15280: MLK Day After.

 

Here’s a belated MLK Day perspective:

 

In the advertising industry, awards, applause, and accolades are bestowed upon “leaders” in White advertising agencies and holding companies for their faux commitment to diversity. The faux adjective, incidentally, is used to note that—despite persistent public pontificating—the Caucasian corporations have little or no authentic progress to exhibit. That is, EEO-1 data shows non-Whites remain woefully underrepresented. The diversity trophy winners are not living up to their revolutionary reputations.

 

Meanwhile, non-Whites actively advocating for change are covertly or blatantly criticized, condemned, cursed at, cold-shouldered, crapped on and cut from the industry. To make an ironic—and perhaps inappropriate—observation, the true leaders for equality get shot down.

 

What would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have to say about that?

15000: Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert Searching For Success, Er, Successor.

Advertising Age reported Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert will leave the White advertising agency in 2021 as part of a succession scheme driven by WPP CEO Mark Read—who has consistently and effectively removed the success from succession during his stint behind the wheel. Seifert revealed he and Read agreed earlier in the year “that we should begin the process of searching for my eventual successor, knowing that this process takes time and thoughtful engagement with potential candidates internally and externally.” Ogilvy drones can take solace in knowing that—given the restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic—their next leader will be chosen through “thoughtful engagement” via Zoom interviews. Hey, the impending appointment provides Seifert an opportunity to live up to his ADCOLOR® Change Agent title.

Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert Exiting Agency

Executive was with shop for 41 years and says it is part of a succession plan helmed by WPP CEO Mark Read

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Ogilvy Worldwide CEO-Chairman John Seifert will be departing the agency after nearly 41 years. The move, effective in 2021, is part of a succession plan helmed by WPP CEO Mark Read, says Seifert, who noted he will lead the agency until a successor is appointed.

“In June I will have served Ogilvy for 41 years, the past five as worldwide CEO,” Seifert said in a statement. “I have worked closely with Mark Read since his appointment [as CEO] in 2018 on leadership development and succession planning across The Ogilvy Group, and that includes me as well.”

Seifert said it was decided earlier this year with Read “that we should begin the process of searching for my eventual successor, knowing that this process takes time and thoughtful engagement with potential candidates internally and externally.”

“It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve Ogilvy since joining the company as a summer intern in 1979,” Seifert said. “I love this company with all my heart and will be forever supportive of its success.”

Seifert took over as worldwide CEO and chairman of Ogilvy, succeeding Miles Young, in 2016. When he took on the CEO role, Seifert inherited a host of legacy issues at Ogilvy similar to those that have plagued most traditional creative agencies in recent years. In 2018, Seifert led a rebrand of the agency, changing its name from Ogilvy & Mather to just Ogilvy. A year earlier, Seifert appointed a new global leadership team that included naming New York CEO Lou Aversano to CEO of the U.S.

In January of this year, Seifert announced in an internal memo obtained by Ad Age that Ogilvy would be undergoing another large-scale restructuring that would place more responsibility with regional leaders. As part of that effort, Ogilvy parted ways with U.S. Chief Creative Officer Leslie Sims. At that time, the agency laid off 80 employees across nine offices due to “a challenging second half in 2019 and a cautious financial outlook for full-year 2020,” Seifert said in the memo.

On an episode of Ad Age Ad Lib that same month, Read acknowledged the pressures unique to the holding company, as well as those affecting the larger industry. “If I have one frustration, it’s still somehow that we’re seen as an old-fashioned advertising agency that’s being disrupted by Google and Facebook,” he said.

Read said 2020 would see WPP focusing on returning to growth in North America—surely a goal that has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic—and on championing a new creative strategy to sustain the company for the future. He noted that creativity, across its various brands, has not been WPP’s strong suit.

In July of 2019, Seifert came under fire, including from the agency’s employees, over Ogilvy’s work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. According to recordings of a July 9 meeting with employees leaked to Buzzfeed, Seifert defended the work after employees complained that children had died in CPB custody. Buzzfeed reported that Seifert said the government contract is a “prestigious piece of business” and that the CBP “itself is not a bad organization.”

14897: Ogilvy Makes Good On New Year’s Resolution To Save Money And Lose Weight.

Advertising Age reported Ogilvy dumped 80 employees—including U.S. CCO Leslie Sims—as part of an overall restructuring. In an internal memo, Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert noted, “Other than Finance and HR, we are eliminating a whole layer of leadership roles designed to manage across multiple USA locations.” Oh, sure, don’t eliminate the bean counters deciding who gets canned and the HR wonks delivering the pink slips and white moving boxes.

Ogilvy Lays Off 80 Employees, U.S. CCO Leslie Sims to Depart Amid Restructuring

Agency’s worldwide CEO John Seifert, in internal memo, blames cuts on ‘challenging’ second half of 2019

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

WPP’s Ogilvy has laid off 80 employees across nine offices, amounting to 3.7 percent of its U.S. staff, according to an internal memo from Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert that was obtained by Ad Age.

Seifert also announced that Ogilvy U.S. Chief Creative Officer Leslie Sims would be departing amid a larger restructuring effort to focus on regional leadership, or “location-based leadership teams. Other than Finance and HR, we are eliminating a whole layer of leadership roles designed to manage across multiple USA locations,” he said.

An Ogilvy spokesperson declined to comment.

Seifert blamed the layoffs on “a challenging second half in 2019 and a cautious financial outlook for full-year 2020.”

“We continue to experience volatility in our diverse client portfolio,” Seifert wrote. “Despite important new business wins, we face client budget cuts and pricing pressures; ongoing shifts in the type and mix of work we do; and the dynamics of a project-based business model, which makes full-year forecasting and financial management very challenging.”

Seifert thanked Sims for “all that she did over the past year to support our next chapter business agenda, the creative community across the USA … and for her valued partnership among the Worldwide Creative Council.”

“Leslie joined us at a critical moment in our transformation journey,” he wrote. “She led the development of new creative campaigns on several important client assignments and helped re-energize our new business efforts. I’m deeply grateful for her support and wish her our very best. Leslie is a class act.”

Sims was appointed as Ogilvy's U.S. CCO in December 2018. She previously spent nearly four years at WPP’s Y&R (now VMLY&R), where she most recently was chief creative officer of North America. Before WPP, Sims spent 16 years at IPG’s McCann.

