Oh look! Others noticed the exclusivity displayed in the previous post spotlighting an Adweek report on White women as account directors. The witnesses include former 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill, former Omnicom Group SVP CDO Tiffany R. Warren, and Hustle-Knocker Hadji Williams—three prominent figures who’ve consistently called out the industry’s systemic racism yet have been unable to affect it. In Adland, anti-racists are waaaaay outnumbered by pro-racists.
Advertising Age reported former 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill is taking the CEO role at Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas. During her 4As stint, Hill was a vocal—albeit ineffective—proponent for diversity. Despite the contrived and clichéd rhetoric for inclusivity posted at the Marcus Thomas website, a peek at the White advertising agency’s leadership shows that if the new CEO is set on bringing change to the place, Hill will have an uphill battle.
Advertising Age reported on the latest 4A’s soiree—titled “Accelerate”—which ultimately showed the industry is really just accelerating in circles, as evidenced by the following excerpt:
Diversity and equalityIssues of diversity were pervasive at this year’s conference. In her opening remarks, 4A’s CEO and president, Marla Kaplowitz, talked about some of the work the group is doing in this area.
“Although the 4A’s has discussed and created programs focused on diversity issues in the industry, we have not done enough for our members to address inclusion in the workplace,” she said. “It’s time for action, so we are creating a series of playbooks and tools—guides to really help our members.” One new initiative, she said, is an “enlightened workplace certification.”
In a panel Tuesday afternoon on the topic of diverse leadership, Karen Costello, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency, talked about how the agency has navigated the waters since creative veteran Joe Alexander departed following an internal investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment.
“Creative departments are such a unique microcosm at agencies,” she said. “They’re ground zero for the worst behavior in our industry very often, but they’re also sort of ground zero for some of the most empathetic people, because that’s kind of where creativity comes from. So my personal experience at The Martin Agency has been unique because that agency was a bit of ground zero for this Me Too movement in advertising.”
Costello said many of the men at the agency were horrified at what had happened, and asked colleagues how they’d be able to help.
“That’s one of the biggest things: All you need to do is ask “How I can help?” That shows that you’re listening and being empathetic,” she said.
Costello added that the agency has started saying “ouch” as a safe word of sorts—connoting that a comment might be inappropriate or could make someone uncomfortable. “We just create a little bit of an environment that allows people to say, “What you just said isn’t cool, but let’s all just kind of work through this as opposed to making it a big, ‘Oh, you hurt my feelings.’” She added that it’s a balance of employees knowing they can speak up in a lighter way, or be taken seriously if a more in-depth conversation is desired.
First, for Kaplowitz to admit, “Although the 4A’s has discussed and created programs focused on diversity issues in the industry, we have not done enough for our members to address inclusion in the workplace,” is nothing short of pathetic. Why are industry “leaders” so open to share they have not done enough regarding diversity? How long before these “leaders” are held accountable for not doing enough? Hell, shouldn’t someone minimally establish a standard for doing enough? Otherwise, the admissions sound like negligence. Additionally, to announce the creation of playbooks and an “enlightened workplace certification” is even more pathetic, as such lame ideas have already been pooped out and promoted by patronizing White advertising agencies and patronizing White women’s clubs. Does Kaplowitz realize the 4As already published a diversity playbook by Adonis Hoffman—an individual with legitimate cultural competence—that states exactly what White advertising agencies must do for progress? Like too many in the industry, Kaplowitz is regurgitating efforts that have been around—albeit ignored—for decades. It all indicates that the new 4A’s leader has probably not done enough on diversity throughout her career. Ouchy.
Second, Costello’s comments are equally disturbing. To declare creative departments are ground zero for the worst behavior and ground zero for some of the most empathetic people, as well as The Martin Agency being ground zero for the me too movement in adland, deserves a triple ouch. For one thing, it underscores how slow the industry has been to acknowledge me too—hell, the Erin Johnson lawsuit preceded the Joe Alexander affair by at least a year. For another thing, The Martin Agency has been slower to address true diversity. Between gender-based discrimination and race-and-ethnicity-based discrimination, Costello is dealing with a diversity double whammy. Ouchy-ouch. Oh, and it appears the “ouch” gimmick means the Richmond-based White advertising agency is finally undergoing diversity training—or watching instructional videos on the topic. But the viewings are likely a mandate from IPG versus a brainstorm hatched by Costello. Ouch to the nth degree.
In the end, Kaplowitz and Costello might be victims of circumstance. That is, former 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill tried to make diversity a priority and arguably delivered contributions to the cause. However, the trade organization has no authority to dictate anything, leaving White advertising agencies to do the bare minimum or less in achieving positive change. So Kaplowitz is fighting an uphill battle. Meanwhile, Costello inherited the creative reins of a premier shop that has not done enough in the area of diversity and is reeling from the biggest scandal in its history. So she’s fighting an uphill battle too. On the flipside, Ad Age noted, “Issues of diversity were pervasive at this year’s conference.” Um, issues of diversity were pervasive at the 4As Transformation Conference in 2010 too. At some point, the hand-wringing and navel-gazing—as well as the recycling of Band-aid tactics—must be replaced with innovative actions that actually ignite progress. The truth is, the only group in adland to experience progress in the past ten years is White women—as clearly demonstrated by figures like Kaplowitz and Costello. Yet they both admit to not having done enough in the area of diversity. Time will tell if they turn out to be part of the solution or the problem.
The Drum reported former 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill is launching a consultancy—Media Sherpas—to advise companies and “help grow their businesses by simplifying the commercial content experience through a ‘focused and deliberate practice for each aspect of the communication ecosystem.’” Well, Hill certainly has keen expertise on the industry’s inane jargon. (BTW, there’s already a company out there called MediaSherpa, so Hill might need some consultation on copyright considerations.) The consultancy also offers assistance on “talent development initiatives including diversity and inclusion.” Okay, but it’s unclear how Hill might help in that area, given her difficulty achieving anything of meaningful or measurable value when running the premier trade association. Her skills as a Chief Diversity Officer were no more effective than, well, any other Chief Diversity Officer in the field.
Former 4A’s president and chief executive Nancy Hill launches consultancy
By Bennett Bennett
Previous 4As president and chief executive officer Nancy Hill has announced the opening of her new consultancy, Media Sherpas.
The goal of Hill’s new endeavor is to “help brands, agencies and others within the media landscape connect, explore and collaborate.” Media Sherpas looks to be an advisor to companies and help grow their businesses by simplifying the commercial content experience through a “focused and deliberate practice for each aspect of the communication ecosystem.”
“I consider myself a personal trainer for businesses, in the sense that I strive to bring out the best in everyone I work with,” said Hill. “My current clients and the companies I’m looking to partner with are ones who understand the need for objectivity and have a strong entrepreneurial spirit.”
The range of offerings within Media Sherpas include consulting on operations and financials, defining and promoting company culture and values, identifying revenue growth opportunities, and talent development initiatives including diversity and inclusion.
The first of the Media Sherpa practices is Agency Sherpa, which assists in meeting the needs of agencies. Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas and its 170 employees will be among the company’s first clients.
Jim Nash, Marcus Thomas’ managing partner said: “Nancy’s experience overseeing the 4A’s gives her a unique perspective on the challenges agencies face and the path to success and we’re looking forward to partnering with her in her new venture.”
