15538: Cancel Culture Creamed & Cancelled…?

 

Despite official statements in 2020 from B&G Foods—the parent company of Cream of Wheat—that Rastus would be removed from product packaging, the chef continues to grin prominently on the website. Guess who’s still coming to breakfast?

 

15537: Crappy Clio Creates Cash-Generating Cannabis Competition.

 

For Clio Cannabis Awards, program judges will probably be compensated with weed…

15536: New Ben’s Original Campaign Makes You Want To Cry Uncle.

 

Advertising Age reported on the new Uncle Ben’s Original campaign that cooks up visions of diversity—brought to you by a predominately White advertising agency, presumably based in the UK. The patronizing pap for Ben’s Original is anything but original. The inclusion of Mars Food executives is unappetizing too. It’s all as White as, well, rice.

 

Ben’s Original’s First Campaign Highlights Inclusion—And Its Rice

 

The “Everyone’s Original” campaign for the former Uncle Ben’s is one of the biggest in Mars Food’s history

 

By Jessica Wohl

 

Ben’s Original, the brand created to replace Uncle Ben’s, is out with an inclusive campaign backed by major media spending nearly a year after the name change was announced amid a global racial reckoning.

 

The “Everyone’s Original” campaign features a diverse cast of families and friends cooking at home, each group putting its own spin on using Ben’s Original rice with the tagline “We’re all original recipes.” Commercials feature six groups of real families and friends: a Black nuclear family, a pair of friends, three roommates, a single-parent family, a multi-generational Pakistani family, and a family that uses sign language.

 

“Our priority when selecting the families was to be as inclusive as possible to emphasize our belief that everyone deserves a seat at the table,” says Rafael Narvaez, global chief marketing officer and research and development officer, Mars Food.

 

The campaign was inspired by the new Ben’s Original brand name, “which not only speaks to the heritage and quality of our rice, but also our vision of inclusivity that celebrates individuality,” says Narvaez.

 

Each commercial features unscripted moments of cooking, familiar kitchen chaos, and Ben’s Original rice.

 

Name change

 

Mars Food announced plans to change the name from Uncle Ben’s in September 2020 and updated its packaging in May. The name change was spurred by recognition of racial inequities associated with Uncle Ben’s and other brands that relied on stereotypes such as Black waiters and cooks. The products, mainstays in kitchens for decades, were drawn into the spotlight during the period of racial reckoning and call for justice that followed the killings of Black Americans including George Floyd. Other overhauls included Aunt Jemima dropping its name and likeness to later become Pearl Milling Company.

 

Now, after minimal marketing that promoted the name change, Ben’s Original is out with what Narvaez describes as one of the largest campaigns in Mars Food’s history, without divulging spending plans.

 

Mars, which named its rice Uncle Ben’s in 1946 after a Black farmer, doesn’t mention the prior name in the ads. Unscripted commercials show real-life families and friends. According to Narvaez, everyone who appears in the campaign was aware “and supportive,” he says, “of the name change and our evolved brand purpose.”

 

UK cast, U.S. debut

 

The commercials were shot this summer in London with COVID-19 protocols in place. “We have aspirations to feature families who live in other areas of the world in the near future,” Narvaez says.

 

The first series of ads feature a fully UK-based cast, though he points out that many of the families originally came from other countries. The ads come from WPP-backed The&Partnership. After a U.S. debut, there are plans to expand the campaign to Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada and France in the coming months.

 

In the U.S., commercials are set to appear on TV including on TV One, Food Network and HGTV, print ads set to run in Essence and Taste of Home, online video portals, streaming services, social and search. A portion of U.S. media spending is going toward minority-owned networks including Black Enterprise, Blavity, Her Agenda, Travel Noire, Ebony, TV One and Essence. The company plans to follow a similar model in other markets.

 

The brand previously announced community outreach including its “Seat at the Table” scholarship fund to support Black culinary students, developed with National Urban League and United Negro College Fund. Later this year, Mars plans to begin funding apprenticeships in the U.K. Other efforts include product donations to organizations including Feeding America and CARE.