“With new local leadership teams now coming together, I’m very confident that we have the right growth mindset and progressive management approach to getting Ogilvy USA back to stronger business performance by the end of 2020,” Seifert concluded in the memo. “It’s always difficult to part ways with people who have given much to the company and Ogilvy brand, some for many years. Please join me in sharing with all those impacted by this action our deepest thanks.”

The layoffs come amid widespread challenges, including client budget cuts and shifts to in-housing and project work, facing many traditional agencies. On Monday, creative agency Arnold Worldwide, part of Havas, laid off 5 percent of its staff in Boston.

In a recent episode of Ad Age Ad Lib, WPP CEO Mark Read acknowledged the pressures unique to the holding company, as well as those affecting the larger industry. “If I have one frustration, it’s still somehow that we’re seen as an old-fashioned advertising agency that’s being disrupted by Google and Facebook,” he said.

Read said 2020 would see WPP focusing on returning to growth in North America and on championing a new creative strategy to sustain the company for the future, noting that creativity, across its various brands, has not been WPP’s strong suit.

14599: Ogilvy Seeks To Conquer Cultural Cluelessness Worldwide.

Adweek reported Ogilvy hired a new Worldwide Executive Director for Diversity and Inclusion, which essentially sounds like the White advertising agency is delegating diversity across the planet. Has Ogilvy succeeded yet in achieving equality on a single continent—or even one city? How about in a department at a satellite office? It’s been nearly a decade since Ogilvy honcho John Seifert admitted the industry is “not exactly leading the way” with diversity and inclusion. Now he’s out to conquer cultural cluelessness globally. Gee, Seifert might complement his ADCOLOR® trophy with a Nobel Peace Prize.

Ogilvy Brings on Worldwide Executive Director for Diversity and Inclusion

Yashica Olden joins as agency rolls out D&I initiatives globally

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Ogilvy has named Yashica Olden worldwide executive director for diversity and inclusion, starting April 15. She will be responsible for expanding the agency’s diversity and inclusion efforts globally.

Olden has worked and lived in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy and Sudan, and she’s implemented diversity and inclusion initiatives in more than 50 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. The agency said this makes her the ideal candidate to globally expand the programs it has established around those issues in the U.S. The programs will be adapted to meet each individual region’s needs.

Most recently, Olden was the global inclusion lead for London-based insurance company Aviva. There, she persuaded senior executives to expand their global inclusion targets to include race and ethnicity. Prior to that, Olden was the first head of diversity and inclusion for the United Nations World Food Program, where she oversaw the establishment of the U.N.’s first women’s leadership development program. She’s also led diversity and inclusion efforts for Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse, among others.

Olden will report directly to Donna Pedro, Ogilvy worldwide chief diversity and inclusion officer and executive partner.

“We’ve been on an incredible journey to reach our goals,” Pedro told Adweek, noting that hiring Olden is the next phase of the plan. “I am excited to bring Yashica, who has such a wide range of extensive global experience, to the table.”

During Cannes 2018, Ogilvy committed to advancing and recruiting 20 senior women into creative leadership roles by 2020 while developing a pipeline for women of color. It also recently expanded a U.S. pilot program called “30 for 30” it established three years ago to support and elevate “high-potential female talent” to Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Pedro said Olden will focus her first 60 days on implementing similar diversity and inclusion initiatives in EMEA and then Latin America.

In focusing on EMEA initially, Olden told Adweek that she will focus on expanding Ogilvy’s gender wage gap report (which any U.K. company with more than 250 employees is now required to release annually) to include other metrics, such as race.

“Outside of the U.S., race is rarely discussed,” Olden noted. “People talk about nationality or culture, but particularly Europeans are shy to talk about race.”

As she starts to flesh out plans for other countries, Olden said she will concentrate on ensuring there are programs in place to support people with disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQ. That will include setting up “allies networks” for people in regions where they may not feel safe.

“In places like Singapore, it’s still against the law for people of the same sex to be in a relationship,” Olden said, adding that this will be taken into consideration when relocating employees, if need be. “You might not choose to move someone who is openly gay to a place that is openly hostile.”

Olden said her main goal in this role will be championing Ogilvy as an organization that welcomes and accepts everyone, no matter the country and its specific laws.

“The key to this is—and it’s what I’ve done in other organizations—to just be consistent in your messaging,” Olden said. “Often, as Americans working in diversity and inclusion, we really only have [one] lens. As an American who has worked in diversity and inclusion for 20 years [in various countries], I can much more easily translate what diversity means in other cultures and where there’s going to be major challenges.”

14229: Ogilvy Liars & Losers.

Fast Company reported Ogilvy terminated Chief Creative Officer Tham Khai Meng for “behavior” that the publication implied was likely tied to sexual harassment. If the implication is true, the man deserves a Cannes Ass Lyin’ award for his divertsity drivel and declarations in recent years. And Ogilvy deserves derision and damnation for purporting to be ignorant about the outrageous hypocrisy presented by the ex-creative honcho. Finally, Ogilvy CEO John Seifert should have his ADCOLOR® trophy rescinded. In 2009, Seifert admitted the industry is “not exactly leading the way” with diversity and inclusion. Based on this latest fuck-up, Seifert isn’t leading at all.

Ogilvy fires chief creative officer after misconduct investigation

CEO John Seifert announced the termination of Tham Khai Meng today. Meng has led Ogilvy’s global creative business since 2009.

By Jeff Beer

Global advertising agency network The Ogilvy Group’s CEO John Seifert announced in a memo to employees today that the company had terminated its chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng, after an internal investigation into misconduct allegations.

“After carefully reviewing the investigation’s findings with several of my partners, we concluded that Khai’s behavior was a clear breach of our company values and code of conduct,” wrote Seifert. “I have decided to terminate Khai’s employment with the company with immediate effect.”

Meng joined Ogilvy in 200 [sic] as a regional creative director in Asia Pacific, and was promoted to worldwide chief creative officer in 2009. He’s long been the company’s creative spokesperson, an industry thought leader who appeared regularly and prominently at advertising conferences around the globe. He also led Ogilvy to win Network of the Year at Cannes five times in a row, from 2012 to 2016.

This is just the latest in the ad industry’s own #MeToo reckoning. Over the last six months, a handful of agency leaders have lost their jobs due to misconduct, including Droga5’s former chief creative officer Ted Royer and WPP CEO Martin Sorrell. Beyond the C-suite, anonymous Instagram account Diet Madison Avenue steadily logged and voiced industry accusations until it was shut down last month and sued for defamation.

Here is Seifert’s memo in full:

Two weeks ago, I was informed of employee complaints regarding the behavior of Tham Khai Meng, Chief Creative Officer of The Ogilvy Group.

