11852: Clippers Recruit Dick Parsons.

USA TODAY reported former Citigroup and Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons was selected to serve as Los Angeles Clippers CEO, replacing owner Donald Sterling. Not sure if this move will offset the Offensive Karma that Sterling generated.

Dick Parsons, ex-Time Warner boss, tapped as interim Clippers CEO

By Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

The NBA went business class in picking the Los Angeles Clippers’ interim CEO.

Former Citigroup and Time Warner chairman Dick Parsons was selected to run the Clippers in the aftermath of the lifetime ban of Donald Sterling, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Friday. The NBA took control of the Clippers in order to place Parsons in charge as the league proceeds with its plan to force Sterling to sell the team.

“Like most Americans, I have been deeply troubled by the pain the Clippers’ team, fans and partners have endured,” Parsons said in a news release. “A lifelong fan of the NBA, I am firmly committed to the values and principles it is defending, and I completely support Adam’s leadership in navigating the challenges facing the team and the league. The Clippers are a resilient organization with a brilliant coach and equally talented and dedicated athletes and staff who have demonstrated great strength of character during a time of adversity.”

Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii in the late 1960s. He stepped from Albany Law School into a successful career in law and later corporate management. He has been CEO of Dime Bancorp in addition to his run as president and then CEO of Time Warner from 1995 through 2008. He was Citigroup chairman from 2009 through 2012.

“I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization,” Silver said in a news release. “Dick’s credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility.”

Sterling, the owner who made racist statements to a female friend on an audio recording that went public April 26, is barred from any contact with his team or the NBA, and Silver has pushed the NBA’s Board of Governors to force him to sell his team. But Sterling is expected to fight, and wife Shelly Sterling is interested in keeping her stake the franchise even if Donald Sterling is forced to sell, USA TODAY Sports’ Brent Schrotenboer reported Thursday.

11851: Maurice & John Call It Off.

Adweek and Advertising Age reported the proposed merger between Publicis Groupe and Omnicom has fizzled out. Guess this frees up Pioneer of Diversity John Wren to focus on bringing inclusion and racial harmony to the industry. Yippee!

Publicis and Omnicom Call Quits on Merger

Widely expected in recent weeks

By Noreen O’Leary

What were they thinking in the first place?

Now that Publicis Groupe and Omnicom have called off their $35 billion merger, the differences between the two companies as they attempted to combine their operations seem more glaring than any common vision of “equals” they trumpeted back in July. After the flourish in Paris of signing off on a doomed transaction, the relationship between Publicis CEO Maurice Levy and Omnicom counterpart John Wren quickly soured amid a power struggle for control and consensus upon management structure.

In recent months, it was a question of not if, but when, the two companies would call off the deal. Publicly, the merger has taken farcical turns. While Publicis’s Levy was telling analysts there were no tax issues beyond the usual French oversight, Omnicom’s Wren was advising investors that U.K. tax residency problems could be a dealbreaker for the Netherlands headquartered Publicis Omnicom Group.

Then on April 29, Le Monde, France’s newspaper of record, published an incendiary article calling the transaction a Publicis takeover of its much larger American counterpart, in all but name. Many observers believed both companies would pull the plug in mid-June after the Chinese regulatory approvals did not come through, as widely expected would be the case, and would provide a face-saving out for the proposed merger.

The official explanation put out by Omnicom about ending the transaction is that "in view of difficulties in completing the transaction within a reasonable timeframe the parties have released each other from all obligations with respect to the proposed transaction…" As such there will not be a $500 million termination fee incurred by either company.

In an internal email, Wren further explained the merger's collapse to Omnicom staffers:

“When we first communicated with you about the proposed merger last July we knew that the transaction was complex, with multiple regulatory and tax approvals to be secured before we could execute it. At the time we thought it would take a little over six months.

Over the past nine months it has become increasingly apparent, to both parties, that it is not clear how long it would take to resolve the open issues.

As you know a good concept is worth nothing unless it can be brilliantly executed in a timely way.

Both parties have now decided that it is in the best interest, therefore, of you, our people, our clients, and our shareholders to terminate the proposed merger.

Over the last year there has been a great amount of work done on the deal by a small group of Omnicom executives and a much larger group of advisors.”

To be sure that much larger group of advisors was at work: As of the end of 2013, Omnicom said it spent $41.4 million in pre-taxes charges related to the deal and another $7 million in the first quarter. (Publicis spent $52 million on merger-related expenses last year but has not yet detailed expenditures this year.)