15535: Saluting Iconic Laborers On Labor Day.

 

Look who’s not working today…

15534: Vaccinated And Not Vaccinated Agree, This Campaign Sucks.

 

Yep, called this contrived COVID-19 crap over a year ago…

 

15533: Overreaction Of The Week.

 

NBC News presented a viral video that “shows black bear stealing Amazon package from Connecticut porch.” Sure, black bears are always stealing…

15532: Aunt Jemima Reborn & Rebooted…

 

Advertising Age reported Pearl Milling Company—PepsiCo’s replacement for Aunt Jemima—launched its first campaign. The TV commercials were produced by a predominately Black advertising agency and feature a Black family doing Black things while enjoying pancakes. Why, Ad Age even gave the reporting assignment to a Black journalist. It’s pancake progress.

 

Pearl Milling Company Releases First Campaign Since Changing Name From Aunt Jemima

 

A Black family shares milestones and pancakes in the first work for the former Aunt Jemima brand

 

By Moyo Adeolu

 

Pearl Milling Company, the brand that was Aunt Jemima for more than a century, is out with its first major campaign since the name change, highlighting the new name and moments of family joy over pancakes.

 

The first of three new TV commercials features a Black family sharing a range of warm moments and milestones: A daughter’s birthday, a mother getting into grad school, a dad helping his teenage daughter get through a break-up, all over a plate of Pearl Milling Company pancakes.

 

The brand worked with multicultural creative agency Ten35 on the campaign, which was directed by Justin Casselle, a film festival award-winning director.

 

Two more commercials are set to debut in early October. The nationwide campaign will run through the end of the year and will span across social TV, digital, social, and in-store. A national retail promotion is expected to launch in September.

 

PepsiCo announced plans to remove the name and likeness of Aunt Jemima in June 2020 during the country's period of racial awakening and was the first major food brand featuring a Black person on its packaging to unveil such plans. The name Pearl Milling Company was announced in February and packaging featuring the new name began appearing in stores in recent months.

 

Kristin Kroepfl, VP and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, believes the campaign reflects the relevance and universal joy that pancakes bring to breakfast tables.

 

“What you’ll see in all three spots are families sharing different moments together over a plate of pancakes. The common thread is the love and warmth of being together, starting your day with a smile, and the familiar great taste of Pearl Milling Company that has been here for years and will continue to be here,” says Kroepfl.

 

Like many brands, Pearl Milling Company will continue to build on inclusivity, reflecting people of all backgrounds. The first Pearl Milling Company campaign comes two weeks after Ben’s Original, the rice brand that used to be called Uncle Ben’s, launched its inclusive campaign.

 

Spending plans were not disclosed, but Kroepfl says the company is prioritizing marketing support for the national campaign.

 

“This rebranding has significance for members of the Black community and we want to highlight it in a way that is respectful, authentic and that evokes joy that resonates with all families,” says Kroepfl.

 

Pearl Milling Company pledged $5 million in June 2020 to support the Black community. The P.E.A.R.L. Pledge is its multi-year grant program focused on supporting the empowerment and success of Black women. The brand plans to invest in nonprofit organizations starting with $1 million in grants this year, with recipients expected to be awarded in early October.

 

15531: Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied—Just Saying.

 

At More About Advertising, Editor Stephen Foster opined on the JWT sex discrimination lawsuit, including commentary on Jo Wallace and the Daily Mail exposé. Here’s the most outrageous statement in the post, expressing how WPP ought to show greater care and sensitivity before firing employees: “People shouldn’t lose their jobs without due consideration of natural justice.” Natural justice? An industry rife with systemic racism and chronic sexism—perfectly represented by Wunderman Thompson and the former JWT—displays the prevalence of deliberate injustice.

 

Of white males, Jo Wallace and that Mail Online report

 

By Stephen Foster

 

Some groups in UK adland are protesting vociferously about coverage of Jo Wallace, a leading player in the JWT sex discrimination case. Specifically an article on Mail Online. Complaints have been made to IPSO, the rather toothless replacement for the (equally) toothless Press Complaints Commission.

