Michael Thomas is still available to be Shaq’s sidekick.
• The case involving the Ohio couple whose foster children slept in cages continues to be bizarre. A social worker testified in support of the couple, saying the cages actually protected the children — because some exhibited destructive behavior. Sounds like the social worker needs to be placed in a cage too.
• The Farrelly brothers are working on a new movie — and the source of the laughs will be Special Olympians. However, the filmmakers have the support of the Special Olympics. “The risk was that it would further the stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities as the brunt of jokes rather than the teller of jokes,” said a Special Olympics executive. “But the payoff was even more valuable.” Jeez, is this guy retarded or something?
• Police in Toledo braced for possible problems with a scheduled neo-Nazi rally and opposing protests. An October gathering sparked a riot by counter-protestors. The neo-Nazis had planned the original gathering to speak against gangs and rising crime. Wait a minute. Aren’t the neo-Nazis essentially a gang whose activities are often criminal — if not simply offensive?
• Verizon Wireless won two legal cases versus telemarketers making unwanted calls to its customers. As if Verizon Wireless isn’t equally guilty of ringing people to hype their shitty services.
• Richard Pryor — actor, comedian and American icon — died on Saturday at age 65. And there’s nothing funny about that.
• Ford Motor Company may ultimately lead GM in one category — employee layoffs. Analysts predict Ford will shut down 10 plants and eliminate 30,000 jobs. GM planned similar numbers; however, GM is a larger company. One expert said, “Ford and GM are now in a race to shrink.” Or maybe disappear.
• Thanks to the 140-year-old 14th Amendment, any child born in the U.S. — even the offspring of illegal immigrants — automatically receives American citizenship. Now Congressional conservatives want to change things, which is sure to piss off Latino voters. But it’s also another indicator of the growing issues surrounding illegal immigration. You know it’s bad when legislators seek to revise the Constitution.
• There’s a California campaign supporting the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. However, the effort is the brainchild of a pair of radio shock jocks hosting “The John and Ken Show” on KFI-AM. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Their broadcasts have drawn outrage from those who perceive whispers of racism coursing through radio dialogues that have included one of the hosts reading Williams’ co-written ‘Gangs and Drugs’ book in an affected street accent, mocking the speech of some of Williams’ African American defenders.” Regardless of your personal stance on the issue, one thing is clear: John and Ken need to be eliminated from the public airwaves.
• NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is now an official reserve officer for the Miami Beach police department. Wonder if Philip Michael Thomas is still available to be Shaq’s sidekick.
• The case involving the Ohio couple whose foster children slept in cages continues to be bizarre. A social worker testified in support of the couple, saying the cages actually protected the children — because some exhibited destructive behavior. Sounds like the social worker needs to be placed in a cage too.
• The Farrelly brothers are working on a new movie — and the source of the laughs will be Special Olympians. However, the filmmakers have the support of the Special Olympics. “The risk was that it would further the stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities as the brunt of jokes rather than the teller of jokes,” said a Special Olympics executive. “But the payoff was even more valuable.” Jeez, is this guy retarded or something?
• Police in Toledo braced for possible problems with a scheduled neo-Nazi rally and opposing protests. An October gathering sparked a riot by counter-protestors. The neo-Nazis had planned the original gathering to speak against gangs and rising crime. Wait a minute. Aren’t the neo-Nazis essentially a gang whose activities are often criminal — if not simply offensive?
• Verizon Wireless won two legal cases versus telemarketers making unwanted calls to its customers. As if Verizon Wireless isn’t equally guilty of ringing people to hype their shitty services.
• Richard Pryor — actor, comedian and American icon — died on Saturday at age 65. And there’s nothing funny about that.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Essay 271
The following was originally published in national newspapers on December 8, 2005. Definitely worth reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Stop blurring the lines between maniac & martyr
By Stanley Crouch
Tonight in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to have a closed meeting with those trying to get Stanley (Tookie) Williams clemency and those in law enforcement who want Williams to meet his end on Tuesday.
Williams, who was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering four people in 1979, has the dubious honor of being one of the founders of the vicious street gang, the Crips.
Still, Williams is being held up as an example of redemption because he has supposedly turned his life around. He has written children’s books that speak out against gang violence. But the actor and writer Joseph Phillips discovered that the highest selling children’s book written by Williams has sold only 330 copies. Not exactly a universal audience. The murderer has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. But almost anyone can nominate you. That does not prove universal acknowledgment of importance.