Now it remains to see what the industry’s most high-profile, expensive failed transaction will do to the reputations of the companies’ two chief executives in the twilight of their careers who are considering their own legacies.

11850: BET Total Market Segregation.

Oh, look—BET is jumping on the Total Market bullshit bandwagon. Too bad Total Market still equals a teeny fraction of crumbs for minority media and minority agencies. BET can bet on it.

11849: The Essence Of Ed Lewis.

From Advertising Age…

Ed Lewis on Growing Essence Magazine Empire From Those First 13 Ad Pages

Media Pioneer Says He Still Believes in Print

By Rance Crain

If it hadn’t been for baseball legend Jackie Robinson, Edward Lewis might not have been able to start Essence magazine.

Jackie Robinson was Ed’s “hero and idol,” the magazine founder said. “I had the great pleasure to meet him,” and that inspired Ed to make a call to the bank Jackie Robinson helped start, Freedom National, to apply for a $13,000 loan.

Ed had no collateral, and the president of the bank wondered how he would pay it back. But the bank president said he believed in Ed, thought he had character and lent him the money. “If he had not done that, I may not be sitting here talking to you now about starting a magazine for black women,” Ed told me in a video interview a few days before he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

In the beginning

Ed and four partners came together in 1968 to try to get funding for Essence. They had a business plan for $1.5 million, but they could only raise $130,000 -- and part of that was the $13,000 Jackie Robinson’s bank lent Ed.

Essence’s first issue, in 1970, had 13 ad pages. “Thirteen pages of ads is very minimal, as you can truly recognize. … But we just worked hard, told our story, crafted statements about the importance of the market and how it was going to grow and that it should be taken seriously. And over time, with additional financing and making the right decisions and having the right people, we were able to survive and to carry on this journey that’s now 44 years old.”

Ed’s challenge was to persuade advertisers to take more than one ad. He said “we would discourage” running a single ad. “We would say, ‘You’re doing yourself a disservice by doing that. If you’re going to advertise, make an investment.’ Because the audience is going to see that this particular company is trying to advertise in a medium that cares about me. If I see you there one time and don’t see you afterwards, why should I be supportive of you?”

Early advertisers such as Bergdorf-Goodman and Dreyfus got the message.

Essence has been adept at extending the reach of its brand. In 1995 the magazine started a music festival in New Orleans, and Ed says “It’s been a real joy to see the festival morph into a party with a purpose—and to see the extraordinary number of people.” Almost 540,000 people came to New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend last year, Ed said.

Like other print mavens, Ed is very aware that “we’re going to have to look at other revenue streams in order to continue to grow—digital, conferences, festivals.” But he believes that print “is still going to have a major role in how people get information. … And for those publications that really still have an identity, really have an editorial niche, they will continue to do well. They may not do as well as they had in the past, but they will continue to do well.”

Teaming with Time Inc.

I asked Ed why he decided to sell a minority interest in Essence to Time Inc. in 2000. “Time Inc. is a company that believes in brands, in terms of all the products that they had. So being a part of Time Inc. said to me that they cared about my brand that I helped bring into the world.”

“So it was about their resources, it was about them caring about the brand, and then caring about developing African-American women that suggested to me when they came to me in 2005 and said they’d like to buy the remaining 51%. I thought it was a good deal for the shareholders of Essence, and it certainly has turned out to be correct.”

Ed has just written a book, “The Man from Essence,” giving credit to his partners who helped start the magazine.

“In the beginning we were all equal partners, equally making decisions about how to run the company. A prescription for disaster. Conflict. And so we had to make changes. Or I made changes over those years in terms of making decisions, very difficult decisions with respect to asking my former colleagues no longer to be with the company.” That’s why Ed almost called his book “The Last Man Standing.”

Ed credits his mother and the other “she-roes”—strong women—in his family for inspiring him. “I saw strong women, I saw how they were not appreciated, how hard they work.”

So what Ed is proudest of is “to know that I may have made a difference in making black women feel good about themselves. About their beauty, about their intelligence.”

11848: Publicis Omnicom Pricey Failure.

Advertising Age reported Publicis Groupe and Omnicom will have to deal with a $500 million termination fee if they fail to consummate the merger. Should the deal evaporate, each holding company ought to be required to also spend $500 million on diversity initiatives. Surely Pioneer of Diversity John Wren would endorse such a proposal.

