Advertising Age spotlighted an NAACP video seemingly seeking to guilt viewers into making charitable donations by stressing the general US society’s diminishing interest in equality.
“Four years ago, 28 million Americans posted the black square,” states the announcer in reference to a 2020 social media stunt. “If we had $1 for each one, we could make change that lasts. It’s time to come together again. It’s time to keep advancing.”
Okay, except the campaign was crafted by Edelman, a White public relations and advertising conglomerate also lessening its performative PR and heat shields—despite displaying patronizing declarations of DEIBA+ dedication.
Credited as a co-creator is Eleanor, an enterprise claiming to be the first and only Black and woman-owned production company in the US and UK. The “in the US and UK” qualifier probably validates the company’s contention, as there are Black and woman-owned production companies in the US, albeit undoubtedly underrepresented and undercompensated with crumbs.
Not sure why the NAACP didn’t award the assignment to a Black-owned advertising agency.
Indeed, shouldn’t the NAACP go after places like Edelman for their historic failure to advance people of color?
NAACP calls out racial justice supporters who went silent after 2020
Ad from Edelman and Eleanor admonishes those who supported racial justice before going quiet on the subject
By Brandon Doerrer
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is calling out supporters of the racial justice movement who have gone silent since 2020.
A new campaign from the NAACP shows a white woman participating in Blackout Tuesday on June 2, 2020, when Instagram users posted pictures of black squares with the hashtag #BlackOutTuesday to protest racism and police brutality after the police killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. The woman proceeds to make posts of herself holding protest signs and books on antiracism for the next two months before returning to her normal life.
Flash forward to September 2024 and the woman mutes TV news coverage of ongoing racial injustices.
“Four years ago, 28 million Americans posted the black square,” a voice-over says. “If we had $1 for each one, we could make change that lasts.”
The 60-second spot will appear across streaming video and paid social. The NAACP will also comment on original black square posts from the accounts with the most followers, encouraging celebrities, athletes and influencers who participated in the moment to revive their efforts.
Edelman handled creative efforts while Eleanor led production. Candice Vernon directed the spot.
The ad is intended to reach a new generation of donors and calls out those who temporarily supported the NAACP four years ago. Two in three donors from 2020 have not returned to support the NAACP, according to the organization.
The ad also refers to corporations that have pulled back on DEI pledges, many of which were established following Floyd’s death: “And yet another company disbanded its DEI department,” a newscaster says during the ad.
The growing list of companies rolling back DEI initiatives includes Lowe’s, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Company, Jack Daniel’s marketer Brown-Forman, John Deere and Molson Coors.
The ad ends with a collection of black squares listing different causes the NAACP is fighting for, from closing the racial wealth gap to improving food systems.
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