What does all of this mean? Little. When we see the NAACP, Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover and that paragon of public morality, Snoop Dogg, calling for Williams to receive clemency, one is sure that they have bought into the big con that has as its foundation the interconnectedness of the death penalty and race. The two elements have become so interwoven that some assume that if a black man is on Death Row it has something to do with bias and an unrepresentative jury pool. One of the men crying for Williams to get clemency cites the fact that he was tried by an all-white jury, none of whom were his peers. Does that mean that Williams should have had a jury of ruthless gang leaders? Williams, like all criminals, is a lawbreaker first and has an ethnic identity second.
The hard fact is that since 1980, street gangs have killed 10,000 people in Los Angeles, which is three times the number of black people lynched throughout the United States between 1877 and 1900, the highest tide of racial murder in the history of the nation.
Our commitment to redemption is fundamental to our civilization. But since the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, we have seen the same games run on the black community by the identical kinds of political hustlers who almost never met a criminal or a murderer who was not the real victim of society and should be forgiven all crimes, which, as in the Williams case, shouldn’t even be discussed. Look to the bright side. Give the brother a break.
I wouldn’t touch that kind of thinking with a garbage man’s glove. Yesterday was the anniversary of Colin Ferguson’s rampage on the Long Island Rail Road. Maybe he should come out of his mental fog and start writing children’s books. Ferguson might join Williams in a nomination for the Nobel Prize and watch the chumps line up in support of clemency for his bloody acts. Who knows? Hope springs eternal.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Stop blurring the lines between maniac & martyr
By Stanley Crouch
Tonight in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to have a closed meeting with those trying to get Stanley (Tookie) Williams clemency and those in law enforcement who want Williams to meet his end on Tuesday.
Williams, who was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering four people in 1979, has the dubious honor of being one of the founders of the vicious street gang, the Crips.
Still, Williams is being held up as an example of redemption because he has supposedly turned his life around. He has written children’s books that speak out against gang violence. But the actor and writer Joseph Phillips discovered that the highest selling children’s book written by Williams has sold only 330 copies. Not exactly a universal audience. The murderer has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. But almost anyone can nominate you. That does not prove universal acknowledgment of importance.
What does all of this mean? Little. When we see the NAACP, Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover and that paragon of public morality, Snoop Dogg, calling for Williams to receive clemency, one is sure that they have bought into the big con that has as its foundation the interconnectedness of the death penalty and race. The two elements have become so interwoven that some assume that if a black man is on Death Row it has something to do with bias and an unrepresentative jury pool. One of the men crying for Williams to get clemency cites the fact that he was tried by an all-white jury, none of whom were his peers. Does that mean that Williams should have had a jury of ruthless gang leaders? Williams, like all criminals, is a lawbreaker first and has an ethnic identity second.
The hard fact is that since 1980, street gangs have killed 10,000 people in Los Angeles, which is three times the number of black people lynched throughout the United States between 1877 and 1900, the highest tide of racial murder in the history of the nation.
Our commitment to redemption is fundamental to our civilization. But since the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, we have seen the same games run on the black community by the identical kinds of political hustlers who almost never met a criminal or a murderer who was not the real victim of society and should be forgiven all crimes, which, as in the Williams case, shouldn’t even be discussed. Look to the bright side. Give the brother a break.
I wouldn’t touch that kind of thinking with a garbage man’s glove. Yesterday was the anniversary of Colin Ferguson’s rampage on the Long Island Rail Road. Maybe he should come out of his mental fog and start writing children’s books. Ferguson might join Williams in a nomination for the Nobel Prize and watch the chumps line up in support of clemency for his bloody acts. Who knows? Hope springs eternal.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Essay 270
Friday facts, figures, funnyman and filmmakers with MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• Best Buy’s biased, according to a lawsuit filed by female and minority employees. The suit charges the retailer with enforcing “stereotypes that steer women, Latinos and African Americans into lower-paying jobs as cashiers and warehouse workers.” Best Buy’s slogan is “Get Yours.” Looks like the suing employees aim to do just that.
• A new Gallup poll shows 31 percent of Asians reported facing workplace discrimination. Blacks came in second place at 26 percent. The most frequent types of reported discrimination were sex bias (26 percent), racial bias (23 percent) and age bias (17 percent). The number of Whites who don’t give a shit about any of this remains steady at nearly 100 percent.