Putting the Odds on a Publicom Collapse

Companies Got Into This Together, and Would Have to Get Out of It Together

By Alexandra Bruell

Tax hang-ups, regulatory delays and behind-the-scenes struggles have industry executives and analysts increasingly banking on a collapse in the planned merger of ad giants Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe. “There is evidently a realistic chance that the merger with Publicis will not be completed, whether due to external factors or management preferences,” Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said in a research note to investors late last month.

Progress seems stalled enough that Albert Fried analyst Rich Tullo lowered the chances of completion to 40% from 66% in a research note last week first reported by The Wall Street Journal. An Omnicom spokeswoman declined to comment; a Publicis spokeswoman in Paris did not respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon in New York.

But don’t expect either side to storm away on its own—even if one CEO starts to feel like he’s losing battles, like the fight to install his favorite as chief financial officer. The $500 million termination fee disclosed in a filing last summer and lately resurfaced in pessimistic press reports means that any unilaterally quitting party has to pay that sum.

Such terms are meant to keep both sides on track and interlopers out, according to David Grinberg, partner and chairman of the mergers-and-acquisitions group at law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. If rival WPP Group got Omnicom to take an offer and abandon Publicis, for example, Omnicom would have to pay Publicis the termination fee. But absent a better offer, neither Publicis CEO Maurice Levy nor Omnicom CEO John Wren will try to sell shareholders on eating the cost of solo withdrawal.

So if the merger fails, it will be by mutual agreement. “If a buyer comes in, they now have to overbid and pay a fee,” Mr. Grinberg said “But if it falls apart for internal reasons, it’s much rarer to have a fee because they’ll look for reasons not to.”

In the meantime, costs continue to pile up. Omnicom has already sunk more than $48 million of pre-tax expenses into merger preparations, according to filings. And investors seem to be gravitating toward their rivals. Share prices have grown at all four top agency holding companies since the merger was announced, but they rose nearly 10% at WPP and Interpublic, compared with roughly 3% growth for Omnicom and Publicis.

“Time is not necessarily a friend,” Mr. Grinberg added. “If the deal drags on, people get deal fatigue and start to psychologically become negative on a deal.”

11847: White-Out Is Right…?

This campaign from TBWA in Malaysia features undercurrents of racial and sexual domination—for a correction pen. Someone should have used the product to nix the original concept sketches.

From Ads of the World.

11846: Ad Shops Are Sweatshops.

From Campaign…

Under pressure

Agencies must do more to eliminate sweatshop conditions. It is now a matter of life and death, Simon Labbett writes.

I was recently introduced to this bizarre game called Karoshi in which the goal is to die at work. It has several iterations, including the rather disturbing Karoshi Suicide Salaryman. What does Karoshi mean? In Japan, it is the corporate equivalent of hara-kiri. Death by overwork.

It was just before Christmas when we heard of the tragic death of the young copywriter Mita Diran in Indonesia, allegedly due to a combination of overwork and excessive consumption of energy drinks. Her father posted this heart-rending account: “She collap-sed after continuous working overtime, for three days, last night. Working over the limit. I have not slept since.”

I can also recall the loss of an account director many years ago, a young lad who took his own life. What makes it all the more tragic is how utterly avoidable it was.

At the time of these deaths, a real sense of purpose ensued within agencies – a sense that well-being could somehow play a key part in how agencies are structured. Yet nothing has changed since.

We all understand that such is the dedication to secure, and sustain, a job in advertising that graduates will go to great lengths to prove themselves — a behaviour that is all too often exploited by agencies. Add to this the complex, dynamic and ever-changing business that we work in, where we are all setting ourselves elaborate and ambitious goals.

These tragic tales reveal the inadequate framework that the creative industry has built, where we are yet to develop the well-being of our businesses. In a people-led creative environment, why are we failing ourselves? Are we still handing out the T-shirts that Steve Jobs once distributed, with the slogan “Working 90 hours a week, and proud of it”? I hope not, because work should not result in a shattered spine or a broken spirit.

Industry research last year revealed that 70 per cent of marcoms agency employees believe work affects their health and that agency bosses must do more to safeguard the well-being of their staff. Nabs has helped implement a range of services designed to tackle the issue of stress in our industry — focused around building resilience to anxiety, stress and the everyday pressures of work and life.