I found these complaints serious enough to appoint external legal counsel to investigate the matter.

After carefully reviewing the investigation’s findings with several of my partners, we concluded that Khai’s behavior was a clear breach of our company values and code of conduct. I have decided to terminate Khai’s employment with the company with immediate effect.

Each year, we ask every employee in the company to read, authorize, and fully commit to a code of conduct that each of us is responsible for living up to. Over the past 70 years, we have institutionalized shared values and a standard of professional behavior unique to the Ogilvy brand.

This is an important moment to reaffirm that no individual in this company is too senior or too important not to be held accountable for their actions.

Thank you for your support.

Ogilvy declined to comment further.

13947: Too Many Chiefs.

Adweek reported Ogilvy Worldwide Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Donna Pedro was also named the new Chief Ethics Officer—which makes for a very long title to fit onto a business card. Not sure what the move really means, besides providing Ogilvy with an opportunity to brag about promoting a woman of color. Adweek discussed the topic of sexual harassment, prompting Pedro to proclaim, “We’ve always had all types of anti-harassment policy, whether it is sexual harassment, racial harassment, harassment in general. We don’t condone bullies at Ogilvy.” Condoning bullshit, however, is another story.

Ogilvy & Mather Names New Chief Ethics Officer

Chief diversity and inclusion officer Donna Pedro takes on the role

By Erik Oster

After nearly a year, Ogilvy & Mather now has a full-time chief ethics officer.

“In the spirit of our people-first agenda, I am delighted to appoint my partner of nearly 10 years, Donna Pedro, as our new chief ethics officer for The Ogilvy Group Worldwide,” worldwide chairman and CEO John Seifert said in a statement.

Pedro will take on the role in addition to her existing duties as worldwide chief diversity and inclusion officer and will be based in New York. She replaces Joe Panetta in the position, an agency veteran of 17 years who passed away last January. Pedro has been handling responsibilities related to the role on an interim basis since June.

“Over the last six months I’ve really taken ethics under my wing, looking at it from a diversity and inclusion perspective, because it’s about the people,” Pedro explained, “so every decision I make is in the best interest of our people, our clients and our brand.”

Going forward, she views her role as “fine tuning” existing policies and procedures, citing “ensuring that our social media policy reflects the world that we live in today” as a goal looking toward the new year.

“At Ogilvy we’ve always had very strong policies around people,” she continued. “Those policies have existed since I have been at Ogilvy.”

Pedro joined Ogilvy & Mather back in 2007. As chief diversity officer she has overseen the creation of an external and internal diversity advisory board, created the agency’s professional networks and developed a comprehensive strategy to drive Ogilvy’s workplace agenda.

Regarding the issue of harassment, Pedro said, “We’ve always had all types of anti-harassment policy, whether it is sexual harassment, racial harassment, harassment in general. We don’t condone bullies at Ogilvy.”

“I have recently reviewed our policy in light of things that are going on in the external world and I think our policy is pretty clear: we will investigate any charge or claim and it is a no-tolerance policy,” she added. “Oftentimes when we make determinations and it results in someone’s termination, the world doesn’t know it but we’re not afraid to do that and we have done that.”

13915: O&M Streamlining & Subterfuge.

Adweek published an interview titled: “Why Ogilvy’s Worldwide CEO Is Streamlining Both Agency Structure and Technology—John Seifert explains what he’s focused on in 2018.” Not surprisingly, Seifert belched out roughly 1,300 words on his grand vision without a single mention of diversity, despite insisting in 2017 and 2016 that it was an imperative in the “next chapter” of the White advertising agency. So much for being an ADCOLOR® Change Agent. Then again, it’s a safe bet that Seifert will streamline diversity and inclusion efforts, focusing on the promotion of White women in 2018 and beyond. Ogilvy will then gain certification from The 3% Conference, allowing parent Death Star WPP to continue declaring itself “perhaps the most diverse example of diversity of any single organisation.”

13591: Delayed WTF 34—O&M D&I B&S.

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Adweek reported Ogilvy shat out a planet-wide restructuring that O&M Global CEO John Seifert dubbed the White advertising agency’s “next chapter”—and the paragraphs on diversity make for some decent toilet reading. Adweek wrote:

New Roles for Diversity, Growth and Communications

Worldwide Chief Talent Officer Scott Murphy will lead the Talent division, managing human resources, diversity & inclusion, learning & development and talent acquisition. As part of this move, Seifert also promoted senior partner, executive director of L&D Diane Fakhouri and senior partner, chief diversity officer Lauren Pedro to lead the global learning and diversity divisions.

In a memo to staffers, Seifert elaborated on the moves:

Our biggest asset as a company is the rich diversity of Ogilvy talent. My confidence in our future is boundless. Our next chapter mission is clear: we are a founder-branded, pervasively creative, modern marketing organization that makes brands matter. We are one Ogilvy. I get more excited about the opportunity in front of us with every interaction I have with the amazing people in this company. I am so grateful to you all for sharing the belief that so many of our leaders around the world and I share: the Ogilvy brand matters more now than ever before.

Donna has been partnering with me on all of our diversity and inclusion initiatives for the past eight years in my previous role as Chairman of North America. She is one of my most trusted and valued partners (and my favorite companion for monthly pizza night!). Given our commitment to expand our diversity agenda in all its forms—and raise performance standards for our industry overall—I’m now counting on Donna to inspire, share, and expand all of our D&I efforts globally.

Wow, that’s elevating delegating diversity to a worldwide level. Missing from the memo is a specific action plan for achieving D&I at O&M.

It seems Ogilvy was inspired by IPG, as the company website currently features a robust Diversity & Inclusion section presenting a potpourri of propaganda.

For example, Ogilvy boasts having 10 professional networks whose objectives include attracting and retaining talent. Not sure how segregated divisions foster D&I. Additionally, the Administrative Professional Network, Young Professional Network and Working Parents Network are among the silos. In other words, admins, millennials and workers with kids receive as much D&I TLC as racial and ethnic minorities—and it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the groups receive more attention than racial and ethnic minorities.

The Diversity & Inclusion section also lists awards the company has collected for combatting exclusivity, employee recognition for honors like winning ADCOLOR® trophies and supplier diversity mumbo jumbo. Why, the only thing left out is EEO-1 data to confirm the O&M D&I initiatives are igniting progress.

In regards to diversity and inclusion, the White advertising agency’s “next chapter” appears to be a reprint of every previous chapter.