Hill will assist the Marcus Thomas leadership team with strategic planning and a range of other initiatives.
“It’s important for our industry that agencies and brands across the board operate at their fullest potential, “ Hill said. “And I want to guide them to reach that potential by sharing some of the best practices I’ve established throughout my career.”
Campaign reported on 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill’s farewell address delivered at the 2017 Transformation Conference, where the outgoing leader offered accolades and affirmations to the advertising community. Stressing that the industry should not be branded by the “alleged bad behavior we read about in the headlines,” Hill declared, “We are better than that. You are better than that.” Okay, but how much better?
Hill admitted that when assuming her 4As role in 2008, “We were already behind in technology, we were already behind in media and, we were clearly behind in taking a leadership role in the growing discussion on diversity and gender equality.” But she countered the confessions by claiming, “We have taken a front-and-center position on diversity and gender equality. We have built a media practice that benefits all of our members and has allowed us to take a stance on issues as wide ranging as trust and transparency, measurement standards, privacy, fraud and ad blocking. As well as SAG/AFTRA negotiations & patent trolling. And, we have become digitally centered with a mobile-first approach on every new product we develop.”
Really? Even the statement about becoming “digitally centered with a mobile-first approach on every new product we develop” is debatable—simply attempt to navigate the 4As website on any mobile device, and it will underscore that most advertising people have as long a way to go with digital as they do with diversity.
And as diversity remains a major concern for this blog, MultiCultClassics will critique Hill’s contentions on the topic.
First of all, despite anything that follows in this post, MultiCultClassics salutes Hill for having attempted to bring about change in the area of diversity. Unfortunately, a trade organization does not have the power and authority to mandate—or for that matter, even influence—new industry practices, attitudes or behaviors. Regardless, Hill took on the challenges better than her predecessor, O. Burtch Drake—although that’s like saying Lloyd Christmas is smarter than Harry Dunne. In short, Hill cannot force anyone to change, especially when the people who must change have steadfastly refused to do so for over 60 years.
Hill believes, “We have taken a front-and-center position on diversity and gender equality.” Around 2008, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, Sanford Moore and Cyrus Mehri were speaking out, condemning the discriminatory conditions that persist on Madison Avenue. Today, the protestors are virtually invisible, as White women have leapfrogged over racial and ethnic minorities to take a front-and-center position in the diversity discussion. The 4As jumped on the gender bandwagon with the rest of the industry too.
Since 2008, the advertising industry has made little progress in the area of diversity, and it’s actually regressed with certain segments. There’s little evidence of anything being better—except perhaps the smokescreens and shields created to conceal the truth.
Nancy Hill’s farewell: ‘We’re better than that’
By Douglas Quenqua
In a tearful address, the departing 4A’s president urged the agency community to look beyond salacious headlines and focus on progress.
Nancy Hill, the departing president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, delivered a tearful farewell address at the group’s 2017 Transformation conference in Los Angeles on Monday, assuring the agency community that it is not defined by the “alleged bad behavior we read about in the headlines.”
“We are better than that,” she said to applause. “You are better than that.”
Which is not to say Hill doubted the behavior exists.
“I know that sexual harassment happens,” she said. “I know that racism and sexism both exist. I know that there are probably some bad actors out there that maybe aren’t as forthright with their clients as we’d like them to be.”
But the agency world has much to be proud of, including “talent that creates work that moves brands, moves markets and moves perceptions,” and “work that influences culture, shapes the conversations and changes lives,” she said.
Hill, who was elected president in 2008, has overseen a tumultuous era in the agency business that’s included the Great Recession, existential challenges to the agency business model, a number of high-profile sexual harassment scandals, the erosion of trust between agencies and brands, and accusations of dirty dealing among media agencies.
But rather than taking the tough love approach, as she did at least year’s conference, Hill used her opening remarks on Monday to reminisce about her journey in the industry and encourage its members to focus on the progress they’ve made.
“Thirty-five years ago, when I started as a traffic coordinate at W.B. Doner in Baltimore, I would have never, ever imagined myself up on this stage in front of all of you,” Hill began, pausing midway to joke about the tears she was already shedding.
“The odds on when this was going to happen were not this early,” she said.
Though the 4A’s faced intimidating challenges when she took the job in 2008—“We were already behind in technology, we were already behind in media and, we were clearly behind in taking a leadership role in the growing discussion on diversity and gender equality”—the organization and its members have come a long way in addressing them, said Hill.
“We have taken a front-and-center position on diversity and gender equality,” she said. “We have built a media practice that benefits all of our members and has allowed us to take a stance on issues as wide ranging as trust and transparency, measurement standards, privacy, fraud and ad blocking. As well as SAG/AFTRA negotiations & patent trolling. And, we have become digitally centered with a mobile-first approach on every new product we develop.”
Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of MEC North America, will assume the presidency when Hill steps down in June.
Before taking the position in 2008, Hill served as CEO of Lowe New York and EVP and managing director for BBDO New York after working at Doner, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Goldberg Moser O’Neill, which became Hill Holiday in 2001.
Hill plans to consult and spend more time in Ecuador, where she volunteers and teaches, after she steps down in June.
“Thank you for letting me represent you for just a little while,” Hill said on Monday. “It’s been an honor and a privilege. Thank you.”
Kaplowitz is slated to take the stage at Transformation later on Monday, when she will share her vision for the future of the 4A’s in an interview with Bill Koenigsberg, Chairman of the 4A’s Board of Directors and President, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media.
Campaign published updates on the discrimination lawsuit against JWT and WPP, with commentary from a collection of critics and critters. Of course, diverted diversity divas Kat Gordon and Cindy Gallop lamely lambasted the industry. A handful of anonymous ex-JWT executives weighed in too. Yet the arguably most peculiar—and seemingly contradictory—remarks came from 4As folks, and these statements warrant examination.
Outgoing 4As Chairman and CEO Nancy Hill said:
“There is license to have a lot of very honest conversations about the state of gender in the industry, and to a certain extent diversity in general. … This was something the industry needed to hear to wake up. Prior to this tipping point, there was a belief that there were a lot of isolated incidents, that this was not pervasive.”
So it appears that Hill believes Gustavo Martinez’s alleged words and deeds are symptomatic of a persistent problem. Hill’s experience with the trade organization—as well as her leadership roles in White advertising agencies—certainly adds credibility to her opinion.
Meanwhile, 4As Diversity & Inclusion Manager Taylor Yarbrough said:
“We have a lot of [MAIP] alums at JWT, and I haven’t heard them say they don’t want to work there. People look at it as an individual that made a mistake. It’s not like Uber, where so many individuals made so many mistakes that it must be a cultural thing. … It’s a larger societal thing that’s happening, especially after the presidential election. … This past Black History Month, so many agencies did so much more than I have ever seen. The whole office is having the conversation, not just the black affinity group. We’re seeing a shift in the way society is understanding diversity and inclusion and the problems of people outside of their communities.”
Okey-doke. Assessing these assertions requires deliberate dissection.
First of all, how many MAIP alums are employed by JWT? WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell admitted women are underrepresented in leadership roles within his White holding company, while racial and ethnic minority representation is “unacceptably low.” So declaring that a miniature group of MAIP members has not complained about discriminatory working conditions at JWT ain’t saying much. Hell, it’s a safe bet that the entire staff is reluctant to voice an opinion right now. And perhaps JWT leadership has officially prohibited people from publicly speaking out—inviting them to use the awesome talk-to-me hotline for airing grievances instead.
