Adweek’s “30 Creatives Whose Smart, Funny and Innovative Work Keeps Advertising Interesting”—as part of “The Adweek Creative 100”—ultimately show what keeps advertising exclusively White.
Adweek’s “30 Creatives Whose Smart, Funny and Innovative Work Keeps Advertising Interesting”—as part of “The Adweek Creative 100”—ultimately show what keeps advertising exclusively White.
Lol, I was almost certain they were going to scour adland & throw the 1 token black guy in the mix they could find. It boggles the mind when america is trending toward a more youthful and urban market why does the industry lag so far behind in bringing fresh talent from all walks of life. Its so damn vanilla.
ReplyDeleteThere’s really no hope, is there? This is never going to change. It’s a self-feeding and self fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDeleteLook at the link below. 99.9% of people in power in ad agencies are white. Then they move upwards into client & CMO positions that are, again, 99.9% white. Then, they pick agencies that think, look and act exactly like they do.
http://digiday.com/brands/confessions-agency-expat-turned-client-easier-fraud-agency/
“How do you pick an agency? I mean, when I’m researching a new agency, I look on Twitter too, along with Google. I’m looking for people who think like I think.”
So.... the easiest way for anyone black to work in advertising in the US is to become a sports, music or hollywood star, THEN circle back and be accepted in advertising? That's the only path to success?
ReplyDeleteThis is complete nonsense. Advertising is among the most forward thinking fields you will find (LGBT, for example). It doesn't actively avoid hiring minorities. I know because I am one and have been doing this for 15 years. There simply aren't enough minorities out there LOOKING for work in this field. Trust me, people at all levels are well aware of the importance reaching minorities. If they are underrepresented, it certainly isn't the industry's fault.
ReplyDelete"Advertising is the most forward thinking field you will find."
ReplyDeleteOMG I almost fell over laughing.
If advertising is at the forefront of U.S. diversity, we're royally screwed.
People may be aware of the importance of reaching minorities, but they're not doing anything about it. They're hiring Brazilians and Spaniards and trying to pass them off to themselves and the clients as U.S. Latino. They're giving pep talks to black middle schoolers and overlooking mid-career black ad professionals. They're passing up potential minority interns, and vendors, and new hires, "Because we just found someone we're more comfortable with, you know?" They're hiring part time coders in Mumbai and then claiming them as proof of agency diversity. They're celebrating (white) LGBT hires and (white) female CCOs as the epitome of the "forward thinking ad industry". They're talking diversity at "diversity summits" and "Adcolor Awards" but throwing up smokescreens when it comes time to show the actual numbers.
You have 15 years in the industry, I have nearly twice as many. And I can tell you, if the actual hiring numbers ever miraculously float to the surface, over the objections of the holding companies and the warm bodies blocking their release (Tiffany Warren and every black and brown diversity officer and consultant taking up space, I'm looking at you), and they separate the janitorial and support staff from the upper management, it's going to make the pathetic and lackluster 1% to 2% hiring numbers at Google, Yahoo and Amazon combined look like a festival of multiculturalism.