13497: Pharrell Williams Goes Platinum.

HYPEBEAST reported American Express named Pharrell Williams as Creative Director of its Platinum Card. Isn’t Ogilvy & Mather the AOR for American Express? Maybe Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert will try to count the appointment as a diversity win. Once again, it’s easy for Blacks to land a job in advertising—provided they have A-list celebrity status.

Pharrell Williams Is the New Creative Director of American Express Platinum Card

The versatile artist takes on another role.

By Joanna Fu

The multi-talented Pharrell Williams has many titles under his belt. In addition to musician, producer, fashion designer, CFDA style icon and Chanel model, the artist can now add creative director of American Express Platinum Card to his repertoire. Earlier this morning, American Express announced the news, commenting that Williams will bring “his creative vision and style to inspire and guide the global experiences, access and services that the Platinum Card is renowned for providing.” Having witnessed the success Pharrell has generated from previous business collaborations such as G-Star RAW, adidas Originals and many more, the multinational financial service corporation anticipates Pharrell’s professional experience and artistic vision to guide Amex user experiences and events that will help propel the premium consumer lifestyle. “Like many of our card members, he’s traveled the globe, he has an amazing imagination and he loves to discover and share new experiences,” commented Janey Whiteside of American Express. “I’m excited to be partnering with such a globally respected brand as American Express,” said Pharrell, in a statement.

13484: O&M UK BS.

Ogilvy & Mather Group UK asked, “What’s next for advertising in 2017?” The answer seems to be, “The same White-dominated bullshit that’s been happening since at least 1948.”

First of all, the O&M Group UK website is a UX disaster. That aside, the blog post predicting the future of advertising painfully underscores the agency’s exclusivity. White men and White women pontificate on the latest common-knowledge trends, making zero references to diversity, despite Ogilvy Worldwide CEO John Seifert’s desire “to be the most diverse and inclusive group of employees worldwide.” Oddly enough, the UK agency website’s homepage boasts, “We are a diverse group of agencies united by David Ogilvy’s mantra ‘We sell or else.’” Unfortunately, the diverse group of agencies appears to lack, well, diversity.

13481: Dentsu’s Killer Leadership.

Adweek reported Dentsu Global CEO Tadashi Ishii will resign after an overworked employee committed suicide in Japan. Seems as if advertising industry leaders are either creating hostile work environments or building heat shields, smokescreens and propaganda to covertly conceal ugly realities. These guys make Miles Nadal look like a choirboy.

Dentsu’s Global Chief Executive to Resign After Overworked Employee Committed Suicide

Japanese officials recommended prosecution

By Patrick Coffee

Dentsu chief executive officer Tadashi Ishii announced today that he will resign next month after leading the network for more than five years.

His press conference came less than one day after Japan Times and other local outlets reported that the country’s labor ministry had referred Ishii and the Dentsu organization to federal prosecutors. Officials reportedly recommended filing unspecified charges over the December 2015 suicide of a young Dentsu employee who attributed her own death to a culture of “overwork.”

“I feel deep responsibility as a person overseeing management of the company,” said Ishii as quoted by the Japan Times. “I will take full responsibility and will step down at a board meeting in January.”

Ishii is an industry veteran who appeared on Adweek’s Power List of the world’s 100 most influential marketers in both 2015 and 2016. Tokyo-based Dentsu, which owns the Dentsu Aegis network and once held a 15 percent stake in Publicis Groupe, is the world’s fifth largest holding company by annual revenue. Its agency roster includes such names as mcgarrybowen, Carat, Isobar, Merkle and Posterscope.

The controversy began last December when 24-year-old digital account manager Matsuri Takahashi killed herself after reportedly claiming on social media that she had worked more than 100 hours of overtime in a single month and that her bosses were abusive. Last month, the Japanese labor ministry raided several Dentsu offices as part of an ongoing investigation into the overworking phenomenon, commonly called “karoshi” in Japan. Only days before the raids, Dentsu had announced the creation of a “Working Environment Reforms Commission” to address the matter.

The alleged crimes involved the misreporting of overtime hours in violation of prior agreements between the Dentsu organization and Japanese labor unions.

This is not a new phenomenon. In 2000, the company acknowledged fault in the 1991 suicide of another 24-year-old employee and agreed to pay his family between $1 million and $2 million in a settlement.

Nor was Takahashi’s suicide the only controversy to hit Dentsu in 2016. Early this year, the PR wing of the organization acknowledged a failure to properly label paid promotions, and in September the network’s Japanese performance marketing unit DA Search and Link admitted to “inappropriate operations” related to the alleged over-billing of client Toyota for digital work.

The Dentsu organization has not yet issued a public statement regarding Ishii’s pending departure, nor has it named his replacement. Company representatives had not yet responded to Adweek’s requests for comment at the time this story was published.

13462: Winning With Diverted Diversity.

Adweek named Ogilvy “Global Agency of the Year”—and the honor should have included “Diverted Diversity Dimwits of the Year” too. The Adweek article included the following:

Ogilvy also has received kudos for how it fosters diversity in the workplace—a hot topic in the industry in 2016. The agency’s goal is to make its leadership gender balanced in the next five years. Ogilvy works with EY (formerly Ernst & Young) to benchmark its gender-equality practices and with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media on gender-equality initiatives.

“Our industry is good at talking about diversity, but not very good at doing anything about it,” Seifert says. “What will make the biggest difference are metrics: having specific goals, whether it’s ensuring equality among the top ranks, or ensuring equal pay across all salary bands. Goodwill, nice speeches and sending people to conferences is nice, but nothing matters more than setting specific goals and holding people accountable to achieving them.”
The new era at Ogilvy will borrow from its storied past and the philosophy of founder David Ogilvy, while meeting clients’ new challenges, its executives say.

Funny, ADCOLOR® Change Agent John Seifert essentially made the same self-critical comments regarding diversity seven years ago. How long can someone admit to talking the talk while not walking the walk? And why is Seifert able to put a deadline and figure on gender equality yet completely dodge racial and ethnic diversity, which has been a problem since before founder David Ogilvy ever joined the field?

Seifert and his team will win more ADCOLOR® Awards, I&C Trophies and kudos from The 3% Conference before actually addressing true diversity.

13406: (S)ADCOLOR® Tribute Advertisements.

Adweek published sponsored content for the 2016 ADCOLOR® soiree, including a Special Tribute Gallery featuring advertisements that likely ran in the event’s program guide. As always, advertisements for award shows are anything but award-winning efforts—and most of the ADCOLOR® tributes are downright lazy. Re-posting the shit would be a waste of blog space, but here are three noteworthy messages, coupled with MultiCultClassics versions of what should have been created.