Additionally, pointing to allegedly content MAIP alums hardly justifies proclaiming, “People look at it as an individual that made a mistake.” Keep in mind that outgoing Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy got spanked for taking such a position. Sorry, but JWT and WPP make Uber look like the ACLU.
Yarbrough also said, “This past Black History Month, so many agencies did so much more than I have ever seen. The whole office is having the conversation, not just the black affinity group.” Really? Based on MultiCultClassics’ annual review, Black History Month propaganda was at an all-time low in 2017. Plus, the overwhelming majority of advertising agencies don’t even have a “Black affinity group” because most firms don’t have enough Blacks to form a group.
Yarbrough’s quote ends by observing, “We’re seeing a shift in the way society is understanding diversity and inclusion…” Perhaps, but the societal shift is different than the adland shift—which is actually more of a shaft. In the advertising industry, diversity and inclusion has shifted into promoting White women first, followed by Old White people, LGBT White people, disabled White people, foreigners with visas and house pets. Racial and ethnic minorities have been lowered to below the lowest rung on the proverbial totem pole.
Adweek reported the 4A’s named MEC North America CEO Marla Kaplowitz to serve as its new leader, replacing current 4A’s Chairman and CEO Nancy Hill. The committee that unanimously approved Kaplowitz sought someone who could “deal with a very diverse membership” of 4A’s players. Additionally, Kaplowitz declared, “I think the 4A’s has done a tremendous job with diversity and I want to make sure that continues to grow, not just through the foundation but through the work that’s being done with diversity of all types, whether that’s gender diversity or ethnic diversity, and really leveraging the training that’s happening here.” Hey, Kaplowitz seems like the perfect person to help the “diverse membership” continue the diverted diversity drive, accelerating the White women bandwagon ahead of racial and ethnic inclusiveness. Just check out this diversity drivel from a former MEC HR wonk. Plus, MEC UK is a dedicated defender of doddering diversity to defeat discrimination against old White adpeople. In the end, Kaplowitz will probably do for industry diversity what President Donald Trump does for national diversity.
Why the 4A’s Chose MEC North America CEO Marla Kaplowitz as Its Next Leader
And what she hopes to accomplish
By Katie Richards
On Friday the 4A’s announced Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of MEC North America, would replace Nancy Hill as the new president and CEO of the organization. Kaplowitz will officially take over for Hill in early or mid-May, although an exact date has not yet been disclosed.
A 10-person selection committee, led by 4A’s board chair and Horizon Media president, CEO and founder Bill Koenigsberg, unanimously selected Kaplowitz. When current 4A’s chairman and CEO Nancy Hill announced in July that after nine years she planned to step down from her role, Koenigsberg and his team got to work looking for someone to take over for Hill.
The first thing Koenigsberg and his team did was enlist MediaLink to help conduct a “research study among a cross section of our membership,” he said. “It gave our members an opportunity to voice how they saw the future, what a future leader might look like, what they were looking for in terms of guidance and what the 4A’s should stand for.”
From there, the team created a job description and set out to look for the next CEO. Overall, the committee looked at somewhere between 70 and 80 candidates until finally narrowing it down to four. Kaplowitz proved to the committee that she could use her previous experience, which includes 12 years at Mediavest as the head of Procter & Gamble’s communications planning assignment for North America, to do a number of things for the trade organization.
The committee wanted someone who checked a few different boxes. The next CEO needed to be highly respected in the industry, a great leader and someone who could inspire and lead internally and outwardly to the industry as a whole. Koenigsberg and his team also wanted someone who could “deal with a very diverse membership,” including small shops, holding company agencies and big media agencies. Finally, the new CEO’s vision had to align with that of the organization and all of its members.
“Marla personified all of those in her ability to show us that she had what it took to navigate all of those different swim lanes, [which] led us to a unanimous decision that we are very lucky to have her,” Koenigsberg added.
As soon as Kaplowitz steps into her new role sometime in May, she said there are a few things she hopes to tackle. The biggest being to mend the relationship between the 4A’s and the Association of National Advertisers. The two organizations have, in the past year or so, publicly debated the issue of media transparency. While the 4A’s and ANA had formed a joint task force in April 2015 to investigate allegations of pervasive kickbacks among media agencies, the 4A’s eventually released its own set of transparency guidelines nine months later without the support of the ANA.
“Agencies need to once again be valued for the partnership that they deliver and the work because it’s about growing their business,” she said. “My goal is to make sure that I work and partner closely with the ANA and Bob Liodice and hope to be very connected to them moving forward,” Kaplowitz added.
A few other issues Kaplowitz plans to tackle as CEO of the 4A’s include making sure all members understand and take advantage of what the organization has to offer to help agencies grow their businesses and continuing Nancy Hill’s work on diversity within the industry.
“I think the 4A’s has done a tremendous job with diversity and I want to make sure that continues to grow, not just through the foundation but through the work that’s being done with diversity of all types, whether that’s gender diversity or ethnic diversity, and really leveraging the training that’s happening here,” Kaplowitz added.
Advertising Age reported Advertising Week 2016 is a rerun of Advertising Week 2006, with White advertising agencies creating fresh smokescreens—including diverted diversity—to dodge accountability for decades of inaction regarding true diversity and inclusion.
“There’s a perspective that it’s now OK to speak up and have a voice,” claimed 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill. “And I think the other side is recognizing that there’s a need to allow that voice and celebrate it.” To be clear, Hill is only referencing diverted diversity, with an emphasis on the White women bandwagon. For true minorities such as Blacks and Latinos, it’s not “OK to speak up and have a voice”—unless you’re prepared to be blacklisted, blackballed and blacked out of the business.
In 2006, Omnicom refused to comply with agreements designed to promote diversity in the advertising industry, opting instead to establish a Diversity Development Advisory Committee, hire a Chief Diversity Officer, bankroll ADCOLOR® and devise dumb diversity drives that haven’t done diddly to demonstrably develop diversity. Today, Omnicom refuses to disclose its EEO-1 data.
What a difference a decade makes.
At Advertising Week, Industry Chases Inclusion
By Lindsay Stein
Advertising Week 2016 in New York has no single theme, according to Matt Scheckner, the event’s executive director, but the fact that more than a dozen panels are focused on gender, diversity and inclusion is very much deliberate.
This week’s content, he said, is meant to “mirror what are the most timely and topical” issues in the industry and in the world. And this year, the dialogue around gender and race equality, though far from new in the country and in the ad industry, has been reignited by a number of controversial events, whether it be police-related shootings or lawsuits over alleged discrimination.
This summer, Advertising Week partnered with Future Foundation to conduct a gender diversity study of the industry. The survey, which includes responses from 285 executives across the media, marketing and creative industries in the U.S.—73% of whom are female—revealed that 40% of women claim to have encountered gender discrimination in the workplace. The survey also found more than one out of three women (36%) claim to have experienced sexual harassment at work. Advertising Week and Future Foundation will release the full survey on Sept. 28.