To change our attitude would require more than re-labelling good management practice. And it is not enough to insist that employees not work on weekends — except for Sundays (and maybe some Saturdays). This is precisely what a memo from Goldman Sachs said last year, weeks after the report of the death of a Merrill Lynch intern from an epileptic fit in his shower after he reportedly pulled three all-nighters at the bank.

There are many in our industry calling for change. Ben Bilboul, the group chief ex¬ecutive of Karmarama, says: “We need to develop a better system of pastoral care and not just look at HR as a way of getting staff out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Another way of looking at this is to think: what would it take to turn this into an industry that people in their thirties, forties and, God forbid, fifties would want to remain in? There’s a clear value to clients in having more ex¬perienced heads around the table, but very little to keep the best talent retained if we can only promise lost weekends, cancelled holidays and a 24/7 e-mail culture.”

The IPA director-general, Paul Bainsfair, says: “Somebody once said ‘more is worse’ and I think that’s a pretty good thought to hang on to. My own view is that there’s nothing wrong with working ridiculous hours once in a while; in fact, it can be exciting and rewarding. But there’s everything wrong with doing it all the time.”

Nils Leonard, the executive creative director at Grey, believes “energy” is the biggest commodity in this industry and it needs to be nurtured. “It has taken me this many years to work out that my real job is the creation and fostering of energy before ideas, and that those who have energy can conquer any task,” he says. “To those lucky enough to foster the energy of others, I say stay vigilant. Fight for what they won’t — that same light that shines in their eyes when they’re cracking a brief can’t shine that bright forever.”

The well-being of our employees means encouraging a culture that fosters a positive working environment with a sense of purpose and fulfilment to help nurture the next generation of talent. We need the entire food chain in our industry to support this change. Nobody would want their child to be au fait with the Karoshi concept (or the games). And if there is one industry that could take the initiative to guide the rest of the corporate world on how to create happy souls at work, it is the advertising industry. It is not a difficult brief to work on.

Simon Labbett is the founder and creative director of Hometown

11845: NAACP’s Leon Jenkins Resigns.

The Los Angeles Times reported Los Angeles NAACP President Leon Jenkins resigned his position over ties to Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling. Damn, Jenkins almost makes Sterling look like a choirboy.

Head of L.A. NAACP quits over ties to Donald Sterling

By Angel Jennings

The head of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP resigned Thursday after coming under scrutiny for the organization’s ties to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

In a letter, Leon Jenkins said the “legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency. In order to separate the Los Angeles NAACP and the NAACP from the negative exposure I have caused … I respectfully resign my position as president of the Los Angeles NAACP.”

The group granted Sterling an award in 2009, the same year the real estate magnate paid $2.73 million to settle U.S. government claims that he refused to rent his apartments to Latinos and blacks in Koreatown. The chapter was set to give Sterling a second award when a recording emerged in which a man, determined by the NBA to be Sterling, asked a female friend not to publicly associate with African Americans.

In 1988, while he was a judge in Detroit, Jenkins was indicted on federal bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and racketeering charges, according records from the State Bar of California.

Authorities at the time alleged that Jenkins received gifts from those who appeared in his court and committed perjury, the records show. He was acquitted of criminal charges. But in 1994 the Michigan Supreme Court disbarred him, finding “overwhelming evidence” that Jenkins “sold his office and his public trust,” according to the bar records. The court made the ban retroactive to 1991.

Jenkins was practicing law in California that year, serving as an attorney for the family of Latasha Harlins, an African American teenager who was fatally shot by a Korean grocery store owner in South Los Angeles, according to Times reports.

In 1995, the state bar began looking into the misconduct allegations from Michigan. He was disbarred in 2001, according to the state bar. He tried to be reinstated in 2006 but was rejected, records show. He made another attempt in 2012.

Earlier this month, the bar turned him down, questioning whether he had the “moral fitness to resume the practice of law,” according to records. The bar stated that he made misrepresentations on divorce papers and on his petition for reinstatement to the bar. Officials claimed he failed to disclose a $660,000 loan he owed former legal clients.

In his efforts to win back his law license, Jenkins said he was a rehabilitated man and a force for good in the community.

He said he raised $2 million for the NAACP’s 2011 national convention in Los Angeles. He also cited work with organizations that helped African Americans, including youth mentoring programs and voter outreach.

He presented 13 character witnesses to speak about his character and honesty.