• Chris Rock’s sitcom is titled, “Everybody Hates Chris.” And now it appears the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doesn’t like him either, failing to extend an invitation to host the next Oscars telecast. Last year Rock joked, “You want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me? Wait.” Looks like the Academy voted to wait.
• A lawyer for the filmmaker cop who produced controversial videos (see Essay 269) is vigorously defending his client. Referring to a scene where a cop runs over a Black homeless woman with a squad car, the lawyer argued, “I think it’s anti-racist. I think it’s pro-understanding. First of all, I don’t know why that woman is homeless. I think some people are labeling her as homeless due to their own misconceptions that Black people who live in that area might be homeless. She is a nice, kind woman. That’s what I see when I watch that video.” Wonder what he saw while watching the Rodney King video.
• Best Buy’s biased, according to a lawsuit filed by female and minority employees. The suit charges the retailer with enforcing “stereotypes that steer women, Latinos and African Americans into lower-paying jobs as cashiers and warehouse workers.” Best Buy’s slogan is “Get Yours.” Looks like the suing employees aim to do just that.
• A new Gallup poll shows 31 percent of Asians reported facing workplace discrimination. Blacks came in second place at 26 percent. The most frequent types of reported discrimination were sex bias (26 percent), racial bias (23 percent) and age bias (17 percent). The number of Whites who don’t give a shit about any of this remains steady at nearly 100 percent.
• Chris Rock’s sitcom is titled, “Everybody Hates Chris.” And now it appears the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doesn’t like him either, failing to extend an invitation to host the next Oscars telecast. Last year Rock joked, “You want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me? Wait.” Looks like the Academy voted to wait.
• A lawyer for the filmmaker cop who produced controversial videos (see Essay 269) is vigorously defending his client. Referring to a scene where a cop runs over a Black homeless woman with a squad car, the lawyer argued, “I think it’s anti-racist. I think it’s pro-understanding. First of all, I don’t know why that woman is homeless. I think some people are labeling her as homeless due to their own misconceptions that Black people who live in that area might be homeless. She is a nice, kind woman. That’s what I see when I watch that video.” Wonder what he saw while watching the Rodney King video.
Essay 269
Late-breaking MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• Walgreens is becoming a regular newsmaker on this blog. After facing accusations of racial discrimination on numerous occasions, the drugstore chain is now charged with religious discrimination. Three pharmacists allegedly refused to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives, and the company placed them on unpaid leave. An advocacy group complained the pharmacists were “effectively fired” — although Walgreens insists they violated a state rule requiring the prescriptions be filled. “The Pharmacy America Trusts” may soon be changed to “The Pharmacy America Busts.”
• Coca-Cola changed its slogan to “Welcome to the Coke side of life.” The new campaign will probably feature supermodel Kate Moss.
• A report in USA Today showed Black Baby Boomers are heading south. Meanwhile, Mexican immigrants are moving north. It must be a fucking nightmare for White folks.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger heard lawyers argue over the fate of Crips gang founder Stanley Tookie Williams. Now let’s see which role Schwarzenegger will play — The Terminator, Kindergarten Cop or The Running Man.
• A new cable TV show will let a Black family and a White family switch racial identities through the art of makeup. The series will debut in March on FX. But the Black family will probably launch a spin-off with BET.
• A San Francisco cop has been suspended for producing movies for a Christmas party that included a racy takeoff on Charlie’s Angels. “It is shameful, it is offensive, it is sexist, it is homophobic and it is racist,” proclaimed Mayor Gavin Newsom. The movies will probably run on FX soon.
• Walgreens is becoming a regular newsmaker on this blog. After facing accusations of racial discrimination on numerous occasions, the drugstore chain is now charged with religious discrimination. Three pharmacists allegedly refused to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives, and the company placed them on unpaid leave. An advocacy group complained the pharmacists were “effectively fired” — although Walgreens insists they violated a state rule requiring the prescriptions be filled. “The Pharmacy America Trusts” may soon be changed to “The Pharmacy America Busts.”
• Coca-Cola changed its slogan to “Welcome to the Coke side of life.” The new campaign will probably feature supermodel Kate Moss.
• A report in USA Today showed Black Baby Boomers are heading south. Meanwhile, Mexican immigrants are moving north. It must be a fucking nightmare for White folks.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger heard lawyers argue over the fate of Crips gang founder Stanley Tookie Williams. Now let’s see which role Schwarzenegger will play — The Terminator, Kindergarten Cop or The Running Man.
