16756: Performative DEI Prescription.

The Medical Advertising Hall of Fame—which sounds like an oxymoron—named the performative propaganda depicted above DEI Social Media Challenge Winner. Side effects include eye-rolling nausea.

16755: TGIF GM, IPG, MRM BS.

Advertising Age reported on the latest collateral damage from General Motors’ decision to ride with new White advertising agencies outside of the Detroit area.

 

Specifically, IPG is extending its pruning by cutting 123 employees from McCann Relationship Marketing in Birmingham, Michigan.

 

Guess MRM was unable to manage the relationship.

16754: Questioning Brands Cutting DEIBA+ Initiatives—And Cutting Ties With White Advertising Agencies.

 

Advertising Age reported on a survey showing the majority of consumers support brands that hire and promote diverse employees. However, consumers are not necessarily swayed or impressed by brand advertising with diverse casting.

 

This begs questions that have been raised in the past. Specifically, if consumers care about the diversity of brands, how might they respond to the vendors partnering with brands?

 

In short, how might consumers respond upon learning brands conspire with White advertising agencies where diversity is a dream deferred, delayed, and denied?

 

Additionally, how might they respond upon discovering much of the advertising featuring diverse casting is produced by White advertising agencies, denying multicultural marketers an equal opportunity to work?

 

Finally, might consumers be more attracted to and impressed by advertising featuring diverse casting if such work was generated with greater authenticity and relevance by multicultural marketers?

 

Brands Cutting DE&I Efforts—What Consumers Think Of The Different Policies

 

External, diverse marketing efforts are not seen as a way to build workplace equity, but internal programs are

 

By Erika Wheless

 

Even as companies ranging from Lowe’s to Tractor Supply Company to Brown-Forman roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a new report shows that such programs still enjoy majority consumer support.

 

A new Morning Consult survey found that 57% of U.S. adults believe that recruiting employees from minority groups is an effective way to support workplace equality, and 55% support efforts to ensure these employees receive promotions. But the survey, conducted last month, found less support for DEI initiatives (50%) focused on featuring diverse actors in ad campaigns.

 

“It’s clear that what consumers view as packing the most punch is hiring, retaining and elevating minorities to positions of power,” said Ellyn Briggs, brand analyst at Morning Consult.

 

 

U.S. adults said recruiting (57%) and promoting (55%) employees from minority groups are effective at achieving workplace equality, while less than half (47%) said the same about companies supporting inclusion in an external manner, such as selling LGBTQ+ Pride merchandise. 

 

Credit: Morning Consult

 

But what is not clear, and what the survey did not address, is how brands should highlight this to consumers, outside of DEI reports outlining the breakdown of employees.

 

“It’s rare that consumers know the makeup of their favorite brand’s leadership team, and yet the findings show that many would rather brands support minorities with dollars and promotions, rather than inclusive marketing,” Briggs said.

 

The survey mirrors a report Morning Consult published last year, which found that internal company actions resonated more with customers than external advocacy. Seventy-one percent of consumers said they viewed a company as more favorable if they paid their employees well and 69% said they viewed a company as more favorable if a company was known to be a place where employees liked to work, according to that report.

 

In the most recent report, a majority of surveyed adults (58%) believed DEI initiatives are either “very” or “somewhat” important to the success of most businesses. But only half of the respondents said that hiring diverse actors for ad campaigns supported workplace equality. That is not to say that inclusive marketing should end: Another report published in January by Morning Consult found that diverse marketing can drive purchases among non-white Gen Zers.

 

The findings come as Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, Deere & Co, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman Corporation have rolled back or made changes to their DEI programs and policies after being criticized by conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has pledged to “end wokeness in the workplace, dismantle DEI and eliminate ESG,” referring to environmental, social and and governance policies.

 

The brand backlash is reminiscent of what Bud Light faced after a promotion with transgender creator Dylan Mulvaney in early 2023. The beer brand, which was America’s best-selling beer when the controversy arose, subsequently spiraled into a severe sales slump and has now fallen behind Modelo Especial and Michelob Ultra.