Jenkins did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. On Tuesday, the national office of the NAACP sent a memo to all the chapters, including the 52 branches in California, urging them to not speak to the media. Numerous attempts to contact the organizations have not been returned. One NAACP member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said officials were aware of Jenkins’ past legal issues. But because he was cleared of criminal charges, they didn’t see a problem with giving him a leadership role, the source said.

On the Los Angeles NAACP’s website, a biography of Jenkins notes he was “the youngest African American judge to serve in Michigan” but does not mention his legal troubles.

Details of Jenkins’ history in Michigan were first reported Tuesday by Deadline Detroit and the Michigan Citizen.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Jenkins said he didn’t cut ties with Sterling until now because the group was reluctant to make decisions based on rumors.

“We deal with the actual character of the person as we see it and as it is displayed,” he said.

The NAACP tried to build partnerships with other sports franchises in Southern California, Jenkins added, but “his organization was the only one that really came to the front.”

The chapter had recently been talking to Sterling about giving an endowment to Los Angeles Southwest College and donating more money to African American students at UCLA.

The chapter was prepared to honor Sterling at a gala in May. Newspaper ads for the event recently appeared, featuring photos of Sterling and Jenkins with the headline: “Two Leaders. One Unprecedented Event.”

In the wake of the controversy, an online petition was launched to suspend the Los Angeles chapter.

11844: Short-Lived Lifetime Award.

Learn more here.

11843: Ads Not Great, Less Creative.

Adweek reported Miller Lite dumped Saatchi & Saatchi and is looking for a new creative shop. Then again, going from Draftfcb to Saatchi & Saatchi indicates the brewer is not really interested in creative. Looking forward to watching White agencies battle for the opportunity to resurrect “Tastes Great, Less Filling.”

Miller Lite Exits Saatchi & Saatchi

Heads to another roster shop after creative jump ball

By Andrew McMains

The Miller Lite brand is on the move again.

Two years after landing at Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, the brand is leaving for another roster agency. Annual media spending is estimated at $160 million.

The shift comes after parent company MilllerCoors invited units of WPP to pitch ideas for a new brand campaign, along with Saatchi. Among the WPP agencies that participated in the pitch were Johannes Leonardo and Ogilvy & Mather.

Before Saatchi, Miller Lite was handled by Interpublic Group’s Draftfcb. Draftfcb lost the business in similar fashion, with Saatchi, then a Miller roster shop, pitching ideas that the brewer bought. Subsequent ads from Saatchi revived the brand’s old “Miller Time” theme.

Saatchi also is losing creative responsibilities on Miller Fortune, a new higher-alcohol brew from MillerCoors. As a result, the agency, which once also handled Miller High Life, has been eliminated from the roster after six years.

Saatchi referred calls to Miller, which confirmed the brand exits, but did not specify where the brands will land.

WPP’s Cavalry handles creative responsibilities on several other MillerCoors brands, including Coors and Coors Light. So, WPP—at least for now—is MillerCoors country.

11842: Recruiting Or Recycling?

Advertising Age reported on the power and influence of recruiters in adland. Um, could one not argue these commission-hungry headhunters are minimally co-conspirators in perpetuating the predominately White status quo? Someone should demand that recruiters reveal their diversity hiring numbers.

Why Executive Recruiters Rule the Roost at Agencies

Cadre of Powerful Placement Experts Are Adland’s Hidden Creative Talent

By Maureen Morrison

Behind many great creative directors stands a great recruiter.

Though they largely operate behind the scenes, recruiters are crucial players in adland, populating the upper ranks at agencies and matchmaking potential hires with an agency’s culture. They know more about the creative-executive landscape than virtually anyone else in the business.

One top-level hire that had their helping hand was Jeff Benjamin, tapped as North American chief creative officer at JWT two years ago. Recruiters were also behind the 2011 placement of Linus Karlsson as chief creative officer at McCann (he has since moved to Commonwealth) and Mark Wenneker joining Mullen as chief creative officer from Goodby Silverstein & Partners in 2008.

Placing top talent has long been a tricky business, and it’s only getting trickier. Splashy names can attract headlines and business interest, but the wrong fit can be devastating for the agency and the individual. Personality and cultural fit are more important than a superlative-filled résumé.

Ask any senior creative to cite the big players in the space and they’ll rattle off at least one of these names: Dany Lennon, owner of the Creative Register; Gilly Taylor in Los Angeles, of Gilly & Co.; Patrizia Magni, who in 2007 founded Thread on the West Coast; Sarah King, who joined Ms. Magni in 2007 to launch Thread; Ann Marie Marcus, at Marcus St. Jean; and Susan Kirshenbaum and Nancy Temkin at Greenberg Kirshenbaum.