Inspired by this, this, this, etc.

Inspired by this, this, this, this, this, this, etc.

Inspired by the 2006 Draftfcb Cannes Ad.

13376: John Seifert’s Unconscious B.S.

Campaign interviewed Ogilvy Worldwide CEO—and ADCOLOR® Change Agent—John Seifert, who declared, “I want to be the most diverse and inclusive group of employees worldwide. More than 50% of our senior managers are going to be women. We’re going to have many more multicultural leaders who represent the world.” Wow, it’s amazing the old man’s statement wasn’t preceded by, “I have a dream…” After all, Seifert has been scratching his head over diversity for at least a decade, and even confessed in 2009 that the industry is “not exactly leading the way” in regards to creating inclusive workplaces. In 2011, he clumsily launched OgilvyCulture—which continues to be an oxymoron. And when he spouted, “We’re going to have many more multicultural leaders who represent the world,” it didn’t sound like U.S. minorities are part of the plan. Hell, his ADCOLOR® trophy might be the only accomplishment he has ever made in the area of diversity. So besides the diverted diversity pledge to promote more White women, Seifert’s grand vision for his White advertising agency sounds like, well, White lies.

Ogilvy & Mather veteran John Seifert takes charge amid refocus on heritage

John Seifert talks to Kate Magee about the future of the Ogilvy name and what it stands for in today’s ad industry.

In a world of portfolio careers, John Seifert is of that increasingly rare species: a loyal employee.

He joined Ogilvy & Mather as a summer intern in 1979. Now, 37 years later, he has taken centre stage as its worldwide chief executive and, as of this month, chairman after his predecessor, Miles Young, left to become warden at New College, Oxford.

Seifert will be the last person in the post who has worked with all previous eight chairmen of the company, including founder David Ogilvy.

So it is no surprise, then, that his vision is not one of radical change for the global network but more about ensuring it lives up to its heritage.

Seifert, though, concedes that building brands has become more challenging and requires a change in the way agencies operate.

“Every single one of our clients is asking for the same thing — make it easier to do business with you, make sure you have the talent and skills for the modern marketing world, and be quick,” he says. “Clients don’t want to pay us less, in truth — but they do want to pay us fairly for what value we create. We just have to be totally accountable for that.”

That will call for some internal changes at the network, one of which will include rationalising the number of O&M subsidiary brands.

“I think we have one brand and that’s Ogilvy. Over time, we have created lots of different entities that have Ogilvy in their name. But in a world that has got so complicated and so fragmented, I’m not sure that all those different entities signal to the market the brand promise of Ogilvy,” Seifert explains.

“We absolutely will focus on simplifying the offering. We’re still working on what the right brand naming is in the modern marketing world but I know it will be different from what it is today.”

The first casualty may have been Ogilvy Labs, the innovation facility that was closed in the summer. While the official argument was that innovative thinking was, and should continue to be, baked into all parts of the business, the demise of the division received some criticism.

Seifert stresses the changes do not mean the group will start taking a generalist view of the world — “we are not going to dumb things down” — but will make it easier for specialist staff to collaborate.

Other areas of focus include digital transformation and diversity — he has put both on the agenda for every management board at the company.

“I want to be the most diverse and inclusive group of employees worldwide,” Seifert asserts. “More than 50% of our senior managers are going to be women. We’re going to have many more multicultural leaders who represent the world.”

When asked what the timeline for these changes is, he replies: “I’ve had 37 years of training to be the CEO. We’re going to move fast.”

He adds: “One of our clients was saying at dinner last night, the consumer is changing faster than this client’s CEO feels that they are. And we feel clients are changing faster than we are. So we have to pick up the pace.”

Seifert has been at the helm of O&M’s North American operations since 2009 and was previously chairman of the company’s “global brand community” — a group of 25 clients worth more than £1bn in annual revenue. He has also led global brand teams for American Express, BP, DuPont and Siemens, among others. But it is these global relationships — and the “barons” who run them — that have been blamed in the past for impeding the growth of local agencies. O&M London, for one, is on its fourth chief executive in six years.

Seifert believes this to be a perceived problem rather than a real issue and that, while there is some “natural” tension between balancing local, regional and global work, this is not insurmountable.

“The London market is probably the most famous advertising market. It is a benchmark for the world. I remember living in Asia 25 years ago and everybody had the work of London on their reel and in their library because it set a standard that everyone admired,” Seifert says. “The role of London has shifted over time. It used to be this amazing domestic market of great creativity in marketing. Now it is a regional and global centre.”

But a great agency brand in London needs to be able to perform at a local, regional and global level, Seifert argues, adding that he has the right team in place to achieve this in London.

Like other countries, being able to perform on a global level is critical. “What I’ve said to everybody is it’s no longer good enough to be great in, say, Colombia or Argentina,” Seifert points out. “Now, you have to deliver a standard that the world admires. A big part of my agenda is to raise everybody up to a common standard of performance.”

Earlier this year, O&M became the Cannes Lions Network of the Year for the fifth consecutive time. The award has been a key measure of creative success for O&M in the past but Seifert hints that there might be less of a focus on this in the future.

“There’s a lot of debate around Cannes right now. It’s really expensive to send all the people that we would like to send there. There are more categories than most people even can name,” he says.

But he maintains that Cannes remains incredibly important as it has become the convening moment for adland: “So we have to be there, and be there in a compelling way. Whether we win Network of the Year again or not, I want to make sure we are doing work and are building brand cases that the whole world is envious of.

“I think creative success is defined by the work. The more work we can do to build our client’s brands, [the more successful we will be] at Cannes.”

Seifert’s overall goal for O&M is to ensure that it attracts the best global clients, has a diverse workforce and creates a strong portfolio of work. He says: “If we do those three things, I’ll be happy to go play golf.”

13372: ADCOLOR® Commentary.

Campaign Editor-in-Chief Douglas Quenqua wrote a tribute to ADCOLOR® that ultimately—albeit unintentionally—showed how the organization perfectly symbolizes the sorry state of true diversity in the advertising industry.

To begin, Campaign really must stop referring to ADCOLOR® as “the industry’s premiere diversity conference” or “the ad industry’s premiere diversity event” already. For starters, the trade journal is using the wrong word—it should be premier versus premiere. And to be accurate, ADCOLOR® is not the first or leading diversity conference/event/thingy in our industry, as there are plenty of other equally lame programs out there. Then again, ADCOLOR® might be the premier smokescreen, allowing White men and White women to continue apathetically ignoring and actively denying any honest efforts for positive change.