• A new cable TV show will let a Black family and a White family switch racial identities through the art of makeup. The series will debut in March on FX. But the Black family will probably launch a spin-off with BET.
• A San Francisco cop has been suspended for producing movies for a Christmas party that included a racy takeoff on Charlie’s Angels. “It is shameful, it is offensive, it is sexist, it is homophobic and it is racist,” proclaimed Mayor Gavin Newsom. The movies will probably run on FX soon.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Essay 268
MultiCultClassics Member (title officially bestowed upon all blog visitors) Hadji Williams made a guest appearance at TalentZoo.com — click on the essay title to check it out.
Essay 267
Mexicans, Minorities, Morons, Motor Mouths, Magazines and Military Maneuvering from MultiCultClassics Minutes…
• A new survey debunks the belief that most Mexican immigrants head north because they’re jobless. The report released by the Pew Hispanic Center shows the majority of immigrants left behind jobs for an opportunity to work here instead. Which means there must be a greater incentive for relocating to the U.S. — like being able to watch The Jerry Springer Show.
• An exclusive Advertising Age survey showed nearly 82% of respondents believed their Hispanic ad budgets would increase in 2006. However, the respondents still won’t pay minority agencies nearly as much as White agency counterparts. Note to respondents: increased budgets aren’t meaningful if folks are still embarrassingly underpaid.
• President Bush wants to use an unmanned fleet of airplanes to spot illegal immigrants crossing the border. There’s a parallel to be made between Bush’s presidency and flying without a pilot.
• Foxy Brown will be flying without an attorney. The rap diva fired her lawyer for telling the press about her hearing loss. Wonder how she heard about that.
• The Source has gone from hip hop to homeless. The magazine was booted from its offices, apparently after not paying $156,000 for rent. Unlike the Source Awards, there were no stabbings or shootings involved with the eviction incident.
• The U.S. Army selected McCann Erickson in New York to handle its account, speculated to be worth $1.35 billion over five years. Looks like Leo Burnett employees will soon be calling recruiters. But definitely not military recruiters.
• A new survey debunks the belief that most Mexican immigrants head north because they’re jobless. The report released by the Pew Hispanic Center shows the majority of immigrants left behind jobs for an opportunity to work here instead. Which means there must be a greater incentive for relocating to the U.S. — like being able to watch The Jerry Springer Show.
• An exclusive Advertising Age survey showed nearly 82% of respondents believed their Hispanic ad budgets would increase in 2006. However, the respondents still won’t pay minority agencies nearly as much as White agency counterparts. Note to respondents: increased budgets aren’t meaningful if folks are still embarrassingly underpaid.
• President Bush wants to use an unmanned fleet of airplanes to spot illegal immigrants crossing the border. There’s a parallel to be made between Bush’s presidency and flying without a pilot.
• Foxy Brown will be flying without an attorney. The rap diva fired her lawyer for telling the press about her hearing loss. Wonder how she heard about that.
• The Source has gone from hip hop to homeless. The magazine was booted from its offices, apparently after not paying $156,000 for rent. Unlike the Source Awards, there were no stabbings or shootings involved with the eviction incident.
• The U.S. Army selected McCann Erickson in New York to handle its account, speculated to be worth $1.35 billion over five years. Looks like Leo Burnett employees will soon be calling recruiters. But definitely not military recruiters.
Welcome, New and Old Readers.
Welcome to MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com
The blog launched in March 2005. The initial goal was to spark discussions and debates about multiculturalism in the advertising industry — including all the good, bad and ugly complexities and contradictions.
Admittedly, there wasn’t a master plan or long-term strategy. Just decided to begin typing and see where it might go.
Many essays and months later, the plan is no clearer. The strategy is being reworked daily too.
Nonetheless, the conversation continues — despite the fact that it’s more of a monologue versus dialogue.
Here’s what MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com offers you:
If you’re deep into the multicultural advertising scene, this is the place for relatable, relevant insights and more. It’s all the stuff you’d toss around the virtual water cooler.
If you’re semi-clueless to the world outside of your personal universe, this is the place for you as well. One deliberate tactic here is to expose the masses to progressive, 21st century diversity. It’s not something exclusive to the human resources department. Think of the blog as delivering a recommended daily allowance of culture.
Please read the blog starting at Essay One (click on the essay title). You’re encouraged to agree or disagree with anything posted.