One newer player on the U.S. recruiting scene is Grace Blue, a U.K. firm that opened in New York two years ago and specializes in staffing for media and creative.

Ms. Lennon, a Brit who started as a copywriter in London, according to an Ad Club bio, is the most influential, well-connected and knowledgeable of the group. “In a business that’s so based on finding the most amazing talent, there’s one person that stands out as ‘the guy,’” said one chief creative officer. “It’s amazing the kind of relationships she’s built.”

Ms. Lennon, who has been in the business for 30 years, refers to herself as being in the “creative management and representation” business rather than recruiting. She said she provides services well beyond executive search, including career coaching and advice for creatives on their long-term career goals. Ms. Taylor, a 27-year vet who also casts a big shadow in the business, Ms. Temkin and Ms. Kirshenbaum said they also offer counsel to creatives and agencies.

No matter what you call them, these are powerful people—which is perhaps why no creative director would agree to be named in this article (it would be “career suicide,” said one), and why top recruiters zealously guard their client list.

“Recruiters can be really influential and persuasive as to who gets the opportunities, especially at the senior level where there are few jobs at the top and things bottleneck,” said one creative director.

Find the top dog

Most executives interviewed for this article had glowing things to say about recruiters—except those spurned or passed over for a big job because they weren’t backed by a recruiter with pull at major shops.

“Who knows what’s going on in the market better than an executive recruiter?” said one agency CEO. “You want to get their trust and use them as counsel. Information is a massive currency.”

A common misperception is that recruiters work for creatives, but their business comes from agencies. “They’re not agents, they’re scouts,” said one creative director. Agencies typically pay them on a contingency basis—meaning they get paid a percentage of the salary of the position they’re filling, estimated by some to be up to 30%.

So what kinds of creatives are recruiters looking to bring to agencies? “You can tell who is never going to be the top dog because they don’t possess that skill set that is going to be needed,” said Ms. Taylor.

To assess if a candidate has what it takes, she asks herself: Can they deliver that inspirational speech? Can they really collaborate with clients and instill earn their trust? Can they really present ideas? Are they good with new business? Are they motivating their creative department?

Aspiring chief creative officers, take note.

11841: Sterling Loses Lifetime Award.

In addition to receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA, Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling will also lose a “Lifetime Achievement Award” that the NAACP was set to give him. Why, that’s nearly as outrageous as Rev. Al Sharpton celebrating the NAACP’s Centennial with Ogilvy.

NAACP to tighten up award policies amid Sterling scandal

By Bruce Golding

The NAACP announced Tuesday that it would issue new directives to avoid embarrassments like the since-scrapped plan to honor racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

The civil-rights group’s LA chapter was all set to give Sterling a “Lifetime Achievement Award” next month until he was caught on tape ranting at his then-girlfriend for publicly “associating with black people.”

In a statement right after Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA, the NAACP said: “We will be developing guidelines for our units to help them in their award selection process and prevent unfortunate decisions like this from occurring in the future.”

Interim NAACP President Lorraine Jenkins announced Sunday that Sterling would not be honored, as had been planned, at the LA chapter’s upcoming 100th anniversary gala.

She also issued a statement saying “we have strongly urged our Los Angeles unit to take the necessary steps to rescind the previous award they bestowed on him.”

At a Monday news conference, LA chapter President Leon Jenkins said Sterling “has given out a tremendous amount of scholarships, he has invited numerous African-American kids to summer camps, and his donations are bigger than other sports franchises.”

Jenkins, however, called Sterling’s recorded comments “devastating” and “off the scale,” adding: “I think that when you say things like that, you have to pay a price.”

He said his group planned to return an unspecified amount of donations it had received from Sterling.

But Jenkins said he would not demand that Sterling return the “humanitarian award” the group gave him in 2009.

“This is not a Heisman Trophy, dude,” Jenkins said.

11840: Sterling Banned For Life.

Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life from the NBA for making racist remarks. What’s next for Sterling? He’ll probably land an executive position on Madison Avenue, where he’ll fit right in. Hey, his brother Roger Sterling will give him a job.

11839: Trouble In Paradise.

Adweek and Advertising Age reported the proposed Publicis-Omnicom merger is facing obstacles. Looks like the honeymoon is over before the marriage was consummated. But that’s what happens when a relationship is based on money, lies and ego. And it doesn’t help that it’s a union between two Old White Guys.

