Looks like The Coca-Cola Company is trying to counter its performative pro-DEIBA+ promotion—which might have triggered the political wrath of President Donald J. Trump—by presenting itself as a major contributor to the US economy.
Trump, in turn, can spur the economy by pushing his Diet Coke button.
Advertising Age published yet another pro-DEIBA+ perspective bound to join all other advocacy rants in the literal and figurative trash bin. That is, the content presents more revolutionary rhetoric that’ll inspire disdain, disinterest, and indifference.
The Op-Ed’s title claims brands are botching DEIBA+—yet the viewpoint is unintentionally botching its defense.
To put a twist on the definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein, “Insanity is saying and/or publishing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Illustrating the exposition with royalty-free stock images doesn’t help either.
Brands and White advertising agencies have steadfastly ignored the passionate pleas for progress. Hell, even threats of boycotts and legal action have gone unheeded.
The root issue is not that anyone is botching DEIBA+; rather, it reflects the seemingly endless support and success of systemic racism.
How brands are botching DE&I—and what to do instead
By Lameya Chaudhury
Let’s call it how it is: Brands aren’t running out of values—they’re running out of nerve. Somewhere along the way, DE&I stopped feeling like a business driver and started looking like a PR liability.
Done badly, DE&I is theater
The term got hijacked, siloed and recycled into corporate diversity days, happy-clappy LinkedIn slideshows and echoed in branded panels that look like an Instagram carousel of performative allyship—the kind that mysteriously empowers only the speakers.
Let’s be clear, I’m not cussing out DE&I. It’s absolutely vital. I’m saying it’s been done badly, and when DE&I is done badly, it doesn’t shout progress, it signals risk. Remember Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner moment and the annual Pride Month panic-post? No brand wants to be the punchline.
This makes it very easy for brands to ditch when things get political. Because if your DE&I strategy doesn’t touch your actual work, your customers or your bottom line, then it’s scenery, not a strategy.
Walk the walk
The solution is not how your brand talks, but how it behaves.
It’s the unsexy stuff no one posts about: who gets paid, who’s in the room and whether you’re reshaping systems or just recycling stories. It takes hard work and a long-game mindset.
Because the brands that do this properly aren’t just more likable. They’re more bankable.
Don’t take my word for it
Spoiler alert: The brands doing this properly? They’re not just righteous, they’re also cashing in. And not in an abstract “hearts and minds” kind of way, but in real commercial terms.
When brands walk the walk, it fuels innovation, reduces reputational risk, builds brand resilience and unlocks growth in previously overlooked markets. It helps you attract top talent, retain loyal customers and get ahead of regulatory and cultural shifts before they become problems.
According to the Unstereotype Alliance (I know, it sounds like a Marvel spin-off, but trust me, it’s done the work), inclusive brands enjoy:
• 16.26% higher long-term sales
• 3.46% boost in short-term sales
• 54% more pricing power
• 15% better customer loyalty
• 33% more likely to be the first choice for consumers
That’s not fluffy “woke” fantasy. That’s cold, hard ROI.
You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. The data says you can do both, and frankly, in this economy, you should.
From DE&I to real impact
Here’s the shift clients can make:
Less “How do we look diverse?” More “How do we create systemic change through our actual business?”
That means asking:
• Are your ethics built into your supply chain or just your social feed?
• Are you creating change with communities or just marketing at them?
• Are you measuring outcomes or clinging to output?
And yet, while some brands are pushing forward, others are moonwalking backward, scrubbing public references to their DEI efforts, or renaming the program altogether.
Such changes prioritize optics over outcomes. But if advertising wants to keep its seat at the grown-up table, we need to do better.
The truth is: A diverse casting brief means jack if your exec team isn’t. And don’t even talk to me about your B Corp badge if your agency’s still pitching for fossil fuels.
Play the long game or get played
Things feel tense. The right is loud, the center is slippery and your legal team has just asked if the word “solidarity” could be replaced with “support adjacency.”
But backing away from impact won’t protect your brand; it will just make you forgettable. The real risk is not doing too much, but doing nothing at all.
Actions give brands a way to lead without shouting. To grow without exploiting. To connect without co-opting. It’s not a trend. It’s not a CSR rebrand. It’s a competitive advantage with a conscience.
So, if you want to get it right:
• Sort your own house out first
• Stop outsourcing the hard stuff to just casting briefs
•And commit for the long haul, not just the launch day
In the end, you’ve got two choices: Be part of the backlash or build the bounce-back.
Advertising Age reported McCann Worldgroup “has been quietly trimming its workforce” in recent months—a RIF supplemented by key senior-level departures.
That’s a sharp contrast to loud layoffs and lunacy in recent years. Guess the White advertising agency is executing more preemptive pruning in advance of the impending Omnicom acquisition of IPG.
McCann’s “Truth Well Told” tagline clearly does not apply to staff communications.
McCann Worldgroup lays off staff while some leaders choose to exit
By Ewan Larkin and Brian Bonilla
McCann Worldgroup has been quietly trimming its workforce over the last few months and has parted ways with several senior executives ahead of Omnicom Group’s acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos., Ad Age has learned.
Since February, the IPG agency network has been reducing its workforce in small waves, with one source estimating the cumulative number to be about 120 people. Those affected appear to be employees in duplicative or non-revenue-generating roles, including staffers in corporate communications, creative and social. Several high-level executives have also departed on their own amid these changes.
