The Drum polled Adland creatives—including the “sharpest minds” inhabiting BBH, FCB, Gut, and Dude London—for predictions on trends in the coming year.
Not a single mention of DEIBA+ emerged.
This inadvertently highlights a major trend at White advertising agencies in Adland: the progressive persistence of systemic racism.
Like Advertising Age, Campaign presented Biggest Brand Fails of 2024, including culturally clueless contenders not mentioned by Ad Age:
Apple
Apple hit a stumbling block this year with two campaigns that failed to land as intended. The first, “The Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office)” was part of Apple’s “Apple at Work” series and featured a comedic storyline of a scrappy American team navigating their first overseas business trip in Thailand. The film, created by Apple’s in-house team, highlighted how the brand’s suite of products—Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro—helped the team overcome challenges like translation, 3D design, and remote collaboration.
Despite its polished production and humorous tone, the ad drew criticism for its portrayal of Thailand as a backdrop for Western business antics, with viewers even saying it made the “the brand feel old.” Some noted that the setting and local culture were reduced to clichĂ©s, with little integration into the storyline beyond being a convenient location. Critics accused Apple of perpetuating stereotypes, with some suggesting that the ad failed to authentically represent Thailand or engage with its vibrant culture.
Nike
Nike’s Olympics campaign, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone,” narrated by the unmistakable Willem Dafoe and starring sports legends like Kylian MbappĂ©, Serena Williams, and LeBron James, was supposed to be a showstopper. Instead, it served up a marketing flop in China thanks to one baffling creative choice—a close-up shot of a Chinese table tennis player licking her paddle. Yes, licking.
Social media went into meltdown mode, with Weibo logging over 3,000 mentions—62% of them scathing. Critics didn’t hold back, calling the ad “cringe” and accusing Nike of peddling stereotypes. While some defended the ad as an artistic choice, others questioned why anyone thought zooming in on paddle-licking would inspire anything but secondhand embarrassment. The backlash has left Nike scrambling for answers. The campaign became a classic example of creativity gone rogue. For a brand that prides itself on pushing boundaries, Nike was reminded that not every bold shot needs to make it off the storyboard. The moral of the story? If your campaign includes licking anything sports-related, just don’t.
Brands historically heralded as the platinum standard garner Biggest Brand Fails awards…? Yep, the apocalypse is upon Adland.
Adweek abandoned publishing dedicated DEIBA+ content—yet launched a section exclusively for Omnicom–IPG news and fluff…?
Don’t expect to read gobbledygook from the Pioneer of Diversity.
Procrastination is a depression response—or a response to dealing with incompetent teammates on shitty accounts at White advertising agencies.
Take test—or better yet, put it off until much later.
Advertising Age spotlighted The Biggest Brand Fails Of 2024, including culturally clueless contenders. In addition to Kraft Heinz—which could’ve nabbed two awards—Ad Age called out the following brands:
Adidas, SL 72 shoes
The sports brand in July was forced to apologize for “any upset or distress caused” over its release of a remake of its SL 72 shoes, which originally debuted during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Critics, including the StopAntisemitism group, pointed out that the games are known for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists. The brand also drew complaints for making model Bella Hadid, a prominent critic of the Israeli government, the face of the campaign. Hadid in an Instagram post later said that “I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign,” adding that “my team should have known. Adidas should have known and I should have done more research so that I too would have known and understood, and spoken up.”
Bath & Body Works, “Snowed In”
The retailer in October came under fire for a design on packaging that resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods. The packaging for the Snowed In winter candle included snowflake of white cutouts, a style that drew comparisons to the hoods with eye holes worn by the KKK. Bath & Body Works pulled the candle from store shelves after social media complaints. In a statement it said it is “committed to fixing any mistakes we make—even those that are unintentional like this one.”
Gee, the Snowed In candle is perfect for igniting cross-burning events.
Adland 2024 inspired a new term: DEIDICATION
DEIDICATION refers to the DEIBA+ dedication professed by brands and White advertising agencies.
In the past year, major brands bowed to political pressures, diminishing DEIBA+ heat shields and dismissing human heat shields.
White advertising agencies did likewise, although such moves were reportedly motivated by cost-cutting schemes versus political influence.
In recent times, brands were quick to terminate White advertising agencies for displaying racism and/or cultural cluelessness. Plus, a handful of clients demanded agency partners diversify staffs.
Yet no White advertising agencies have protested brands for DEIBA+ abandonment. Don’t expect shops to cut ties with clients over these matters.
Indeed, White advertising agencies are likely breathing sighs of relief, figuring it’s now okay to follow clients’ leads and defund, downsize, detonate, and disrespect DEIBA+ too.
In summation, it all confirms the collective commitments to progress from brands and White advertising agencies are nothing more than performative PR. Rhetorical hypocrisy. Gobbledygook. Bullshit.
DEIDICATION really represents steadfast devotion to systemic racism.
