5650: Rebuttals And Buttholes.

Not surprisingly, Arthur Leggett’s post at The Big Tent generated the same responses these discussions often inspire. Check out the comments, particularly the words of Mark Robinson, who does a decent job of challenging the nonsensical rants. But since the stereotypical remarks were posted, MultiCultClassics feels obligated to offer stereotypical rebuttals to a few…

Mr. Leggett, you say that minorities are “over-indexed” in most consumer product categories. Seems evident that the agencies/industry you disparage are having no difficulty at all communicating with a broad and diverse American population and, in my opinion, they are able to because they first seek out highly creative, talented people with a proven track record and a diversity of ideas. What the agencies don’t do is to presume, as you do, that ideas, creativity and talent are a function of the color of one’s skin, a thoroughly racist concept at its core.

—Hugh White, Diablo, CA

Mr. White seems to imply minorities are not among the “highly creative, talented people with a proven track record and a diversity of ideas.” One could argue his reasoning reflects “a thoroughly racist concept at its core.” Additionally, to proclaim the disparaged agencies/industry display “no difficulty at all communicating with a broad and diverse American population” is incorrect. There is plenty of evidence showing predominately White agencies are culturally clueless when attempting to address audiences like youth, women, Baby Boomers, GLBT, Latino, Black, Asian and more. It’s a safe bet Mr. White is culturally clueless too.

This guy, and the New York Commission on Human Rights, are nothing more than extortionists. Human rights my butt. Anyone who buys into their BS is a sucker. Tell me again where someone’s human rights have been violated, except maybe the dopey ad execs that caved in to this bogus commission in the first place.

Advertising, and advertising agencies, are central to our capitalist economic system. Our work fuels the engine of commerce. I consider that to be a sacred trust. The only legitimate criteria to work in this profession is performance, because that’s what clients, and the marketplace, demand. Any deviation from excellence in this profession jeopardizes the industry, the families it supports, and our entire economy.

Madison Avenue better put a stop to this extortion right now. If you don’t, guys like Arthur Leggett and the New York Commission on Human Rights are telling you to expect government takeover of advertising.

It’s real simple. If an agency is discriminating against someone on the basis of race, creed, etc, bring your case before a court of law. Otherwise, stay the hell out of our business, unless you want to pay our fees to advertise.

—Dan Porrevecchio, Kansas City, MO

Mr. Porrevecchio doesn’t know the facts surrounding New York City’s Commission on Human Rights. The commission is technically requesting that agencies live up to promises made decades ago. Additionally, the current agreements were drafted by the agencies; that is, the agencies authored their own proposals and goals for improved hiring practices. Madison Avenue executives—even the White ones—are constantly admitting there are problems, confessing there is a need to do better. Mr. Porrevecchio’s accusations of criminal activities are sad and stupid. It’s real simple. His beliefs are rooted in ignorance.

As a Creative of color I find “Diversity Hiring” insulting and regressive. While I cannot say for the other disciplines (Account Services, Planning, Media, etc.), from the standpoint of a Senior Creative, I always hire on merit and not race. I look at a person’s body of work (i.e., their book) and their personality, and not the color of their skin.

Who decides what’s diverse anyway? It seems these programs would like to see a UN General Assembly in every ad agency, but this is just not reflective of the general population. Here are Wiki US Census stats:

Whites: 80%
Black/African: 12.4%
Asian: 4.4%
All Other: 2%
Hispanic: 14.8% (Not defined as a race but an Ethnicity)

—Tom DelMundo, New York, NY

Mr. DelMundo’s frustrations with “Diversity Hiring” may be connected to the false and negative definitions for the term. Somewhere along the way, people branded “Diversity Hiring” to mean quotas, forced employment, lowered standards, unqualified candidates, appointments solely based on race and ethnicity, reverse discrimination, blah, blah, blah. In the advertising industry, “Diversity Hiring” has nothing to do with these things. It’s not about ending Exceptional Hiring; rather, it’s about ending Exclusive Hiring. The goal is to eliminate the traditions of favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, elitism, sexism and all the other isms—including racism—that have narrowed the search for talent. The industry must look beyond its standard pool of prospects. Also, view Mark Robinson’s comments for enlightenment regarding Mr. DelMundo’s statistics.

Let’s close with two final stereotypical remarks. First, it’s always astonishing to realize the industry that brags about being in touch with contemporary society and on the cutting edge of culture remains so thoroughly outdated in its hiring practices. Second, it’s equally appalling to see the industry’s allegedly innovative and creative thinkers spewing the same tired, contrived and clichéd perspectives year after year.