Advertising Week is just one of several groups showcasing research around gender and diversity throughout the week’s festivities. Nonprofit Advertising Women of New York is unveiling a new brand identity, She Runs It, along with a study orchestrated by EY and LinkedIn aimed at helping advance women leadership in marketing and media. The 3% Conference will talk about the results from its Elephant on Madison Avenue study during a panel, and the 4A’s will release findings from its study about how diverse professionals are treated in the workplace and how consumers perceive diversity in ads during its Talent@2030 Conference. The 4A’s will also debut research on how consumers perceive women in ads during a panel featuring Madonna Badger, founder and chief creative officer at Badger & Winters, who launched the #WomenNotObjects initiative in January.
4A’s President-CEO Nancy Hill said gender and diversity are definitely prominent topics for this year’s Advertising Week, which is expected to have more than 100,000 participants, up from 95,000 in 2015. The four-day fest also saw a 64% increase in early registration for Advertising Week delegates and special events this year, compared with 2015.
“There’s a perspective that it’s now OK to speak up and have a voice, and I think the other side is recognizing that there’s a need to allow that voice and celebrate it,” said Ms. Hill, who challenged the industry and agency CEOs to take more action on diversity and gender issues following the discrimination lawsuit against WPP and J. Walter Thompson in March.
Despite the fact that Advertising Week is chock-full of gender and diversity talks, Mr. Scheckner doesn’t think any of the discussions or studies will be redundant or contradictory. “Everybody has a different take and that’s what makes it unique and adds richness to the whole thing,” he said.
Ms. Hill said the content really “runs the gamut,” with sessions ranging from gender and race to LGBT and transgender topics.
Each year, Advertising Week, which is entering its 13th year in New York City and 18th overall edition, has to make sure topics are fresh and relevant, said Mr. Scheckner, which is why this year’s event also has plenty of talks around virtual reality, programmatic advertising and the digitization of the industry.
As usual, you can expect a fair amount of self-promotion by participating agencies, vendors and others amid the panels and the parties. But the meatier sessions are likely to center on gender and diversity, which are beginning to shape the new-business world. Witness the “Free the Bid” initiative launched two weeks ago, which calls for all agencies to include at least one female director every time it triple-bids a production for a client. A couple weeks before that, General Mills told Ad Age that it’s requiring that agencies participating in its review be staffed with at least 50% women and 20% people of color within the creative department.
Adweek reported on a 4As survey that showed most women in the advertising industry believe they have experienced harassment and discrimination. This is not surprising. But it’s unlikely that the survey results are much different for women in the advertising industry than women in any other field—from business to blue-collar to babysitting. Plus, while most women in adland have allegedly faced harassment and discrimination, it’s a safe bet that all minorities have dealt with harassment and discrimination. That’s 100% versus 3% or over 50%, to be sure.
Study Finds Most Women in Advertising Have Experienced Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
4A’s results come in wake of Kevin Roberts controversy
By Patrick Coffee
The 4A’s today released the initial findings of a yearlong research initiative designed to learn more about the experiences of women and other diverse professionals working in the advertising industry.
The results will come as a major blow to anyone who downplays the prevalence of sexual harassment and discrimination in the agency world. A strong majority of women who participated in the study reported having experienced sexual harassment and/or discrimination at some point during their careers to date.
“If there were any people out there who are in denial, these stats prove otherwise,” said 4A’s CEO Nancy Hill today.
The group decided to release its initial findings earlier than expected after related controversies involving Saatchi & Saatchi global chairman Kevin Roberts, former JWT CEO and chairman Gustavo Martinez and other agency executives spurred heated debate within the industry and beyond.
Hill told Adweek, “One of the reasons it’s so important is that I can talk until I’m blue in the face about anecdotal information, but if you don’t have the statistics, people can continue living in denial.”
A total of 549 4A’s members participated in the survey, which Hill called “the most comprehensive study of its kind within the advertising community.” There were 375 women who responded via email, and more than half reported that they have experienced sexual harassment at least once, with the term defined as “the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks in workplace, professional or social settings.”
When asked about discrimination, 54 percent of female respondents also said their gender has made them feel either somewhat vulnerable or very vulnerable in the workplace. These numbers were higher than the results recorded for any other attribute considered in the study.
Thirty-three percent of the women who completed the survey said that they have failed to receive key assignments or promotions because of their gender on multiple occasions, and 42 percent claimed to have been excluded from key decision-making processes because of the same gender-based discrimination.
The study also found that many women working in the industry have experienced past instances of harassment or discrimination that they did not recognize as such at the time. Forty percent agreed somewhat with that sentiment, and 19 agreed completely.
The survey included a wide range of positions and levels of experience. Forty-three percent of participants work in middle management, with 33 percent in senior managerial roles and 12 percent in “the C-Suite.” Two percent of respondents were interns.
“We had planned [the project] before the Kevin Roberts thing happened,” Hill said, “and we debated whether to hold off but, with people being in the middle of a heated conversation, it felt appropriate.”
More of the survey’s findings will be made public during the 4A’s talent conference at next month’s Advertising Week.
“These are our top findings we wanted to release when talking gender and discrimination,” said vp Samantha Wolf of Havas, which is the organization’s public relations agency of record. “We also did a study partnering with [marketing firm] SSRS about general consumers and how women are portrayed in advertising. Other parts of this survey include a diversity element that we will release in the fall.”
Hill said future portions of the report will classify its findings by gender, ethnicity and geography, with all related releases bound to spark further debate. But when asked whether any of today’s findings were unexpected, Hill said, “No, nothing surprised me at all.”
Adweek published a patronizing pile of poop in praise of dubious diverted diversity advocates—namely, Nancy Vonk, Nancy Hill and Cindy Gallop. Has Vonk accomplished anything in the name of actual diversity since spanking Neil French in 2005? Hell, did that online event even draw any results for the global cause? Nancy Hill tried to push change. But the leader of a trade organization can only do so much—which ultimately translates to not much. Plus, despite imploring White honchos to assume the role of Chief Diversity Officer for their respective organizations, Hill wound up hiring 4As EVP of Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and Talent Development Singleton Beato—whose previous employer was the wondrously diverse JWT. Meanwhile, Cindy Gallop—who appears to be a sex addict now fighting for the fairer (and fair-skinned) sex—condemned “a rot at the top of the industry spreading and still spreading in the most appalling way.” Yet what diversity achievements did Gallop create while she was among the rotten top at BBH? Sorry, but if The Three Stoogettes are diversity advocates, look forward to many more decades of declining representation for the truly underrepresented.
Are Agencies Finally Ready to Confront the ‘Rot at the Top of the Industry’?
Diversity advocates hope we’ve reached a tipping point
By Katie Richards, Patrick Coffee
The advertising industry’s top women are done mincing words.
“A cancer” is how 4A’s President Nancy Hill describes the agency world’s lingering gender bias and racial insensitivity.
“The industry has a huge diversity problem,” says veteran creative Nancy Vonk.
There is “a rot at the top of the industry spreading and still spreading in the most appalling way, and that is what needs to be stopped in its tracks,” says diversity advocate Cindy Gallop.
Their comments come not after the ouster of one major agency executive, but after the high-profile firings or resignations of no less than four top execs in 2016: Campbell-Ewald’s Jim Palmer, JWT’s Gustavo Martinez, RAPP U.S.’ Alexei Orlov and, most recently, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Kevin Roberts.
