Essay 1206

Wow. The comments were quick and brutal in response to the AdAge perspective presented in Essay 1205…

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> Television... And to think, all this time, I thought it was the combo of unchecked greed, white-skin privilege, nepotism and insulated myopic world views coupled with generations of clients who’ve insisted on awarding the lions’ share of their accounts to White agencies irregardless of their abilities, capabilities or results they deliver while subjugating ethnic agencies to subcontractor roles or no roles at all? Who knew the answer was really a lack of interest in the ad business driven by mass media images, specifically TV? And since Mr. Brownstein has a Black Friend (never heard that qualifier before) he must be wrong. Thanks for clearing things up. So, I guess the solution then is for White agencies to do better commercials and for Hollywood to create better and more diverse images that will plant seeds of interest in the minds of our young Black youth, huh? 15 years in the ad world and now I’ve officially heard it all. — Chicago, IL

> Unbelievable. “Back in the 60’s and 70’s” while millions of households were watching “Bewitched,” millions of Blacks and Latinos were watching their heroes assassinated, arrested and, at the very least, systematically marginalized. When will ad executives own up to their shortcomings and recognize that more than 40 years after the Civil Rights revolution, the advertising business is still appallingly white? Shame on Marc for his bromidic pronouncements. — Eric Shorter, Maplewood, NJ

> This is the second article on this topic that could have benefited from cultural editorial review. Do you have minorities in your editorial department? It’s difficult to take these missives seriously. Is it your intention to kick up dust about this topic or to show leadership and progress on it? There are no arguments, excuses, or explanations that support the disparities that exist. No amount of comment by racial minorities (mine included) moves the industry toward closing the gap. If this is helping some industry executive make changes, great, but I’m inclined to believe these articles are all talk no action. — Wendy Manning, Chicago, IL

> This post looks like putting the blame on anyone but the agencies. I’m a Hispanic creative and I’ve been turned down from many agencies. I finally found work in a Hispanic shop. I think it’s a tribal thing. People hire who they feel most comfortable with. — Chicago, IL

> It is sad and embarrassing that someone who is a New York ad agency principal could be so horrifically clueless. It speaks volumes about the state of our industry today. Let’s put aside the fact that Mr. Brownstein feels compelled to tell us that he has a black friend; one who is a “class act.” Let’s just go to his thesis. He says, “It’s been my experience that many inner-city kids love to watch TV commercials.” Oh really? Is that his personal experience hanging out with inner-city kids, or his years of professional experience in multicultural marketing? Or is it just a glib, meaningless statement? And since when does the “inner-city” represent all African Americans? Millions of blacks live in the suburbs. I live in a small Connecticut town. These kinds of careless -- indeed thoughtless -- generalizations belie a point of view that “I know all I need to know about black people.” There is absolutely no research evidence to support that assertion that black kids know any less about the ad business than white kids. I’ve looked. I have interviewed dozens of kids (black and white) trying to get their first job in advertising, including the nephews of ad executives. None of them know anything about the business. Zero. So awareness is not the problem. This is a false argument. But it is typical of ad agency executives to suggest that they are not at fault for their own lack of diversity. It’s black people’s fault for not wanting ad agency jobs. If mainstream agencies can’t find any minority professionals, how come minority agencies — with LESS glamour, LESS money and LESS resources — don’t have any trouble finding and hiring minority talent? Mainstream agencies can’t find any minority professionals, but if they need a copywriter with six or more years of light beer experience, they can find him and hire him in less than a week, if the client is big enough. Mainstream agencies have no trouble finding what they want to find. Perhaps the height of Mr. Brownstein’s laughable naivete is his suggestion that all we need is for some copywriter to create a TV show about advertising with a diverse cast. Assuming for a moment that you could even get the show made, which is extraordinarily unlikely, the only networks that would air a show about an ad agency with a diverse cast are BET or the SciFi Channel. Expecting a TV show to transform an industry is like expecting The West Wing to magically transform the White House from Republican to Democrat. — RIDGEFIELD, CT

> I think it’s amusing that you immediately link “blacks and Hispanics” to inner-city kids without a segue explaining why you immediately linked the two together. — LOS ANGELES, CA