Are Omnicom and Publicis Laying Grounds for a Divorce?

Suddenly, merger obstacles are looming large

By Noreen O’Leary

By raising tax domicile issues related to its megamerger with Publicis Groupe, Omnicom Group has drawn a line in the sand. And in doing so, the American company has only fanned speculation of mounting marriage troubles, with CEO John Wren stressing to investors that there is no “Plan B” should the combined company fail to establish U.K. tax residency and incorporation in the Netherlands.

Wren’s statements to industry analysts last week represented the latest volley between him and Publicis CEO Maurice Lévy, who have been caught up in a game of verbal ping-pong. The remarks put pressure on Lévy in stalled management structure negotiations, sources said, even as Omnicom’s chief sets up investor expectations for a possible dissolution of the deal, which could carry a $500 million termination fee.

“Omnicom looks like it is trying to create a condition to get out of the merger. It’s almost like they’re looking for ideas to create plausible doubt,” said Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

If Wren views the tax domicile designation as a deal breaker, Lévy as recently as April 17—in a conference call with industry analysts—focused only on French tax authorities, calling the situation a “normal process.” (In a press release last week, Publicis rushed out a statement acknowledging the more complicated tax issues.)

The backdrop to the tax issue, however, may be more telling. Sources said that Wren and Lévy have been butting heads since late last year over merger decisions. Also, integration meetings have been less frequent recently while holding company execs focus on the tax and Chinese regulatory hurdles.

One indication of the management stalemate is the companies’ inability, after nine months, to file a required S-4 SEC document, identifying company officers and corporate organization. Typically those filings are made within a few months of a merger announcement.

In public, Publicis is quick to refer to the deal as a “merger of equals.” And while the structure of Publicis Omnicom Group is 50/50, ultimately Wren becomes CEO. Nevertheless, Lévy, bristling at perceived lame-duck status, is already suggesting he may stay on for an additional two years, according to sources. New York-based Omnicom CFO Randy Weisenburger, meanwhile, has been widely favored to be named CFO. To some, it feels like déjà vu. When Publicis’ joint venture with what was then True North’s FCB in the 1990s collapsed, blame was laid on a power struggle for control between Lévy and his American counterparts.

Not withstanding the tax and regulatory hurdles, the companies may have another opening for walking away. Publicis, in its 2013 annual report, which came out two weeks ago, said that among the reasons either company could terminate the deal is if it isn’t possible to complete it before July 27, 2014. Publicis, in the same report, indicated that the deadline can be extended to Jan. 27, 2015, although it didn’t specify if that had happened. Publicis didn’t respond to inquiries, and Omnicom declined to comment.

For now, the merger delay has put on hold Omnicom’s stock buyback program, which the company is eager to resume, and reportedly is slowing the highly acquisitive Publicis’ deal making.

The current chilly public posturing between the two companies contrasts starkly with the chummy unveiling last summer of their plan to create the world’s largest marketing communications company, at $23 billion in revenue. Observers also noted how unusual it was for Omnicom general counsel Mike O’Brien to be on the call where Wren raised the tax hurdle. One source echoed a growing sentiment around tax residency: “It’s feeling a little bit like a beard.” The source added, “I think they’re just laying pipe in case they have to blow it up.”

11838: Why The L.A. Clippers Will Lose.

The Los Angeles Clippers will not win an NBA Championship this season. And there’s nothing that talented players like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin—or masterful coach Doc Rivers—can do about it. Alas, the team will face defeat because of owner Donald Sterling. News sources indicate Sterling told his trophy girlfriend that he doesn’t want her bringing Blacks to games.

In 2011, MultiCultClassics identified Offensive Karma as a key driver to a team’s downfall. Offensive Karma is defined by a team’s display of offensiveness in the form of words or actions rooted in bigotry, discrimination and ignorance—which then leads to the team’s ultimate demise in the championship tourney.

So at this point, Sterling has sealed the fate of his team. Now, the Clippers may succeed in defeating the Golden State Warriors; however, they will not end the season with a trophy and rings. Unless the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs proceed to hold Klan rallies during halftime shows, trumping Sterling’s ignorance.

11837: Dearth Of Diversity Solutions.

Campaign asked, “Why does ad industry lack minorities?” The answers were contrived, clichéd and culturally clueless—and included the obligatory need to reach minority youth. No, the real need is to reach Old White Guys with hiring authority, as they are the ones perpetuating the dearth of diversity.