Roberts’ resignation amid backlash over his dismissive comments about gender balance seems to be, for many in the industry, a tipping point that is forcing the industry to confront its homogeneity and stubbornly enduring chauvinism.
So is the agency world truly ready to confront its own demons rather than dismissing each ham-tongued CEO’s firing as an “isolated incident”?
Dragging the debate into the light
“I do believe I’ve seen that there has been a more concerted effort to root out all of the cancer and root it out faster, but it’s going to take a while,” said Hill, who as president of the 4A’s represents the interests of agencies across America. “The dominant gender and skin color has been white male for the bulk of this industry’s history.”
There is also, diversity advocates believe, a benefit to having high-profile agency PR disasters like Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts recently declaring that the gender debate is “over” and saying women are often more content with lower-ranking roles because they lack the “vertical ambition” of men.
This kind of incident sparks global debate and “makes it impossible to ignore that the industry has a huge diversity problem,” says Vonk, who runs Toronto creative leadership consultancy Swim and previously served as creative chief for Ogilvy Toronto.
But even if the industry agrees that it has a problem, what can agencies do in the short term to address it?
How conversation may stave off crisis
If agencies can begin having candid, self-aware discussions about race and gender, it could prevent a disastrous moment of cringeworthy leadership.
Media training on the topic is, while not a solution to the core problem, at least one way of helping executives think more carefully about how they phrase their opinions in public and with their staff.
One female agency executive, who asked to remain anonymous, said she believes Saatchi’s Roberts was largely pilloried because of how he phrased his comments (such as saying “the fucking debate is all over” when asked about gender balance), when he could have found a more reasoned way of explaining how agencies can rethink the way they help female employees with career advancement.
“I feel bad for Kevin,” she said. “One of the main reasons I don’t like to talk about it is that there’s such a good chance that your words will be misconstrued.”
In the end, she said, Saatchi’s parent company had little choice but to disown Roberts, given the industry’s ongoing reputation for insensitivity toward diversity issues.
“He could be a scapegoat, but Publicis can’t afford to piss off so many clients and employees,” the executive said. “What did JWT gain from backing Gustavo Martinez initially? Not a whole lot.”
Media training or sensitivity training won’t solve everything, though.
To Vonk and diversity watchdog Cindy Gallop, Roberts’ ouster was less about poor phrasing than about a clear example of gender bias. The best solution, they argue, is to continue building more diverse leadership teams.
“Kevin Roberts’ belief that women don’t have ‘vertical ambition’ is about ignorance, willful blindness and yes, gender bias,” Vonk said. “And he’s not unique—it’s a view among many older white men at the top who aren’t keeping up the tour. These leaders will keep putting people that look like themselves into top jobs because that’s their comfort level.”
One of the agency world’s best-known female leaders, 360i CEO Sarah Hofstetter, agrees:
”The issue is, what’s going on inside your four walls?” Hofstetter says. “Are we acknowledging what needs to change in the culture of these agencies to attract people of different backgrounds in terms of gender, race and sexual orientation?”
At older shops, legacy can be a liability
For her own agency, Hofstetter said the organization benefits from not being a larger legacy shop, where it seems many of the recent problems have stemmed from. That’s not to say that sexism and racism is absent from other agencies, but “it’s easier when you’re building from scratch rather than inheriting a decades-old infrastructure,” she says. “Wallpaper is the go-to solution: It’s quick and it won’t ruffle any feathers on top. But we were founded as a pure meritocracy.”
What about those larger shops? How are they answering these problems and working to rid itself of the “rot,” as Gallop puts it?
Some larger organizations have found success starting from the top and working down. For IPG, that means a diverse board. Heide Gardner, chief diversity and inclusion officer at IPG, noted “40 percent of our board members are women.” With diverse leadership, many execs argue, comes diverse thought and diverse work for clients.
Finding a path forward
Until there is a balance of all kinds, from gender to ethnicity to sexual orientation at the uppermost levels of these organizations, change is going to be an uphill battle, says 4A’s leader Nancy Hill.
“As I said in March [at the 4A’s Transformation conference] … this has to start at the top and the CEO of any agency needs to consider himself or herself the chief diversity officer. It’s their job. Nobody else’s.”
At the agency level, Gardner noted that some IPG agencies have started “conducting unconscious bias training,” while others “are implementing a blind resume practice in which they eliminate any gender identifiers from resumes” to ensure fairer hiring practices.
After a lengthy career of watching misogyny and other forms of discrimination manifest themselves in the agency world, Vonk says she’s optimistic that change will come—but knows it won’t come easily.
“I was glad to see Publicis respond immediately and decisively, but not many leaders with gender bias announce it to the press. It’s not always easy for a holding company to identify people who are doing active damage to their employees and employers,” Vonk says.
“There’s hard work to be done. When those who reject diversity exit roles of great influence and are replaced with forward thinking leaders, we’ll get somewhere.”
Adweek reported 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill is leaving the trade organization in 2017. Hey, there’s no better way to promote White women in the advertising industry than by letting Hill depart…? Wonder if her successor will assume the 4As Chief Diversity Officer role too. Adweek revealed Hill intends to spend time teaching and doing volunteer work in Ecuador. She’ll undoubtedly use the experience to recruit minority candidates for the field.
President and CEO Nancy Hill Is Leaving the 4A’s After Nearly 9 Years
Trade org begins search for new chief executive
By Patrick Coffee
The ad industry’s largest trade organization, the 4A’s, announced today that its chairman and CEO, Nancy Hill, will be stepping down next year and that the search for her successor has officially begun. After leaving the organization in June 2017, Hill plans to work as a consultant and spend time in Ecuador teaching and doing volunteer work.
Hill assumed the top role at the American Association of Advertising Agencies in January 2008 after holding executive positions at such shops as Lowe, BBDO and Hill Holliday. In her eight-plus years atop the organization, she has often served as a de facto spokesperson for those advocating for greater racial and gender equality within the industry.
“Nancy has incredible passion for the advertising industry,” said Horizon Media founder and 4A’s board chair Bill Koenigsberg in a statement. “During the past eight years, she has advocated tirelessly for issues—such as gender and diversity—that continue to make the industry better.”
Koenigsberg added, “Nancy joined with five years of service in mind, but this last March the board again asked her to stay on, extending her contract through June 2017.” That year will also mark the organization’s 100th anniversary.
A press release announcing Hill’s departure credits her with modernizing the organization during a tumultuous period for the ad industry and expanding its representative skill set by including more marketing and media agencies. Hill has repeatedly tried to facilitate a more inclusive and supportive environment within the advertising business by including people of different racial backgrounds and sexual orientations in conversations about the future of the industry. She’s also encouraged greater transparency in media practices and has supported advocacy groups like the 4A’s Foundation, TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) and 3MS (Making Measurement Make Sense).
“The past eight years have been the experience of a lifetime,” said Hill in a statement, adding, “It has been a pleasure to help guide the industry through changing times and to bring issues that I am so passionate about to the forefront. The advertising agency business is continually evolving to meet the needs of clients and identify the best new ways to reach consumers. It has been an honor to play a part in shaping the future of an industry I love.”
The 4A’s is currently in talks with MediaLink to lead the search for Hill’s successor. So far, the organization has not given any indication as to whether it has considered specific candidates to replace Hill.