 

Morning Consult found that men, baby boomers and Republicans were the most doubtful of DEI programs and more likely to support rollbacks.

 

Research from McKinsey shows that brands that are committed to diversity perform better financially than their competitors that do not. The consulting firm found that companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity have, on average, a 27% financial advantage over their peers.

 

For brands that might come under attack for their DEI programs, rolling back policies may do more damage, especially when it comes to retaining Gen Z consumers.

 

“Gen Z is very against rollback efforts because they value authentic brands, so being flip-floppy is not good,” Briggs said. “When a company walks back its efforts, they may do it for a small segment of consumers, but it upsets the majority who were happy the brand had them.”

 

How much it upsets the majority may play out in future earnings reports. If sales are better in the wake of rolling back their DEI efforts, other brands seeking to court conservative buyers may lean in and proactively limit their DEI efforts as well, Briggs said. Poor sales may lead to them reinstating policies to draw back consumers.

 

But this does not mean that brands with more conservative consumers should proactively change or eliminate their DEI policies.

 

“Though majorities of Republican consumers were in favor of all tested rollback efforts in our dataset, there were still sizable portions (around 20% to 30%) that reported opposition,” Briggs said. “So even among the most anti-DEI group, there is still some support for DEI.”

16753: Ruling On Anti-DEI Lawsuits.

Digiday Media’s Worklife published content about the surge of anti-DEI lawsuits, prompting companies to rethink and rejigger DEIBA+ initiatives.

 

Can’t imagine White advertising agencies and White holding companies will experience lawsuits, as DEIBA+ heat shields are performative PR fueled by crumby diversity budgets. Plus, such propagandistic maneuvers rarely impact industry exclusivity—ie, in Adland, White dominance perpetuates, progresses, and prevails.

 

Why anti-DEI lawsuits are piling up this year

 

By Hailey Mensik

 

Corporate DEI programs are under fire a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action.

 

While that ruling didn’t extend to the public sector, it has still spurred some employers to consider dismantling their programs or reassess their initiatives. A key concern is the new legal risks they face, which include anti-DEI lawsuits targeting diversity training, diversity targets and workplace discrimination.

 

More than a third of business executives said their organizations are facing uncertainty regarding how to move forward with their DEI programming in a legally compliant way, according to a report out earlier this year from legal firm Littler. And one in three executives said their organizations do not have clear plans and goals in place relating to DEI, that survey found.

 

So far this year, at least 37 federal lawsuits targeting DEI programming have been filed, according to a tracker compiled by the NYU School of Law’s Metzler Center. Last year 40 were filed. In 2022, 15 were filed, and in 2021, 11 were filed.

 

The list isn’t exhaustive, though it tracks federal cases that “directly or indirectly affect DEI in the workplace,” said David Glasglow, executive director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at the Metzler Center.

 

Some of these cases are being called reverse discrimination lawsuits, where typically white men sue over claims hiring decisions were made based on protected characteristics like race, age and gender and ultimately did not favor them.

 

Vaughn vs. CBS Broadcasting is one recent case filed on July 1. The plaintiff, a heterosexual white male news anchor, alleges he was replaced with a “younger minority news anchor” because of his race, sex, sexual orientation and age. The plaintiff alleges his removal was part of a broader effort to meet internal representation goals.

 

That case is currently ongoing, like many others, though some have been decided, like Duvall vs. Novant Health. In that case, the plaintiff, a white man, also brought a discrimination claim against his former employer and said he was fired to advance his employer’s diversity goals.

 

A jury found race and or sex were motivating factors leading to the plaintiff’s firing and awarded him punitive damages of $10 million, which were later reduced to $300,000. On appeal, the verdict was upheld though punitive damages were set aside.

 

Such reverse discrimination lawsuits vary greatly based on individual circumstances and what evidence is available to explain how a hiring decision was made. Accordingly, employment law experts expect DEI-based hiring programs to become more covert.