Please visit often. Admission is free. Open to the public 24 hours a day.
Finally, please share the blog with everyone you know. It works best with an inclusive spirit.
Click on the essay title and join the revolution.
The blog launched in March 2005. The initial goal was to spark discussions and debates about multiculturalism in the advertising industry — including all the good, bad and ugly complexities and contradictions.
Admittedly, there wasn’t a master plan or long-term strategy. Just decided to begin typing and see where it might go.
Many essays and months later, the plan is no clearer. The strategy is being reworked daily too.
Nonetheless, the conversation continues — despite the fact that it’s more of a monologue versus dialogue.
Here’s what MultiCultClassics.blogspot.com offers you:
If you’re deep into the multicultural advertising scene, this is the place for relatable, relevant insights and more. It’s all the stuff you’d toss around the virtual water cooler.
If you’re semi-clueless to the world outside of your personal universe, this is the place for you as well. One deliberate tactic here is to expose the masses to progressive, 21st century diversity. It’s not something exclusive to the human resources department. Think of the blog as delivering a recommended daily allowance of culture.
Please read the blog starting at Essay One (click on the essay title). You’re encouraged to agree or disagree with anything posted.
Please visit often. Admission is free. Open to the public 24 hours a day.
Finally, please share the blog with everyone you know. It works best with an inclusive spirit.
Click on the essay title and join the revolution.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Essay 266
The Art Directors Club created a messed-up entry campaign for its 85th Annual Awards competition (click on the essay title to view the shit). The program is titled, “Pimp My Brand” — complete with bling-sculpted typography and a Black man dressed as Ronald McDonald. Not sure how Mickey D’s would feel about such a tribute. A theme line reads, “Ain’t No Such Thing As Too Much Gold.” The judges are labeled, “The Big Dogs Of The Business.” The credits are headlined as “Shout Outs.”
Damn.
What’s up with the advertising business? Advertising Week and the Effies promoted events with sexist imagery. Now an allegedly prestigious organization goes for cheap racial laughs.
An industry that has traditionally excluded Blacks shamelessly bites the culture without hesitation. How typical. Or stereotypical, to be more accurate.
Damn.
What’s up with the advertising business? Advertising Week and the Effies promoted events with sexist imagery. Now an allegedly prestigious organization goes for cheap racial laughs.
An industry that has traditionally excluded Blacks shamelessly bites the culture without hesitation. How typical. Or stereotypical, to be more accurate.
Essay 265
The article below appeared in the December 5, 2005 issue of Adweek. It was inspired by Ernie Schenck’s blog discussion on Baby Boomers — and a few of Schenck’s lines were inspired by MultiCultClassics comments. Click on the essay title to review Schenck’s original post.
-------------------------------------------------------
The Boomers’ Legacy
December 05, 2005
By ERNIE SCHENCK
In his book Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer Generation, Joe Queenan cites April 21, 1971, as one of 10 days that rocked the world for boomers. That, of course, would be the day that Carole King released her album Tapestry.
The emergence of Tapestry, Queenan writes, was as ignominious and cataclysmic an event as the Battle of Hastings or the fall of Constantinople to the Turks.
Why?
Because when King lamented that so many people couldn’t seem to stay in one place anymore, she was in effect telling an entire generation that, hey, it’s OK to be nostalgic, even if you’re only 18. You’ve seen fire. You’ve seen rain. Relax. Go with the flow. Let’s put that four-dead-in-O-hi-O thing behind us.
Thus, Queenan argues, the boomers went from being a generation of bomb throwers and firebrands hellbent on changing the world to a generation more concerned with SAT scores and porcini mushrooms than world hunger or the impending collapse of the Arctic icecap.
In 2006, the first of the baby boomers will turn 60. There will be TV specials. Documentaries. Entire issues of news magazines dedicated to the boomers and their impact on society. But what about advertising?
After reading an essay in Newsweek by Albert Brooks in which the actor lambastes Madison Avenue and Bob Dylan for sinking so low as to use “The Times They Are A-Changin’” in a TV spot for Kaiser Permanente, I threw the question out on my blog: What impact, for better or worse, have baby boomer creatives had on advertising?
I’ve never been on a battlefield. But if reader comments were bullets, I’d be dead by now. Stretched out in that Jerry Garcia-themed coffin that one very pissed-off kid suggested all us boomers consider purchasing as quickly as possible.