McCann did not comment on the number of job reductions and referred calls for comment to IPG, which provided this statement: “Earlier this year, Interpublic announced that we are embarking on a transformation process. On our recent earnings call, we shared that we are centralizing corporate functions and accelerating investment in central platform capabilities like production and analytics through greater consolidation into centers of excellence, while also streamlining across the organization.”
It continued, “While these actions enhance service delivery, the composition of our workforce and our agencies is also impacted. It’s never easy to take these kinds of actions, but they are due to the transformation and restructuring we announced in February, and not part of the proposed transaction with Omnicom.”
The reference is to an IPG restructuring announced by CEO Philippe Krakowsky in February, in which it promised to save $250 million through restructuring within its agencies this year.
The pending merger is anticipated to yield $750 million in annual cost savings, which are also widely expected to result in layoffs. Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren has repeatedly emphasized that roles tied to client service and revenue will be safe from cuts. “You’re gold,” Wren has previously said of such staffers.
High-level departures at IPG’s McCann Worldgroup
McCann Worldgroup said it has 12,000 employees, so the cuts would amount to about 1% of its total workforce. Agencies within the network include McCann, CRM agency MRM, production shop Craft and FutureBrand, whose specialties include design and brand architecture. McCann Worldgroup has a presence in more than 100 countries, according to its website.
Among the senior execs leaving or who have already left McCann are Stephanie Nerlich, McCann Worldgroup’s first global president, along with Pete Johnson and Cinzia Crociani, both global executive creative directors based in New York. Johnson and Nerlich could not be reached for comment and Crociani said she resigned to pursue another opportunity.
Other departures include Scott Berwitz, senior VP and global director of marketing communications; McCann New York Chief Creative Officer Shayne Millington, whose role is being eliminated; and New York Chief Growth Officer Suresh Raj, who said he recently resigned to join M+C Saatchi. Berwitz and Millington could not be reached for comment.
McCann Worldgroup has faced challenges in recent years, including the loss of longtime client Verizon, which shifted its consumer account to WPP’s Ogilvy in late 2023. The network took another hit last June when General Motors pulled significant business from Chevy-focused Commonwealth/McCann and MRM, prompting layoffs at both agencies.
McCann Worldgroup ultimately decided to do away with the Commonwealth/McCann brand name in October, parking those employees under McCann Detroit instead. That move followed the March 2024 closure of its San Francisco-based McCann 215 office, whose biggest client was Xbox. Xbox recently launched a campaign with Droga5.
Earlier this week, Ad Age reported that HomeGoods, a McCann client of seven years, is also looking for a new creative agency. (McCann New York remains the creative agency of record for TJ Maxx, another TJX Cos. brand.) McCann Worldgroup’s losses have been partly offset by wins such as Ikea’s global brand marketing account and creative duties for Kinder and Tic Tac across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
Is The Coca-Cola Company concealing its DEIBA+ heat shields by renaming the performative initiatives “empowerment programs”?
If the patronizing promotions are pro-DEIBA+ stunts, President Donald J. Trump might rethink his Diet Coke button.
Via Bronzecomm, Lowell Thompson—aka RaceMan—announces his latest venture…
An Ad Agency for the Human Race
After a career of creating ads and commercials that sell products and services, I want to sell something much more important. I call it “humaneness”.
I’ve been talking about my idea for years, but the recent turn of political events force me to put up or shut up. I think the pure, unadulterated embrace of hate, cruelty, bullying and greed is the culmination of the gradual, almost imperceptible dehumanization of humans in America. And I think my lifelong profession — advertising — has had a huge hand in this. So I want to use my hand, mind and heart to undo some of the damage. I’m inviting other advets to join me.
My answer is to create communications in all media that promote human kindness, decency and respect for all living things, especially our fellow humans. My first product will be my “The Humane Race” T-shirt. By buying and wearing it, you say to the world that you are humane. You prove it by your actions.
Right now, my Humane Initiative is still in its embryonic stage. I’m still working out the details. I’m asking others to join me. I’m looking for partners who can help me plan its structure, build a website and other marketing materials, contact potential private and public members and basically build a brand-new type of communications company that’s “like an ad agency…for the human race”.
Interested? Contact Lowell Thompson at lowelltho@gmail.com. If you’re on Facebook, search for my HUMANE group and join it.
Mediapsssst reported Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré pocketed a significant compensation bump in 2024, despite the White holding company’s organic revenue decline.
Bolloré’s response was probably, “Thanks, Dad.”
Havas CEO Bollore’s Compensation Soared 2.7 Times In 2024
By Richard Whitman
Havas Group didn’t grow last year—its 2024 organic revenue decline was 0.8%—but CEO Yannick Bollore’s compensation grew by a lot.
According to the company’s recently issued annual report Bollore’s total compensation last year was nearly 10 million euros (about $11.4 million). That included a 1.5 million base salary, long and short-term incentive bonuses and other benefits.
By comparison, in 2023 Bollore’s total compensation was about 3.7 million euros. The company grew 4.4% that year and has projected it will grow 2%-plus in 2025.
WPP lost ground last year as well with an organic decline of 1%. CEO Mark Read took a 15% cut in total compensation.
Bollore’s pay is just a small portion of the value he derives from Havas. He owns 3% of company shares—making him one of the largest single shareholders—and other Bollore entities own an additional 31.05 of company shares.
The company returned to the public markets late last after being a subsidiary of Vivendi since 2017. Shares are down 22% on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange since trading began on December 16.
At its annual meeting in May the firm will propose a 1-for-10 reverse stock split as part of a plan to boost the stock price. It also plans to buy back up to 10% of outstanding shares over the next 18 months and offer a dividend (0.08 euro per share).