 

“This is relatively clear enough that you know, employers are certainly eliminating any overt programs that indicate that there will be a hiring preference for minorities, that’s probably the biggest danger in terms of potential litigation,” said Mark Kluger, partner at employment law firm Kluger Healey.

 

“Any sort of articulated program that favors hiring on diversity criteria, those programs are not going to continue, at least not overtly,” Kluger said.

 

Other types of lawsuits are targeting diversity training. In Arsenault vs. HP, the plaintiff, a white man, alleges he was subject to a “shaming session” after expressing his negative opinions on his employer’s DEI training which led to retaliation and his firing. That case is ongoing.

 

According to Glasglow, most forms of DEI programming remain perfectly legal despite the increase in lawsuits, he said.

 

“A DEI program involves legal risk when it meets what we call the three Ps – it confers a preference on a legally protected group with respect to a palpable benefit,” he said. “For example, a diversity fellowship program where the only people eligible to apply to the program are those who belong to a particular racial group would be legally risky. Whereas conducting implicit bias training would not.”

 

“I would also emphasize that there are risks involved in not doing DEI work. Organizations that over-react to the anti-DEI lawsuits by watering down or abandoning their DEI initiatives will increase their risk of being sued by traditional discrimination plaintiffs, such as people of color, women and LGBTQ individuals,” he said.

 

Rather than completely dismantling programs companies should more thoroughly assess their programs for legal compliance.

 

“The companies that really do care about diversity and Inclusion and equity, they’re looking to just reshape their programs in a way that avoids lawsuits, but also really more importantly aligns with their core values, their mission,” said Peter Rahbar, an employment attorney at the Rahbar Group.

 

“Companies will not stop caring about diversity and equity, and inclusion. They’ll just find new ways to address those topics in a way that doesn’t draw scrutiny,” Rahbar said. 

16752: Probing Potential & Privilege For Interns.

 

At The New York Times Magazine, Kwame Anthony Appiah presented provocative perspectives on privilege pertaining to interns. There are implications and considerations for Adland, where most White advertising agencies’ internships are rife with privilege, politics, performative PR, and prejudice—from nepotism to cronyism to sexism to school favoritism.

 

16751: Trump Gets Burnt By Smokey Bear…?

 

Did the Ad Council and Smokey Bear approve this message? Former President Donald Trump will undoubtedly wonder if Smokey is a Black bear.

16750: For ISBA, It’s Got To Be Taide.

 

More About Advertising reported the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers—ISBA—appointed Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer SVP Europe Taide Gaujardo to ISBA Council Vice President. Of course they did. The organization is undoubtedly seeking to make good on its performative PR surrounding social responsibility and inclusion.

 

Don’t mean to overreact, but it’s odd how the MAA content refers to Guajardo by her first name versus the journalistic standard of identifying executives by their last name.

 

BTW, while Guajardo is the newest addition to the ISBA Council, her credentials arguably establish her as the most experienced and talented member on the entire team.

 

ISBA appoints P&G’s Taide Guajardo as new vice president

 

By Emma Hall

 

Taide Guajardo, the brand senior VP Europe at Procter & Gamble, has signed up to become a VP at ISBA. She’s spent three decades in P&G marketing departments, moving from Mexico, Poland, and Italy to her current base at the European HQ in Switzerland, from where she leads a team of 1300 marketers in 49 countries.

 

ISBA have got some pretty heavy-hitting senior people right now. The president is Boots CMO Pete Markey, and Taide’s fellow VP is Unilever VP global media, Sarah Mansfield.

 

Taide said “It is a great honour to undertake the role of VP in ISBA and be part of this forward-thinking community that shapes the future of advertising. In line with my role in P&G, I’m excited and committed to keep raising the bar on brand building in terms of transparency, impact and accessibility towards a better advertising environment that best serves people and grows the markets”.

 

ISBA director general Phil Smith said: “Taide brings with her a wealth of experience from across the marketing spectrum. Her work on creating advertising that is accessible to all aligns with one of ISBA’s key priorities. I am looking forward continuing to work with her, both as ISBA Vice President and as one of the key sponsors of the Ad Access Alliance.”