Adweek published the latest diverted diversity dreck from 4As President and CEO Nancy Hill, who insists the “discourse about gender and diversity in advertising is reaching a crescendo.” Not sure if Hill actually wrote the line or if it’s the work of an Adweek editor, but the words are only valid if the writer means a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force as applied to a fart. That “gender” precedes “diversity” in the dreary discourse says it all. According to Hill, people have approached her to gush, “This is what I am going to do to make a change.” Of course, Hill offered no clues regarding exactly what anyone is going to do to make any changes. And the 4As leader ultimately presented the same old smokescreen solutions and crescendo of culturally clueless clichés. Hill closed by declaring, “It’s why I am confident that this time is different.” Yes, this time White women are dominating the diversity drivel. (Not surprisingly, the illustration for the Adweek article—depicted above—exclusively features White women.)
Discourse About Gender and Diversity in Advertising Is Reaching a Crescendo
But real change starts at the top
By Nancy Hill
It’s been nearly a month since the 4A’s Transformation conference, where, as many of you heard, read or experienced firsthand, the discourse about gender and diversity in the advertising industry was raised to a new level. We have now reached an inflection point in the conversation: More people than ever are engaged, which is exactly what it’s going to take to make significant and meaningful change.
This time, I am confident agencies and their leaders—men and women alike—are going to take action to ensure that our industry better reflects the population.
The comments I received at Transformation and after the event have been moving, to say the least. One reason I know this time is different is that people have been taking it upon themselves to come directly to me and say, “This is what I am going to do to make a change.”
We at the 4A’s are engaged in numerous initiatives to support gender equality and diversity—from the Glass Ladder series, designed to empower and educate female leaders, to our MAIP multicultural mentorship program.
And we’re going to be doing more. This month, we’re launching a yearlong, multiplatform initiative involving 4A’s events, webinars, salons, content development and enterprising research.
The objective is threefold: to keep the conversation front and center, to hold a mirror up to agencies regarding female and diverse experiences and to offer programs that advance the careers of female and diverse agency professionals.
As part of the initiative, we will be commissioning comprehensive research to provide insight into how women are treated and rewarded at agencies and portrayed in advertising. The first part of the two-part survey will examine female experiences in the industry as they relate to equal pay, equal opportunities for advancement and sexual harassment, among other topics. The second part will look at how women are portrayed in ads and the impact on current and future generations of women.
We expect the findings to be comprehensive and informative with the goal shaping how the conversation about gender and diversity in the advertising industry progresses.
But real change needs to take place within agencies, and it has to start at the top.
As I mentioned at the conference, if you are a CEO, you are also the chief diversity officer. And you need to look at every hire as an opportunity to change the playing field at your own company.
Here are a few places to start to take action:
Revisit your hiring process. Following Transformation, one CEO at a large, independent agency approached me and said, “From now on, I’m not looking at any resume that has a name on it.” Blind applications are one way to help erase unconscious biases when it comes to hiring (or not hiring) female or diverse candidates. Another option is to institute the Rooney Rule and mandate that whenever you’re hiring for an open position, the slate of candidates must be diverse.
Close the wage gap. Look at your staff’s salaries. Is there a gap between what men are making and what women are making? If so, I urge you to fix it if you want to retain and nurture some of your agency’s best talent.
Open the discussion. Make sure your HR department is receptive and reactive to employees’ feedback. “If you see something, say something” shouldn’t just be a slogan on the New York City subway. If you see colleagues, friends, bosses or junior staffers being treated unfairly because of their gender, race, ethnicity, physical ability or any other reason, raise a flag. This is unacceptable behavior, and each agency should have a process in place to address it without making employees fear for their jobs.
I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made in just the few short weeks since this discussion came to a head. Nancy Reyes became the new managing director at TBWA\Chiat\Day’s New York office, and less than a week into her job as JWT’s new CEO, Tamara Ingram declared her intentions to make diversity a top priority.
This is an industry I fell in love with more than 30 years ago. There is so much good, so much creativity and so much innovation that flows through its veins. I know you all have a passion for this industry as well, and that’s why I’m confident that we’ll do the right things together and move this industry forward.
It’s why I am confident that this time is different.
Nancy Hill (@nhhill) is president and CEO of the 4A’s.
Adweek reported on the diverted diversity discussions continuing at the latest 4A’s Transformation Conference. According to Adweek, “Nancy Hill, president of the 4A’s, added a last-minute panel Thursday morning with the goal of having an open, unplugged conversation about diversity.” Okay, but the main topic was really about promoting White women in the field. At the 2010 Transformation Conference, MultiCultClassics won a competition and presented The Cultural Competence Contest to protest the lack of diversity in the advertising industry. In 2016, the “open, unplugged conversation about diversity” is just a Caucasian girlfriend get-together. Now that’s a transformation.
What the Advertising Industry Can Do to Finally Create Gender Equality
Diversity conversation continues at 4A’s
By Katie Richards
Gender equality has been a major topic of conversation at this year’s 4A’s Transformation conference. From the sessions on stage to discussions over drinks, equality seems to be on everyone’s mind. So much so that Nancy Hill, president of the 4A’s, added a last-minute panel Thursday morning with the goal of having an open, unplugged conversation about diversity.
Hill sat on the panel with Aaron Sherinian, chief communications and marketing officer of the United Nations Foundation; Madonna Badger, chief creative officer of agency Badger and Winters; and Shelley Zalis, CEO and founder of The Girls’ Lounge.
The panelists all agreed that change isn’t happening quickly enough. Zalis cited a recent study from McKinsey & Co. that showed gender parity in the C-suite will take 100 years at the rate we’re going.
So what can the industry do to stamp out sexism and gender inequality?
“The best news is that this is something that, as agencies, we can start the practice of respecting the dignity of women in advertising literally tomorrow,” Badger said. Badger and her agency recently pledged to stop objectifying women and men in their ad campaigns. The “Women Not Objects” campaign went viral as soon as it hit the Web in January.
“Women control over 80 percent of purchasing decisions in this country, and yet over 91 percent of them feel like they don’t connect with the advertising they are seeing,” Badger added.
Hill said it starts with diversifying leadership and hiring more women at agencies at the creative level to ensure women’s ideas are being heard. A few years ago, she pitched a TV campaign idea to DirecTV about astronauts controlling TV channels from space. When she saw the ad, the entire cast was men. The creatives said they didn’t know of any women astronauts so it never occurred to them to put a woman in the spot.
“If you don’t have a woman at the table to say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. That’s not right,’ then chances are that creative will get through,” Hill noted.
Additionally, taking a closer look at middle management, or the “messy middle,” could be another starting point. While the industry starts out with an equal split of men and women, it tapers off at the top. Women in middle management often begin thinking about starting a family, while men think about moving up. Plus, men “really don’t know how to take on supporting and encouraging this gender equality conversation because they haven’t really trained,” Zalis added.
Hill went back to the fact that diversity and equality starts at the top. CEOs, she said, should also function as chief diversity officers, tasked with creating a balanced and equal workplace.