> You know, this issue about diversity is sooooo tired with this typical lame response. Of course there’s no “racial conspiracy” of a bunch of white ad agencies explicitly saying that we must keep people of color out of our workforce. How do people get hired? It’s who you know. Just like in life for the most part, people get hired/promoted, etc. based on relationships. If you don’t have a social network that includes people of color and you stay in your own pool then of course you are not going to be thinking about diversity unless you are forced to when issues like this “rear their ugly head” or someone realizes that there’s money to be made of off Black and Hispanic consumers. People are comfortable in choosing things they are familiar with, and given the fact that race in this country is still a factor in all aspects our society to various degrees — what make you naively think that Ad agencies are not affected??? Here’s another subtle racial qualifier that you even don’t realize you are saying — your black friend who is “smart and a class act” (as opposed to what?) said it diplomatically… He said it diplomatically because HE KNOWS how hard it is to get accounts that are not just the special market/niche ones or to be considered for mainstream accounts. He’s not stupid nor is he going to be “Malcolm X” about this lack of diversity so that it affects his relationships and his bottom line. So in the end it’s all about who you are comfortable with and it doesn’t have to be imagined as some smoke-filled conspiracy room. So if you want to feel good about hiring people of color, then start an outreach program at a nearby inner-city school or with a historically diverse school or university, form strategic partnerships with minority ad agencies, go to minority job fairs, hire a diversity consultant — just be proactive and quit with this tired lip service cause it’s late in the day. — Gabriel Tolliver, Brooklyn, NY

> Yes, indeed growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, there wasn’t much interest in my own high school and college to give me options. I remember in high school they promoted me to be a model, and when I took the AP test for the school and I won 2nd place nationwide, they were shocked. The staff at that time knew little about the Hispanics. I was the only Mexican in a nice neighborhood in the suburbs of Detroit. At college, I remember so well when I took a test to guide me on what I wanted to do; it was very ironic that the results were the typical answers of jobs that Hispanics do — like farm work or a funeral director or a bus driver. Give me a break, I thought. How is it that as a female Hispanic, these are the jobs that they were promoting for me? I didn’t feel any connection to any of these suggestions. High school was hard for me, being the only Mexican around almost 98% white students and the rest African American. Many things have changed for the Hispanics and I am grateful that now there are good positions for those of us who can do better than what was suggested in a college test. As a business owner in a white market world, it is amazing to see the change of the people and interest in the Hispanic Market. I matter, my services matter and most importantly, my culture matters. Diversity is the answer. We are in a world that is changing dramatically. GLOBALIZATION, to be clear. As a Hispanic Young Female, I am amazed by these people in the advertising market who are taking the time to get to know me and my market. I know for a fact 15 years back this would have never happened. Everyone wants to hire a Hispanic and I know why. The Hispanic Market in the USA is growing tremendously and that means money in their pocket. Major corporations are investing alone in advertising millions per year to grab the attention of the Hispanic Market. But for you to be able to grab the Hispanic Market, you must hire people who can identify with the customer. Therefore, companies everywhere are hiring Hispanics to represent their companies because Hispanics represent big profit for their companies. How ironic is that? Back when I was in college, they advised me to look into being a bus driver or a funeral director. If they only knew I own my very successful business. Now for advertising agency, you do have to go to high schools such as mine in the suburbs or in Detroit, because there is a lot of talent out there, meaning $$$$$ lots of money for your company. There is one agency in Detroit who hired me, and they knew I didn’t have any experience in the market and promised to train me. Well, they were overwhelmed by work and no one had the time to train me. I felt like I wanted to learn but I also felt lost. In my opinion this is not the way to work or hire people to begin with. Major advertising agencies, especially Hispanic-owned, need to promote these jobs first in the schools, so enough students get the interest and actually go to college and have the experience to do the job. It is frustrating when you are hired and promised training and then they tell you don’t have experience and we have to let you go. You simply don’t do that. If you promise to train someone, do it; and if you need someone with experience, hire with experience. Thankfully, that gave me the courage to be my own boss and never ever do that to someone else. Detroit advertising agencies, especially Hispanic Agencies, need to see the entire picture. Just because you are growing tremendously, you can’t mistreat your own people, as that can also be bad for your image as a company. If you are growing, it is because us Hispanics are consumers in this market. Hispanic Agencies must remember to be kind to your own people because thanks of us you have a job in the first place. And for the non Hispanic agencies, we encourage you to promote education. There are thousands of students with many talents and all they need is someone to give them the option. Host events where kids can learn about advertising — all of this will bring $$$$$$$$$$$ in your pockets, you will be surprised by the talent that has been given the option to be a bus driver or a funeral director. Let these people make $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for your companies. — Claudia V, Birmingham, MI

> I completely agree that agencies need to be more proactive in reaching students who will be the future minds of this colorful world. Formerly in an ad agency, I think the true problem is not just hiring but promotion. I will not say the agency’s name, but is it is one of the power players in the industry. Repeatedly, minority employees were not promoted or fired for doing the same job as the Caucasian co-workers who were promoted. This is what we should also worry about. If there is an increased hiring, what happens after their first day, month, or year on the job? Are they promoted or are they fired for no reason? — Detroit