Why does ad industry lack minorities?

In sharp contrast to the supercharged pace of change in Britain’s ethnic make-up, progress in boosting the number of staff from ethnic minorities in UK agencies has been snail-like.

Even though those numbers are gradually edging towards the national average of almost 13 per cent, they are well short of the 25 per cent figure in London, which is where most agencies are based.

An IPA study called The New Britain points out that, not only is the UK’s ethnic population now eight million and rising, but it is changing dramatically as Poles, Romanians, Lithuanians, Arabs, Chinese and Filipinos augment a settled Afro-Caribbean and Asian population. The changing nature of multicultural Britain only underlines the need for agencies to mirror it more accurately. Even now, 77 per cent of British Asians surveyed say mainstream advertising has no relevance to them.

The question is whether all the rhetoric about getting more of the most talented young people from ethnic minorities into agencies is being translated into action. Or will these communities—and the increasingly dynamic media that serves them—spurn adland’s messages?

Trade body

Paul Bainsfair, director-general, IPA

“If the industry was being given a school report on its diversity, the verdict would be: ‘OK, but could do better.’ Although the ethnic make-up of agencies isn’t far off the national average, it is nowhere near the average of around 25 per cent in London. That slow progress isn’t entirely the industry’s fault. A lot of parents from ethnic minorities cleave to the traditional professions. Their children are much more likely to be encouraged to become doctors or lawyers rather than try for an advertising career. We have to improve our communication with young people, whatever their backgrounds.”

Agency head

Chris Hirst, chief executive, Grey London

“My agency, along with almost every other in the country, has a relatively narrow representation. That’s changing, but we still have a long way to go before we’re as diverse as the country as a whole. Ethnic minorities are underrepresented in every agency department. The result is that we don’t communicate as effectively with those minorities as we should. One problem is that most people in our industry have never worked anywhere else and we all recruit mostly from other agencies. If we can throw more people together from different backgrounds, we’re bound to get more interesting creative solutions.”

Agency head

Sanjay Shabi, director, CultureCom

“I’ve no doubt that the pace of change in the number of people from ethnic minorities working in agencies will accelerate. Not only is the IPA putting in a significant amount of effort but there are more ethnic role models. Magnus Djaba, Zaid Al-Zaidy and Karen Blackett, the chief executives of Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann London and MediaCom respectively, are among them. They show how those from ethnic minorities can flourish and progress in this business. Also, as ethnic-minority families reach their third or fourth generations, there’s less pressure on young people to go for careers in accountancy or medicine.”

Agency head

Shelina Janmohamed, vice-president, Ogilvy Noor

“The industry is still at an early stage in learning how to communicate with ethnic minorities. It has to recognise that some communities have needs nobody has previously considered. The most important thing is that people within agencies get engaged in the conversation about diversity. That’s what happened when Ogilvy Noor, the world’s first service offering advice on building brands that appeal to Muslim consumers on a global basis, was set up. The real challenge is finding people with the right professional skills. You need to have an innate sense of what’s right and what isn’t. That can be difficult.”

11836: Ronald McDonald 2014.

Mickey D’s has given Ronald McDonald fresh new gear. Shouldn’t the health department mandate he wear a McHairnet while in the restaurant?

11835: Top 50 Diversity Hypocrites…?

DiversityInc published its annual list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity. As always, there are no advertising agencies or advertising holding companies among the fifty. Yet more disturbing are the regular honorees including Mastercard, Procter & Gamble, Prudential, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, Marriott, Wells Fargo, Cox, Aetna, General Mills, Target, IBM, Colgate-Palmolive, Kellogg Company, Dell, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Kraft, Allstate, Toyota, Verizon, Comcast and JCPenney. That is, major advertisers display a staunch commitment to diversity while co-conspiring with advertising agencies where diversity remains a dream deferred and delegated. It would be most fitting if DiversityInc held a party to salute the winners and hired Pioneer of Diversity John Wren to deliver the keynote address.

11834: Most Beautiful Lupita Nyong’o.

11833: R.I.P. Madison Avenue Project…?

Back in 2009, Cyrus Mehri launched the Madison Avenue Project to expose the lack of diversity in the advertising industry. Roughly five years later, the official website appears to be gone, and there’s only a page dedicated to the effort on the website of Mehri’s law firm. Guess Mehri has raised the white flag.