Campaign US posted a video featuring an Advertising Week interview with 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill. At about 1:55 into the video, the interviewer segued to the Here Are All The Black People incident, prompting a short discussion on diversity. Hill stated she feels “people are taking [diversity] much more seriously than I’ve ever seen them take it before.” Too bad the more seriousness only seems to apply to promoting White women. Hill also stressed that when she took the 4As job, she assumed the role of Chief Diversity Officer for the organization as well. Sadly, Hill has been about as effective as the average CDO, although she instituted the Rooney Rule for 4As hiring—while the advertising industry continues to use Mickey Rooney Rules. Sorry, but Hill will take home an ADCOLOR® trophy long before she brings motivating, meaningful or measurable change to the complexion of Madison Avenue.
Advertising Age published a piece from 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill, announcing the trade group has assembled a task force to investigate media kickbacks. While claiming the organization is “alarmed” over the allegations, Hill also saw the need to stress that kickbacks “are not inherently conflicting or illegal, but they are not an accepted business practice in the U.S.” It’s interesting that Hill—when expressing the imperative for diversity in the advertising industry—never felt obligated to point out it’s not inherently illegal for White people to hire other White people, perpetuating the exclusivity that has tainted the field for decades. Hill also gasped, “While our association has no regulatory or enforcement authority, we take any contentions that hurt our industry extremely seriously. Trust and transparency serve as the foundation of successful agency-client relationships, and are key to the highest standards of client service.” Heaven forbid anything might damage the integrity and credibility of an industry that has openly executed discriminatory hiring practices for longer than the 4As has been in existence. Whatever. Don’t count on the kickbacks task force having any more success than the numerous committees and armies recruited to create diversity.
Why the 4A’s Has Formed Task Force On Media Rebates
Organization ‘Alarmed’ That Issue Threatens Agency/Client Trust
By Nancy Hill
The American Association of Advertising Agencies, whose members produce roughly 80% of advertising volume nationwide, naturally becomes alarmed when a matter threatens the very trust that defines the bedrock of the agency-client relationship. That issue is media rebates and, more specifically, what detractors derogatorily term “kickbacks” on Madison Avenue.
A former agency executive triggered the clamor this spring, claiming that rebates are widespread in advertising. A subsequent survey by Ebiquity and a sibling marketing analytics firm contributed. In it, 62% of advertising procurement officers polled said they consider rebates a “hot topic” within their company, and 63% said they are “moderately” or “extremely pressured” annually to lower agency compensation.
While rumors and innuendo have exaggerated the matter, the hubbub it sparked offers the opportunity to explore the issue of how advertising is bought and sold and related performance metrics.
It provides the chance to define the essential meaning of transparency and trust. Further, the polemic opens up an avenue for exploring and establishing fresh guidelines for serving clients in today’s increasingly complex media ecosystem.
Lightning rod for transparency
Briefly, let’s clear up the matter of media rebates or volume discounts: They are not inherently conflicting or illegal, but they are not an accepted business practice in the U.S. And while we are a U.S.-focused association, we hope and expect every agency adheres to the contractual obligations of their respective regulatory environment.
Still, media rebates have become the lightning rod for the broader issue of transparency.
Financial partnerships between media sellers and agencies are confidential arrangements, and media clients need to understand when their agency may hold stakes in a diverse portfolio representing a range of interests that can impact these arrangements.
This becomes concerning, of course, when those interests are at odds with a client’s business or, worse, go undisclosed by their agency partners. These partnerships are just that: mutually beneficial relationships where terms are disclosed on a confidential basis, and fully understood by all parties. This principle has served as the foundation of our association since its founding nearly a century ago.
Industry best practices
Our 750 members work daily to uphold these values. Still, the air of distrust and questions raised about the arrangements between agencies and media companies is why we have begun proactively examining and establishing industry-best practices to reflect the evolving media marketplace we inhabit. Together with the Association of National Advertisers, a multidisciplinary task force is conducting an in-depth consideration of these issues. Our industry reflects many perspectives, and the task force will work to better communicate those views between agency and client. We expect to issue new best practices and guidelines resulting from this work within the next few weeks.
While our association has no regulatory or enforcement authority, we take any contentions that hurt our industry extremely seriously. Trust and transparency serve as the foundation of successful agency-client relationships, and are key to the highest standards of client service.
Nancy Hill is president-CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies
Adweek reported a new 4As and ANA task force has been launched to investigate media kickbacks, an issue that 4As President Nancy Hill called the advertising industry’s “elephant in the room.” Um, adland has more elephants in the room than Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Look for the trade groups to eventually recruit an army to tackle the corruption. Let’s hope the efforts are more effective than the half-hearted and half-assed attempts to end the exclusivity that’s plagued the industry for over 60 years. Hey, media kickbacks trump diversity.
As Firestorm Grows Around Media Kickbacks, the Industry Launches a New Task Force
4A’s and ANA vow to investigate marketers’ concerns
By Andrew McMains
It has been called (by 4A’s President Nancy Hill, specifically) the ad industry’s “elephant in the room.”
The issue? Allegations of media agencies pocketing discounts on volume media buys and not sharing the “kickbacks” with clients.
Well, now the elephant is finally getting the scrutiny many feel it deserves.
The 4A’s and the Association of National Advertisers today formed a joint task force to examine the accusations, and the 10-person group represents a who’s who in the media field.
Members include the heads of holding company media divisions like WPP’s GroupM, Omnicom’s Omnicom Media Group and Publicis Groupe’s Starcom MediaVest Group, along with marketing leaders from Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal, and Subway. Rounding out the panel are 4A’s President Hill, ANA CEO Bob Liodice and Horizon Media CEO Bill Koenigsberg, who’s also chairman of the 4A’s board.
The group will start meeting next month with the goal of identifying “material issues” related to media transparency and “address them with constructive dialogue and pragmatic course of action.” Recommendations are expected later this year.
The idea of agencies profitting from volume-buy discounts is nothing new. In fact, the practice is common in certain regions of the world, including Asia and Latin America, where marketers generally are aware of it. The U.S., however, is a different story: ad holding companies maintain that they don’t pocket any discounts here.
Still, broader anxiety and distrust between agencies and marketers have given this issue legs ever since consultant and former media agency CEO Jon Mandel reignited the topic during a presentation at an ANA conference last month.
Mandel asserted that media kickbacks are widespread and that, despite assertions to the contrary, media agencies aren’t being transparent about them.
Of course, Mandel, who works for brand marketers, has a vested interest in pointing out problems with agencies. In short, marketers may hire him to investigate the practices of their shops. Still, transparency has long been a concern of marketers in their dealings with agencies, and merely suggesting that agencies aren’t being open with their clients was enough to set off a firestorm that continues a month later.
Three weeks after Mandel’s accusations, Hill made her “elephant in the room” comment at the 4A’s Transformation Conference in Texas. At the time, she said the 4A’s was already talking to the ANA about the topic and “we will continue to have those conversations to work toward what I hope will be some really good guidelines for everyone to think about.”
She further encouraged “everybody to have those conversations—agencies and clients—about the trust you need to have in each other because it’s very important in what we do.”
Since then, media commentators have fanned the flames, and analysts have questioned the extent of the practice of pocketing volume discounts, with one, Brian Wiener of Pivotal Research, going so far as to downgrade his outlook on some holding companies on the premise that losing such discounts would impact their profitability.
And as the companies reported on their first-quarter results this week, other analysts questioned their CEOs about the practice. The bosses, however, maintain that their agencies don’t operate this way in the U.S. and that in markets where they do collect discounts, they’re transparent about it with clients.