 

In fact the article covers the case of Chas Bayfield, Dave Jenner and their unnamed colleagues against (now) Wunderman Thompson pretty accurately; the only bone of contention (as far as I can see) being pictures of Wallace (above) and her female fiancee, which look like they’ve been taken from a public social media feed as they’re pretty flattering. Some people have also complained because the piece says they live in East London but that’s a pretty big area, bigger than most UK cities.

 

But why Wallace, a global creative director on Nestle? Although, as WPP has pointed out, she played no part in the redundancy of the white, middle-aged creatives she did say, at a conference, that such people should be “obliterated” from JWT as it strove to bridge its cavernous gender pay gap. The five objected to this and their careers at JWT ended days later after a meeting with the head of HR (or should that be chief redundancy officer?) and a creative bigwig.

 

Wallace is also on record as referring publicly to “white, stale males” so she can hardly grumble if she arouses controversy.

 

Of the current farrago Wallace says: “What does this tell women already underrepresented in this industry? Why would [they] want to go into this industry when you see myself being treated like this?

 

“I had nothing to do with this case. I had nothing to do with the decision to make them redundant. [Pictures of] me wearing a bikini is clearly an attempt to take me down and embarrass me in public, so it’s incredibly distressing.”

 

People in adland could save themselves a fair few problems if they didn’t strive for maximum impact in everything they say, even if skews and distorts the meaning. If, say, Wallace at the ‘Crisis: The Mother of All Change’ meeting recommended “radical action” rather than “obliterate” this might not have happened. In fact the title of said conference is typical adland hyperbole: crisis isn’t the mother of all change – it might be the cause of some of it. Similar “white, stale males.” Is stale in there just because it rhymes will male?

 

One of the things I find most bewildering about the way this started is that James Whitehead, then CEO of JWT, was in the audience. Did he see Wallace’s presentation first? On the basis of one meeting (to discuss a rebranding of JWT – we know what happened to that) Whitehead struck me as sensible.

 

Let’s hope the five made redundant are, at the very least, walking away with sizeable cheques. Online trolling of Wallace should crease too, of course. But anyone who ventures online pretty well knows what they’re going to get.

 

As for Wunderman Thompson owner WPP, it needs to examine if it’s far too quick on the trigger in such instances. People shouldn’t lose their jobs without due consideration of natural justice. This is rather akin to Nick Emery’s defenestration at Mindshare when he was fired for a Zoom spoof in the loo. Emery is now forming a rival media division at You & Mr Jones. Such decisions have consequences.

15530: Betting Your Ass Off.

 

With BETUS, your ass gets paid and your ass gets laid…?

 

15529: One School @ One Year = One Photo Op.

 

Adweek reported One School—hatched in partnership with Spotify and The One Club—celebrated its inaugural year by training 84 Black creatives and recording an 80% hiring rate for graduates. Considering that One School is a free 16-week portfolio school, the results seem extraordinary.

 

Then again, recruiting entry-level minorities is a slam dunk routinely executed by even the most mediocre players. Why can’t The One Club leverage its privileged influence to ignite an employment spike for mid- and senior-level Blacks?

 

And how do the figures from One School compare with the success rates of MAIP, High School for IAM, BrandLab or other education-based heat shields? The retention numbers will mark the true measure of progressive victory.

 

Check back in one year…

15528: Dear Great White Hope… (Or Dear White Hypocrites)

 

Advertising Age reported on patronizing propaganda produced by IPG DXTRA, the Anti-Defamation League, We Are and the Ad Council—Dear White Parents—seemingly designed to serve as a Caucasian companion to Procter & Gamble’s The Talk. Sorry, but IPG DXTRA and the Ad Council need to look in the mirror—then create Dear White Adpeople…

 

‘Dear White Parents’ Shifts The Burden Of Talking About Race To Families With The Privilege To Ignore It

 

A short film from IPG DXTRA, the Anti-Defamation League, WE ARE and the Ad Council follows the conversations of four white families

 

By I-Hsien Sherwood

 

P&G’s 2017 ad “The Talk” introduced many white viewers to the conversations about race that all Black families have, often starting when children are young. The ad’s power hinged on a simple insight: Race is a life-or-death issue for Black families, but white families can ignore it altogether.