Quenqua opened by confessing he only attended one day of the four-day extravaganza. In short, the editor mirrored industry members by displaying disinterest and declining dedication to true diversity. To push the perspective further, Quenqua revealed that ADCOLOR® creator Tiffany R. Warren asked for Campaign to provide coverage, as trade journals have historically failed to send reporters to record the festivities. To push the perspective over the edge, Quenqua also noted not seeing “a single chief creative officer from a top-tier agency”—as well as any CEOs (besides John Seifert), CMOs or holding company chiefs—in attendance. Quenqua’s observations confirm his own lack of awareness, as the editor of a major advertising trade journal should know by now that honchos from White advertising agencies and holding companies collectively comprise the biggest obstacle to progress. C-suite (short for Caucasian-suite in adland) executives appearing at an ADCOLOR® affair would be like Grand Wizards (or Campbell Ewald bigwigs) joining a Black Lives Matter rally.

Quenqua called his one-day ADCOLOR® immersion an “empowering, intelligent and inspiring” experience. Too bad empowerment, intelligence and inspiration have not led to meaningful and measurable action in regards to eliminating exclusivity in the advertising industry. Minimal attendance on the matter—literally and figuratively—remains the modus operandi for the ruling majority.

AdColor: Where were you?

By Douglas Quenqua

The industry’s premiere diversity conference just marked its 10th anniversary. The celebration was lonelier than it should have been.

First, a confession: I left this year’s AdColor conference too quickly. Rather than view the 4-day event as a chance to meet new people and connect with a community, I thought of it the way editors too often do, as a source of content. Campaign US’ creative editor, I-Hsien Sherwood, and I swooped in for the single day of panel discussions, wrote our stories and hopped on a plane before the stage went dark.

Despite my shortsightedness, I left with something I hadn’t intended to take: a buoyant sense of optimism about the future of the industry. This is not what you expect to take away from a diversity conference, given the grave and serious tones in which the topic is usually broached. But the AdColor Conference & Awards, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this week, is empowering, intelligent and inspiring in ways that other conferences are not.

Really, you should have been there.

Every day we hear ad executives and, lately, CMOs venting their frustration over the male whiteness of adland. They talk about the struggle to find non-white talent, to evolve their culture and “change the ratio.” And by all means, they should. But those complaints would carry more weight if they actually attended the industry’s premiere diversity event. Perhaps naively, I thought they would.

Early this summer I sat with Tiffany R. Warren, the founder of AdColor and chief diversity officer for Omnicom Group, to ask how Campaign US could get involved. I expected her to brush me off, to say she was up to her ears in ad trades wanting special access. Instead, she told me no advertising trade publication had ever sent a reporter to the event, the way we do with, you know, absolutely every other remotely ad-related event that attracts enough warm bodies to stage a panel discussion.

I can’t speak to the truth of Warren’s claims prior to this year. But I can confirm I didn’t see any of the usual suspects this week in Boca Raton, where the conference was held. In fact, aside from an advertorial package in AdWeek, I still haven’t seen a single mention of the conference—which I may have mentioned is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year—in any of the other ad trades.

Here’s what else I didn’t see: a single chief creative officer from a top-tier agency. And aside from Ogilvy Worldwide Chairman and CEO John Siefert, who was being honored as a “change agent” at the awards show on Wednesday, there was not a single major agency CEO. I saw no CMOs, and I certainly didn’t see any holding-company chiefs.

I have always looked sideways at people who crow about leaving an advertising conference “inspired.” How empty a life must be, I would think, for the soul to rise at a breakout session. But today I’m that guy. Because yesterday I heard Luvvie Ajayi, the blogger behind AwesomelyLuvvie.com, eloquently dismantle the false equivalence behind #AllLivesMatter. (“Pride in my culture is revolutionary,” she said, “because the whole world is telling me I’m nothing.”) I heard Chloe C. Sledd, founder of VoiceLots, talk about founding her company to honor her father, who was nearly shot to death in his mother’s home by a group of Chicago cops who had the wrong address (and tried to cover up their mistake by planting drugs in his dresser. Luckily, Sledd’s mother was hiding under the bed). When Facebook’s Kiva Wilson half jokingly proposed making a virtual reality experience that simulates being a black executive who gets followed around a drug store, I grasped the potential of that technology in a way I hadn’t after CES.

The ad industry these days can be a moribund place. We talk about the “death” of everything from the agency model to TV commercials to print. Yet AdColor, an event founded and attended mostly by people who’ve been marginalized and dismissed, is vibrant, aspirational and –I’ll say it again—inspiring. It offers so much of what the industry’s leaders claim to be in search of. Their absence makes you wonder just how hard they’re looking.

13367: (S)ADCOLOR® Awards.

Campaign reported on the oh-so-deserving award winners at the latest ADCOLOR® shindig. Saatchi & Saatchi NY nabbed “Ad of the Year” honors for a video produced in partnership with a Down syndrome advocacy group. Given the culturally clueless controversy involving ex-Saatchi & Saatchi Chairman Kevin Roberts, perhaps the trophy should be engraved with an asterisk. Additionally, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide CEO John Seifert received the Change Agent Award, allegedly bestowed upon talented and powerful individuals who promote inclusiveness and positive change. Um, Change Agent might apply to Seifert if it means tossing chump change at the problem or having a tendency to change the subject whenever asked to explain the dearth of diversity in his own White advertising agency. It was probably a close contest between Seifert and Donald Trump.

Saatchi & Saatchi NY wins AdColor’s Ad of the Year for “How Do You See Me”

By I-Hsien Sherwood

The ad for CoorDown, a disability advocacy group, starred Olivia Wilde as the self-image of a woman with Down syndrome

The anti-discrimination ad “How Do You See Me” by Saatchi & Saatchi New York won the Ad of the Year Award at the 10th Annual AdColor Awards—the industry’s premier event recognizing work that promotes diversity and multiculturalism—at The Boca Raton Resort & Club Wednesday night in Boca Raton, Florida.

“How Do You See Me” features actor Olivia Wilde as the internal self-image of Anna Rose Rubright, a woman with Down syndrome, created for the disability advocacy group CoorDown and timed to coincide with World Down Syndrome Day on March 21. The Ad of the Year honors “a campaign or single execution that pushes boundaries, promotes conversation and highlights the lives of multicultural, LGBT and/or other under-represented Americans in the mass media,” according to AdColor.