16749: Politics Not Playing In Adland…?

 

Mediapsssst at Mediapost spotlighted a Harris Poll showing 54% of Gen Z and Millennial employees surveyed are uncomfortable mixing politics and work.

 

Oddly enough, The Harris Poll is a subsidiary of White holding company Stagwell, whose CEO Mark Penn is an ultra-political animal.

 

As if people need more excuses to hate being employed at a White advertising agency within the Stagwell network. Although if Carl Warner is still around, he’d feel right at home.

 

Talking Politics At Work A Non-Starter For Most Younger Voters

 

By Richard Whitman, Columnist

 

During the Democratic Convention this week many of the speakers onstage, starting with former First Lady Michelle Obama, encouraged viewers to “do something” that would help Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris win the election.

 

Others jumped on that bandwagon, offering up ideas like talking to neighbors, colleagues or relatives and reminding them to vote, donating time or money to the campaign or even going door to door to talk to people you might not know that well about the race and what’s at stake.

 

But according to a Harris Poll commissioned by job-search platform Indeed conducted July 30-August 1, over half of Gen Z and Millennial employees surveyed (54%) said that they are “uncomfortable” when politics comes up in workplace discussions.

 

And 40% of Gen Z said they would leave their company if a CEO expressed political views with which they disagree.

 

Also, 39% said they had felt pressure to conform to certain political views at work, while the same number said they had been discriminated against or harassed at work for their political views.

 

Sixteen percent said they avoided colleagues with differing political views.

 

I wonder how those numbers might change if that poll were conducted today after all the encouragement by Democrats to talk about the race assertively and often?

 

Maybe Harris and Indeed will do a follow-up survey.

16748: Running On Empty Concepts…?

 

Advertising Age published a report titled, “Why Agencies Are Adopting Sprint Models And How They Work”—spotlighting White advertising agencies taking a speed dating approach to creating campaigns.

 

Churn out an omnichannel conceptual platform in five days for five dollars? No problem.

 

Ad Age’s content was illustrated with the royalty-free stock photograph depicted above. Appropriately enough, the runners appear to be exclusively White men—even though the top sprinters in the world tend to be Black.

16747: Power To The Prey…?

 

This PSA campaign from Brazil is promoting the Maria da Penha Law to fight domestic violence against women. Okay, but is the imagery supposed to symbolize physical assault or is it a power fist? 

 

 

16746: Questioning Interest Rates Of U.S. Banks.

 

Mediapost spotlighted a campaign from The New York Times for U.S. Bank, honoring the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance.

 

Okay, but another publication associated with The New York Times—The 1619 Project—might argue U.S. banks have not historically honored Black culture and Black wealth. And U.S. Bank is not exactly without dishonorable moments involving Blacks.

 

U.S. Bank Salutes Harlem Renaissance In ‘New York Times’ Campaign

 

By Fern Siegel

 

The 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance is honored in a new campaign from New York Times Advertising and its in-house content studio T Brand.

 

The creative, produced for U.S. Bank, is a first for the newspaper.

 

It comprises two 12-page zines that pay tribute to the underground press active during this period. It was known as a vibrant age for Blacks artists, writers and musicians and its influence extended nationwide.

 

The first zine for U.S. Bank focuses on Black wealth and entrepreneurs and debuted in the Sunday edition of The New York Times on August 18.

 

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of rich cultural artistry from 1917 to the 1930s. The zines were filled with poetry, stories, news, cultural information and political essays. Jacob Lawrence, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington and Josephine Baker were all part of that era.

 

“These visionaries paved the way for cultural pride and equality, showcasing the brilliance and beauty of Black culture to the world. The first issue, titled Legacy, focuses on the new Black wealth renaissance, exploring the innovative ways in which Black entrepreneurs and creatives are redefining success and prosperity today,” Greg Cunningham, U.S. Bank’s Chief Diversity Officer, told Agency Daily.

