Essay 1210

A few more comments responding to the AdAge perspective presented in Essay 1205…

> Are you ready to put some action behind the talk? Join Wise Connection as a mentor to 14-year-old students in both Chicago and Baltimore school districts as they write, develop and execute their experiential marketing plan. We need mentors... Chicago is one of the largest Hispanic communities and Baltimore is Afro American. Some of you must be ready to act, or are you all watching reruns of Bewitched? — Michele Tummino, 650-814-4071 Mobile, www.wiseconnection.org, SCOTTS VALLEY, CA

> I agree that awareness of advertising careers is a big issue for people of color. However, I think that a tremendous amount of diversity awareness needs to happen. Even Marc’s message points out that “many inner-city kids love to watch TV commercials -- but they have no idea how the commercials are made.” I would contend that there is plenty of opportunity to inform and recruit people of color who live outside of those communities. Moreover, the agencies and the industry’s associations need to take as prominent a role in recruiting on diverse campuses and at conferences held by organizations like NBMBAA and NSHMBA, among others. When it comes down to it, people of color want to make good livings. The story needs to be told that the ad industry allows you to make a really good living and that you can have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. That’s what keeps all of us here and that’s what will make it compelling to a more diverse group. — ROSELLE, NJ

> Dang! I’ve been tied up with work, otherwise, you know I would put in my two centavos much sooner. A shout out to all the Fil-Ams out there. I dig that people are letting Mr. B have it. That’s all part of the dialog, right? And I think it’s telling that Marc hasn’t tried to defend his post (but this could be simply an issue of not having the time, see my opening para). Because, from what I know, Marc is a white male who assumed the helm of his father’s ad agency (and it’s HQ’d in Philly, BTW) after a sojourn at other agencies. No worries, Marc. I still have much respect for you and what Brownstein has done creatively in our area. Two quick anecdotes before I step off this particular soapbox. The first goes back to my days as an undergrad at Penn. While I was interning at a small shop (SG Horn…thanks again for giving me a chance, Steven!), I found out that the local ad club was holding a student contest for an Anti-Drug billboard (sponsored by Thrift Drug, IIRC). And they were looking for volunteers to go out and speak to the schools (middle school?) about “what makes a good ad.” And so out I went…speaking to a few schools armed with very little besides my internship and any wisdom I could glean from David Ogilvy’s books. One of those schools was Little Flower, a racially diverse girls Catholic school. And darned if I didn’t get a phone call a few months later from the ad club…a few of the young women I spoke to had won the contest! I was invited to the award ceremony, one of the highlights of my college experience. I wonder if any of those young women went on to advertising careers. As for an advertising TV show…I’m a Gen Xer and watched my share of “30 Something.” To my recollection, there were no minorities on that show (based in Philly, right?). But I can still recall small-agency Michael’s confrontations with the fictional large-agency head Miles Drentell…and went on to have a few similar experiences on my tour of duty in NYC. Great stuff. If any producers out there want my input on a new version of that show (now featuring minorities!), give me a call. And while I’m on the self-promotion tip, hey Ad Age…if you need a minority small agency principal (50% ownership) to literally add some color to this blog or a future one, I happen to know this guy in Branchburg… — Branchburg, NJ

> Wow! Interesting discussion. — COLUMBIA, MO