The other nominees for the Ad of the Year were “Greenlight A Vet” for Walmart by Saatchi & Saatchi NY, “Inside Out” for Lexus by Walton Isaacson, “This is Wholesome” for Honeymaid by Droga 5 and “Turn Ignorance Around” for CHIRLA Action Fund by Walton Isaacson.

The Rising Star Award, given to an up-and-comer with less than seven years’ experience in the industry, was awarded to Babette Sullivan Puebla, senior copywriter at The Integer Group. The other nominees were Christopher Corales, associate manager for consumer insights at Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Haywood R. Watkins III, associate creative director at Group SJR.

Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Chief Executive and CEO John Siefert won the Change Agent Award, given to a person who uses their talent and position within a company to foster inclusiveness and positive change. The other nominees were Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, executive vice president for diversity, inclusion and communications at CBS and Kiran Chaudhri Lenz, associate director, operations program management at GTB.

The Innovator Award, for imagination and breakthrough developments, was awarded to Stacey Hightower, chief operating officer of Group E DAS, a division of Omnicom Group. The other nominees were Sheila Marmon, founder & CEO of Mirror Digital and Marion Dickson, global head of YouTube social and influencer marketing at YouTube.

And writer and speaker Luvvie Ajayi, founder of AwesomelyLuvvie.com, won The Rockstar Award, given to a visionary leader within the industry. The other nominees were Keith Clinkscales, chief executive officer of REVOLT Media & TV and Erika Bennett, vice president, African American marketing at Allied Moxy.

The AdColor Awards cap off four days of events and panels at the 10th annual AdColor Conference. Attendees discussed topics that affect the ad industry and people currently underrepresented within it, like Black Lives Matter, Oscars So White and the rise of discriminatory rhetoric during the 2016 presidential campaign. Speakers included representatives from companies like Apple, Facebook, Diageo and Bing. Twitter released a custom emoji, designed by GSD&M and available for use through October 13 with #ADCOLOR.

13024: Ogilvy Extends Exclusivity.

Adweek reported on the White male succession at Ogilvy, where former Global CEO Miles Young is handing the title to John Seifert. From a diversity perspective, the move is stereotypical of White advertising agencies. Plus, Seifert has consistently admitted his shop sucks at addressing exclusivity—and his promotion perfectly perpetuates the problem. Bravo!

Ogilvy Has Named a New Global CEO

John Seifert succeeds Miles Young after months of speculation

By Noreen O’Leary

The speculation about a successor to Miles Young is over: John Seifert is the new Ogilvy & Mather worldwide CEO, effective immediately. Young will continue as worldwide chairman until Sept. 1, when Seifert also assumes that role.

The 57-year-old Seifert will retain his duties as chairman and CEO of Ogilvy North America, but the agency expects to name a replacement for him in that job.

Last June, when word leaked about the Young’s decision to leave advertising for a top administrative post at his alma mater, Oxford University, the news came as a surprise. Since then, Ogilvy parent company WPP has worked with Young, to consider both external and internal replacement candidates.

A leadership shift back to NYC

When the Englishman was tapped to replace Shelly Lazarus as Ogilvy’s global CEO in 2008, the move was seen as a break from the more traditional power corridors at Ogilvy New York headquarters.

Young’s career was forged outside America, first in London, then in Europe and later in Asia, where he built those agency operations into the largest and most successful in the region while also working on WPP initiatives. His choice as CEO was perceived as a sign that a larger global view, emerging-market dynamism and new forward-thinking about technology and business growth would inoculate O&M’s larger global culture.

Now with a return to a New York-based American Ogilvy executive—Seifert joined the agency as a summer intern and has spent all 37 years of his career at the agency—the move is a reinforcement of the high importance of the agency’s American operations and headquarter execs like Seifert who have honed close relationships with multinational clients like American Express and BP.

Ensuring a continuity in Ogilvy leadership was a deciding factor in the CEO, according to Young. “The reason we chose John was he epitomizes the classic Ogilvy values.The critical thing about this brand is the culture behind it. (I’ve told Seifert:) ‘Don’t skimp on that.’”

Seifert, who has been part of Ogilvy’s worldwide executive committee since 2009, says he’ll be sticking with that group’s “very robust agenda”. More specifically: “Nothing is more important than the work. In this new digital age we need to build client business plans as they relate to the modern business environment. … I wouldn’t trade O&M’s assets for those at any other company. The trick is to manage with agility so we can stay focused on the future and be prepared for what’s coming.”

Expanded roles for Heath, O’Donnell, Tham

One thing Young has said he’s learned over the past seven years is that running the $2.7 billion Ogilvy multidisciplinary network is too big a job for one person. As part of the new management changes at the O&M, the network is expanding the responsibilities of Ogilvy’s two regional directors: Paul Heath, chairman, CEO of O&M Asia Pacific, and Paul O’Donnell, who holds the same title in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) have been named worldwide executive directors.

Heath’s focus will be on global business development and O’Donnell, agency transformation, which includes looking at new operating structures, ways of working and new specialist opportunities. Heath has been based in Hong Kong, but will be spending more time in the U.S., with a possible move there, and O’Donnell will remain in London.

After he joins Oxford in September, Young will continue to work with key agency and WPP clients in a non executive role. But as he prepares for that transition, the agency also sought to underscore the importance of his longtime ally, worldwide chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng, who will now become co-chairman of Ogilvy’s worldwide board.

The two worked together for eight years in Asia, with Tham relocating to New York with Young and assuming global creative duties. During Tham’s time in that role, O&M’s global creative profile has boomed. In 2015 the network was named Network of the Year for the fourth consecutive year at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

While Seifert doesn’t have the same hands-on managerial international experience as his predecessor, he was responsible for a portfolio of 25 global clients totaling nearly $1 billion in revenue before taking on the leadership of O&M North America in 2009. He has been responsible for clients and held general management positions in Los Angeles, Chicago, Bangkok, and Singapore.

Seifert went back to New York in October 1992 and spent the next four years traveling for American Express about 70 percent of the time. He led the reengineering of American Express internationally when it became centralized in New York and London and launched BP globally in 2000.

11512: Human Rights On Madison Avenue.