 

The initial issue details how Black communities are creating intergenerational wealth, such as The Bradfords, a fourth-generation family of ranchers in Oklahoma.

 

The custom typography of the new zine is called VTC Sarah and was created by Tré Seals. He was inspired by his great-great grandparents’ marriage certificate.

 

The second zine focuses on the contributions of Black artists in various fields. A paid post and FlexXL units will be displayed across The Times’ homepage.

16745: Compensation Conundrums.

 

Advertising Age published a report on independent advertising agencies introducing different compensation models—such as deliverables-based payments, flat fees, and equity stakes.

 

Multicultural marketing firms can expect continued compensation via crumbs—or maybe inequity stakes.

16744: No Love For Love Has No Labels…?

 

AgencySpy posted on the latest performative propaganda involving Ad Council and its Love Has No Labels campaign.

 

Ad Council President and CEO Lisa Sherman gushed, “No one should face discrimination because of who they are. There is more that unites us than divides us, and this new campaign was designed to empower individuals across the country to see the inequities impacting so many…”

 

Okay, except Ad Council consistently discriminates, handing big-budget projects to White advertising agencies and brushing crumbs to non-White shops.

 

It’s also ironic that the White digital agency responsible for Love Has No Labels—R/GA—is getting no love from White holding company IPG.

 

There is a label for this scenario: Bullshit.

 

The Latest ‘Love Has No Labels’ PSAs Target LGBTQ+ Discrimination

 

By Kyle O'Brien

 

The Ad Council has launched the latest effort in its Emmy-Award-winning “Love Has No Labels” campaign, to raise awareness of the ongoing discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people and to remind audiences how they can help create a more accepting and inclusive society.

 

The new “American Dreams” PSAs highlight the barriers that exist in achieving equality and protection against discrimination and threats of violence.

 

Since the initial launch of the campaign nearly a decade ago, hatred and division are still rampant, with rising discrimination targeting LGBTQ+ people and increasing their risks of experiencing housing and broader discrimination. Many people across the country are unaware of the current threats to the LGBTQ+ community.

 

“American Dreams” was developed pro bono by R/GA, directed by Luke Gilford, and produced by Golden LA highlights the shared humanity, dreams and hopes of people across all walks of life, juxtaposed against the reality for LGBTQ+ people.

 

In “A Place to Call Home,” we see an idyllic suburban home with a diverse, happy cast of people enjoying their home and yard. The tone changes when the front door shuts and the reality of discrimination sets in. It ends with “In over 50% of U.S. states, you could legally be denied housing.”

 

“The Freedom to Live in Safety” shows a same sex family in a diner, with the reality being that LGBTQ+ are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime.

 

A third spot, “The Opportunity to Work for a Better Life” highlights the discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.

 

All spots direct audiences to the LoveHasNoLabels.com website, where people are encouraged to learn about the legal protections, or lack thereof, in their state, read stories from LGBTQ+ people about their experiences with discrimination, and access resources to help foster more accepting communities.

 

“No one should face discrimination because of who they are,” said Ad Council president and CEO Lisa Sherman in a statement. “There is more that unites us than divides us, and this new campaign was designed to empower individuals across the country to see the inequities impacting so many and take actions that help ensure that LGBTQ+ people also have the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

 

The campaign’s latest initiative was funded by California’s Bridge Project Fund, state bill 447, which creates a fund that can be used to create non-partisan, inclusive messaging, discourage discrimination, and help members of the LGBTQ+ community feel less isolated.

 

“The Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels ‘American Dreams’ campaign is more than just a message—it’s a call to action,” said Robin Forbes, global chief executive officer at R/GA. “It’s an urgent reminder that we must all take steps to ensure LGBTQ+ individuals are treated with the respect and equality they deserve. R/GA is proud to partner with The Ad Council to tackle these issues head-on, reinforcing that we’re all human before anything else.”

 

The campaign will appear nationwide through inventory donated by the media industry, including iHeartMedia which also produced audio assets for the campaign.