 

So when news breaks of the latest victim of racial violence, Black parents must explain it to their children, while white families can choose whether or not to engage in difficult or uncomfortable conversations about systemic racism and white privilege. Historically, most opt to not. Nearly two-thirds of white adults surveyed say their parents rarely or never spoke to them about race or racism.

 

A new short film, “Dear White Parents,” encourages them to do just that. Created by IPG DXTRA with support from racism education non-profit WE ARE, the Ad Council and the Anti-Defamation League, the 11-minute film follows four white families as they navigate tough conversations about race and racism with their children. It is narrated by anti-racist educator Dr. Ronda Taylor Bullock, executive curator of WE ARE.

 

Kevin Wilson, Jr., nominated for an Academy Award for his short film “My Nephew Emmett,” directs.

 

“I was six years old when I was called the n-word for the first time. It was a devastating experience and I remember it vividly,” he said in a statement. “The weight of these discussions has fallen on Black and Brown parents for centuries. We want to encourage and equip White parents to share in this responsibility.”

 

Rather than continuing to place the onus on Black families to warn their kids of the obstacles they’ll face because of their race, white parents can take on the burden themselves to make their children aware of their privilege and the consequences of inaction.

 

In an industry where CDOs are usually tasked with reviewing creative near the end of the process, after most of the important decisions have been made, this project stands out: the creative concept originated with IPG DXTRA’s chief inclusion and diversity officer, Margenett Moore-Roberts.

 

“After days of watching multi-racial crowds around the world protest the murder of George Floyd, I started wondering what kind of impact we could make if we were able to encourage and equip more white families to discuss race with their children early and often, in a similar way that Black families have been doing for generations,” she says. “Could we bend the 400-year-old trajectory of racism and create a new reality around race for the next generation?”

 

A website houses the full film, along with a discussion guide created by the ADL and anti-racism workshops for families. The Ad Council is including the film as part of its Racial Justice Series, and it will run in donated media placements.

 

A team drawn from IPG DXTRA agencies collaborated for several months to create the platform, including strategy and creative and film production from The Brooklyn Brothers, content development, earned and social media and comms from Golin, website development from Hugo & Cat, media from Resolute Digital, influencer engagement and talent from R&CPMK and creative consulting from Weber Shandwick.

15527: Credit Card Craftiness.

 

These credit cards are money…? Like money from a Mafioso loan shark.

15526: Overreaction Of The Week.

 

A free book explaining who Jesse Owens was—in every box of Kellogg’s Chocolate Frosted Flakes…? Sorry, that’s not gr-r-reat!

15525: Talk To The Hand, Tiger Cub Enthusiasts.

 

Whoever thought this was a good idea should be slapped with lots of hands.

15524: Exclusivity And Systemic Racism Are Viruses At IPG.

 

Advertising Age published a report that asked, “Can My Employer Require Me To Get The COVID Vaccine?” The article noted IPG is mandating that all employees be vaccinated. Yet, despite its patronizing DE&I gobbledygook, the White holding company can’t mandate that managers with hiring authority select and promote people of color. IPG leaders just won’t give racial and ethnic minorities a shot.

15523: The Economics Of Exclusivity.

 

Current Affairs published a perspective by Bertrand Cooper that expressed the following:

 

A closer look at the economics of Black pop culture reveals that most Black creators (outside music) come from middle-to-upper middle class backgrounds, while the Black poor are written about but rarely get the chance to speak for themselves.

 

The notion could arguably be applied to Blacks in Adland too, although there is probably no data to prove it. In short, this may indicate the pointlessness of recruiting exclusively from underserved communities in the hopes of improving diversity in the field.