Blog Action Day 2013 is focused on the topic of Human Rights. For a quick primer, scan The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

Has the dearth of diversity on Madison Avenue ever been properly framed as a human rights issue? Certainly not in recent years, despite the occasional intervention of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Rather, today’s diversity discussions tend to dwell on the standard “it’s a good business decision” angle, emphasizing the importance of building staffs that reflect and relate to the U.S. audiences targeted by most major advertisers. Unfortunately, the popular, polite and passive route doesn’t succeed for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the standard “it’s a good business decision” angle has not been proven. In fact, Whites might argue that based on indicators like awards and account assignments, exclusivity works just fine. Because the advertising industry has been predominately Caucasian forever, it would be extraordinarily difficult to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a diverse company could produce better creative.

Secondly, in situations involving human rights, politeness has never led to dramatic progress. This has been proven time and again. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stressed non-violence; however, they were not polite in their protests. Polite people are not typically thrown into jails or assassinated. On Madison Avenue, politeness will get you promoted to Chief Diversity Officer or elected to Diversity Advisory Committees—plus, you can win prizes like ADCOLOR® Awards and Pioneers of Diversity honors—but you won’t truly impact change.

The second point is particularly sobering and even offensive when considering the advertising field. The greater society usually comes around to showing respect to rabble-rousers such as Gandhi and Dr. King; conversely, adland has traditionally blacklisted (pun intended) revolutionaries while crowning Whites who essentially expressed the same opinions.

For example, Dan Wieden exclaimed the industry was fucked up in the area of inclusiveness, and he ultimately nabbed an ADCOLOR® trophy. Harry Webber pretty much said the same thing in 1969 and hasn’t been welcome in a White agency since. And although he’s made unprecedented contributions for diversity and equality, as well as produced award-winning campaigns, Webber has yet to be invited to an ADCOLOR® gala.

Jeff Goodby wondered, “Where Are All The Black People?”—and he received praise and accolades for asking. Sanford Moore has posed the question for decades and is still waiting to be thanked for his inquiries and groundbreaking achievements.

John Wren, Michael Roth, John Seifert and other advertising leaders have admitted there’s a lot of work to do in order to end the separate-but-unequal conditions. Lowell Thompson and Hadji Williams offered identical observations and suddenly found a lot less work.

Shunning the industry’s real heroes for human rights makes us look a little inhuman—and it definitely ain’t right.

10329: NASCAR Seeks Diversity Help Via Ogilvy…?!

Advertising Age reported NASCAR named Ogilvy as its new AOR, and the responsibilities will include helping the sport lure younger and more diverse fans. Wowee, sounds like the perfect opportunity for OgilvyCulture to practice its cross-cultural magic. Let’s just hope the NASCAR clients seeking to add diversity don’t look at the HR records of their new AOR, as Ogilvy North American Chairman John Seifert conceded the industry is “not exactly leading the way” in creating inclusive environments—and even admitted OgilvyCulture was a messy work-in-progress. So for NASCAR, it’s the colorblind leading the colorblind. Gentlemen, start your engines.

Ogilvy Named Agency of Record For Nascar

WPP Shop Tapped As Racing Sport Aims to Draw Younger, More Diverse Fans

By Rupal Parekh

After a four-month-long pitch, Nascar has chosen Ogilvy as its agency of record. The WPP agency will be responsible for helping Nascar launch a new brand platform at the Daytona 500’s 55th anniversary race in February 2013.

As Ad Age reported in March, Nascar began a review for a full-service ad firm to help it grow its young and multicultural audiences. Ogilvy will help execute a five-year plan by NASCAR that aims to reinvigorate existing fans and create new ones. It will also be tasked with media strategy, promotions and digital support.

In a sign of how hungry agencies continue to be for new business, Nascar was inundated with 110 inquiries to pitch its business from agencies of all different sizes and disciplines upon news of its agency review.

That list was eventually whittled down to ten finalists, and in late June Nascar visited three finalist shops—in addition to Ogilvy, Interpublic Group of Cos.’ McCann-Erickson and Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett were in the running—which presented to a group of senior execs, including Nascar Chairman-CEO Brian France.

Ogilvy’s presentations edged out the competition. “We were thoroughly impressed with the caliber of all three finalists; but Ogilvy’s consistency, creativity and dynamic leadership were the key differentiators,” said Kim Brink, Nascar managing director of brand, consumer and series marketing, said in a statement. “We’re delighted to join the agency’s roster of big consumer brands.”

Ms. Brink, who earlier in her career spent time at Cadillac, is understood to have initiated the review after arriving at Nascar last fall. Back in March, she told Ad Age that Nascar’s ad budget going forward would be “way north” of its measured media spending of around $25 million last year.

Said John Seifert, chairman-CEO of Ogilvy & Mather North America, in a statement: “From the beginning of the agency review process, it was clear to us that Nascar was looking for a true business partner. We firmly believe that Nascar is a valuable tool in the marketing mix and a place where big brands get high return on investment. We couldn’t be more proud to add the sport to our portfolio of global brands.”

Nascar races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 languages, and the group has offices in eight cities across North America.

9980: Delayed WTF 17—Mad Ave Assimilation.

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

The half-hearted diversity discussions at the recent 4A’s conference and the announcement of IAM graduates shed new light on the
training consultancy being launched by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin.

To recap, Vonk and Kestin are starting Swim, a training program for young advertising agency creatives. “With agencies no longer investing time and money to bring people along, it’s pretty much ‘sink or swim,’ and a lot of talented people sink,” explained Vonk. “Careers are stalling, work is suffering, and retention is poor.”

It’s a safe bet that Vonk is talking about White creative staffers. After all, she and Kestin are chummy alums from Ogilvy, where Ogilvy North American Chairman-CEO John Seifert expressed depression over the company’s lame diversity efforts.

Yet Vonk and Kestin inadvertently point out the monumental challenges that minorities face trying to succeed in the advertising industry. Hey, if White creatives require exclusive training, imagine what it must be like for non-Whites. The presumption already exists that minorities depend upon additional tutoring to make it on Madison Avenue—as evidenced by the plethora of segregated internships, inner-city high school initiatives and colored college courses. It appears that Whites feel minorities can’t make it without extra help.

So if Swim indicates even Whites could benefit from special attentive care, the logical next thought would be to believe minorities need super supplemental seasoning.

On the flip side, this really goes back to the arrogance of White adpeople. Specifically, no one ever considers the reality that the group with the greatest urgency for reform is the White majority. The Impact Study showed minorities endure isolation in the field; that is, our industry is not friendly and/or welcoming to non-Whites. But one never hears about philanthropic schemes to enlighten the culturally clueless. No courses are presented for eliminating exclusivity to build inclusive workplaces.

It’s much more pleasant to promote assimilation under the guise of goodwill.