The post hit an intergenerational nerve, one that advertising people don’t like to talk about much. The good news is, I think we all learned a few things from it. And they are:
That a goatee and pierced tongue don’t make you any more creative today than a Woodstock ticket or a Velvet Underground album once did.
That boomers won’t hand over the keys to the kingdom to Gen X any more than the Greatest Generation was willing to hand them over to us.
That if Michael Jordan and Madonna can reinvent themselves as they get older, it’s hard to know why so many of us advertising boomers can’t.
That there’s not a lick of difference between the highly paid veteran ballplayer currently hitting .150 and the highly paid veteran ad executive currently hitting, well, not much better.
That even if every boomer in the business were to woof down a Jonestown cocktail tomorrow morning, chances are that 99.99 percent of all advertising would still be dog dung.
That if you want to be Sarah McLachlan and save the world from starvation, genocide and landmines, well, you might want to quit advertising and go work for Sarah McLachlan.
That boomers should worry more about what we're putting on the screen than what we’re putting in our 401(k)s.
That anyone who thinks Dan Wieden sold out by doing a Nike spot with a Beatles song, thereby giving permission to countless hacks to take the conceptually easy way out by dropping a culturally iconic tune onto a nice piece of film, is either a) a moron or b) sadly mistaken.
Yeah, I think we all learned something, young and, er, not so young alike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my proctologist appointment.
-------------------------------------------------------
The Boomers’ Legacy
December 05, 2005
By ERNIE SCHENCK
In his book Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer Generation, Joe Queenan cites April 21, 1971, as one of 10 days that rocked the world for boomers. That, of course, would be the day that Carole King released her album Tapestry.
The emergence of Tapestry, Queenan writes, was as ignominious and cataclysmic an event as the Battle of Hastings or the fall of Constantinople to the Turks.
Why?
Because when King lamented that so many people couldn’t seem to stay in one place anymore, she was in effect telling an entire generation that, hey, it’s OK to be nostalgic, even if you’re only 18. You’ve seen fire. You’ve seen rain. Relax. Go with the flow. Let’s put that four-dead-in-O-hi-O thing behind us.
Thus, Queenan argues, the boomers went from being a generation of bomb throwers and firebrands hellbent on changing the world to a generation more concerned with SAT scores and porcini mushrooms than world hunger or the impending collapse of the Arctic icecap.
In 2006, the first of the baby boomers will turn 60. There will be TV specials. Documentaries. Entire issues of news magazines dedicated to the boomers and their impact on society. But what about advertising?
After reading an essay in Newsweek by Albert Brooks in which the actor lambastes Madison Avenue and Bob Dylan for sinking so low as to use “The Times They Are A-Changin’” in a TV spot for Kaiser Permanente, I threw the question out on my blog: What impact, for better or worse, have baby boomer creatives had on advertising?
I’ve never been on a battlefield. But if reader comments were bullets, I’d be dead by now. Stretched out in that Jerry Garcia-themed coffin that one very pissed-off kid suggested all us boomers consider purchasing as quickly as possible.
The post hit an intergenerational nerve, one that advertising people don’t like to talk about much. The good news is, I think we all learned a few things from it. And they are:
That a goatee and pierced tongue don’t make you any more creative today than a Woodstock ticket or a Velvet Underground album once did.
That boomers won’t hand over the keys to the kingdom to Gen X any more than the Greatest Generation was willing to hand them over to us.
That if Michael Jordan and Madonna can reinvent themselves as they get older, it’s hard to know why so many of us advertising boomers can’t.
That there’s not a lick of difference between the highly paid veteran ballplayer currently hitting .150 and the highly paid veteran ad executive currently hitting, well, not much better.
That even if every boomer in the business were to woof down a Jonestown cocktail tomorrow morning, chances are that 99.99 percent of all advertising would still be dog dung.
That if you want to be Sarah McLachlan and save the world from starvation, genocide and landmines, well, you might want to quit advertising and go work for Sarah McLachlan.
That boomers should worry more about what we're putting on the screen than what we’re putting in our 401(k)s.
That anyone who thinks Dan Wieden sold out by doing a Nike spot with a Beatles song, thereby giving permission to countless hacks to take the conceptually easy way out by dropping a culturally iconic tune onto a nice piece of film, is either a) a moron or b) sadly mistaken.
Yeah, I think we all learned something, young and, er, not so young alike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my proctologist appointment.
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