16409: Bored By Bullshit.

Just a few more thoughts on the thoughtlessness at McCann New York.

 

Day for Meaning is an annual event held at McCann Worldgroup, whereby the White advertising agency globally closes for the day—a whole fucking day—presumably to chant Kumbaya and engage in patronizing planning, pontificating, and pondering over DEI progress. McCann New York takes performative PR to the next level with a robust Culture section on its corporate website. In short, a McCann honcho expressing disrespectful disinterest warrants changing the name of the stunt to Day for Meaningless. Just a thought.

 

Extending the previous point, Pierre Lipton dissed probably dozens or even scores of teammates who were likely delegated DEI duties to stage the affair. And it’s a safe bet that the designated organizers are predominately non-White staffers and/or ERG members. Lipton’s Day for Mean message goes beyond microaggression to qualify as macroaggression. McCann displayed a willingness for transparency by divulging details to Advertising Age. It’s time to publicly release the full internal investigation report. Just a thought.

 

Why would someone exhibiting cultural cluelessness be re-assigned as a Global Executive Creative Director? Global?! To work exclusively in Sweden perhaps? The new role does not sound like a denouncing demotion. The proper response would have been to send Lipton to a multicultural shop in the IPG network. Or have him switch places—and paychecks—with the mailroom attendant. Just a thought.

 

In the end, a White advertising agency and White holding company are confirming that repeated promises to do better are just hypocritical, box-checking bullshit—which leaves everyone else feeling damned tired and so fucking bored.