In Interpublic Group’s earnings call this morning, for example, CEO Michael Roth told analysts that his company addressed the issue 10 years ago in its drive to comply with then new federal standards for financial reporting that arose out of the Sarbanes-Oxley law of 2002.
“We embarked on a full transparency program within IPG to make sure that there’s transparency and that any rebates will be properly reflected in our contracts and given to our clients,” Roth said.
He added that in markets outside the U.S. where there are rebates, “our contracts are clear that those rebates belong to our clients (or specify) how we’re instructed to treat those rebates.”
Hill believes much is riding on the success of the task force, which she said must “ensure that the long-standing partnership between clients and agencies is grounded in trust and understanding.”
Liodice simply feels that “transparency concerns—real and perceived—need to be addressed and mitigated.” Now, conceivably, they have the stakeholders in place to get that done.
Advertising Age published an editorial by 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill regarding Congress potentially passing a tax provision or bill that would alter the long-held deduction of advertising costs. The trade publication also ran a story featuring other industry wonks bemoaning the possible “ad tax” creation.
Hill wrote, “We must bring the full power of our collective voices to the opposition. If you haven’t already, contact your members of Congress and let them know that what we do is essential to the businesses in their districts and in the nation as a whole. General tax reform may a worthy goal, but changing the advertising deduction is not the path to take.”
“It is essential that everybody in the advertising community speak up loudly and quickly that this proposal is misguided and highly damaging,” implored ANA Group Exec VP-Government Relations Dan Jaffe. ANA CEO Bob Liodice chipped in that “a major new tax liability which would increase the cost of advertising and cause a substantial disincentive for companies to spend additional advertising dollars.”
Whatever.
Let’s hope the battle cry is more effective this time versus the 2009 bullshit attempt at building an army to advance industry diversity.
Then again, let’s not.
Hill added, “Changing or removing the advertising deduction is also contrary to more than 100 years of business history.” Hey, that’s roughly the same amount of time that our industry has dragged its feet on reforming discriminatory hiring practices. Liodice would have to grudgingly admit to it as well. Additionally, Publicis Groupe Overlord Maurice Lévy gushed over the election of Barack Obama in 2009; hence, you’d think he would support the president’s tax reform proposals.
But seriously, why should a field that thrives on exclusivity also enjoy special monetary benefits? Hell, Congress shouldn’t just stop at instituting the “ad tax” on Madison Avenue. Legislators should launch a “diversity tax” too, fining advertising agencies for failing to integrate their ranks.
Now that’s an idea worth rallying around.
4A’s President and CEO Nancy Hill published an Advertising Age column presenting her annual whine for fresh talent. By golly, the dearth of young people has never been more severe—and we must band together to lure them into our ranks. That message should go over well with the veterans being laid off in record numbers. Of course, Hill gushed over IAM, the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media. Yet there are no plans to scour struggling communities in search of poor White kids to recruit. No blueprints to erect special high schools for underserved Caucasians living in poverty. No scholarships or college programs targeting inner-city Anglos. Such philanthropy is reserved exclusively for minority candidates.
U.S. Politics Today reported the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM) graduated its first senior class via a gala event held at the Brooklyn Museum. Guest speakers included IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth and 4A’s President-CEO Nancy Hill. Jetting from Cannes to Brooklyn in the past week must have been grueling for Roth. His commencement address was undoubtedly riveting, although the kids likely would have preferred listening to players and owners from the Brooklyn Nets. Hell, Roth’s highly paid underlings aren’t even interested in hearing the man ramble.
Congratulations to the IAM students, the school’s dedicated staff, and the program’s supporters. Seeing young citizens move forward is always a great thing.
MultiCultClassics has repeatedly stated its position on such endeavors throughout the years. So this will be brief.
Hill inspired the students by sharing she was once told, “‘Anything is possible. Everything is not.’ But if you focus on the anything—the one thing that you really believe in and that you really want—there is nothing, nothing, I assure you, that you can’t accomplish.”
The 4A’s honcho unwittingly revealed the true reasons behind the exclusivity on Madison Avenue. For over 60 years, diversity in our industry has been impossible. And it’s because leaders haven’t focused on anything, don’t really believe in it, and don’t really want it. That’s why nothing, nothing significant has yet been accomplished.
Hill and Roth shouldn’t just deliver speeches to minority youth. The executives must also present lectures to the industry’s majority oldsters, demanding that they create inclusive workplaces. Why simply put underserved kids through school? Send culturally clueless adpeople to diversity training too—and see how many can actually graduate. Don’t stop after handing out scholarships to deserving students for academic achievement. Follow up by delivering pink slips to unresponsive managers for professional failure.
Otherwise, you’ll only be teaching the IAM Class of 2012 their first lesson in Madison Avenue bullshit.
NYC’s ‘Advertising’ High School Awards Diplomas to First Graduating Class
Brooklyn’s High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM) Was Established in 2008
The High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM) graduated its very first class of seniors in commencement exercises held today at the Brooklyn Museum.
Interpublic Group chairman CEO Michael Roth delivered the commencement address to the graduates, saying, “Five years ago, when a bunch of us in the industry came up with the idea for IAM, we looked forward to this day, when we’d be seeing you—the first graduating class—completing your studies. What you’ve accomplished is impressive: 48 of you are graduating today, with 80 percent going on to college.”
He continued, “Just as impressive is what you’ve achieved in learning about the business. You have created campaigns for real clients, and presented them before leading industry professionals. This was the idea behind IAM—to prepare you for your future, to open your eyes to the possibilities.”
The 4A’s, the leading trade association for the advertising industry, led the years-long effort to establish IAM High School in 2008 on the campus of the former Canarsie High School in Brooklyn, as a way to educate young adults about the advertising industry, cultivate a more diverse work force and to prepare students for the business world.
“American businesses are realizing that to remain competitive in a global marketplace, there’s value to be found in partnering with public schools to develop the next generation of the labor force,” said Nancy Hill, President-CEO of the 4A’s. “It’s particularly important for the advertising and marketing industry, which is suffering a talent drain to tech and financial firms. This school is now one of the wells we’ll draw from for talent for many years to come.”
Hill added that schools like IAM High School are able to re-engage students in their core academic subjects by showing them the practical use of the skills learned in the classroom. At IAM, students have the opportunity to take workshops in the creative aspects of advertising (copywriting, art direction), in understanding media planning and buying, and in web-site production and design.
Many of the graduates plan to pursue their education by attending 2- or 4-year post-secondary schools. Four graduating seniors—Tevin Jeffery, Meagan Francis, Darren Freeman and Jermaine Richards—received portions of a $60,000 scholarship from the Advertising Club of New York to continue their educations.
Besides the first graduating class, the school has 330 students from grades nine through 12, and some of its milestones thus far are as follows:
• On May 4, 2012, IAM High School opened a student-run full-service advertising agency on campus, and it is working on ad assignments from local Brooklyn businesses
• IAM has formed long-term partnerships with the 4A’s and its member agencies, such as, McCann-Erickson, Deutsch, DraftFCB, Digitas, Publicis, McGarryBowen and Euro RSCG
• Through these ad agencies, the IAM Advertising Agency is working with blue-chip marketers including Jaguar and Google
• In March 2012, IAM students contributed to an integrated marketing campaign for Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative to combat childhood obesity
IAM is the first accredited high school in the country that has advertising and marketing as part of its core curriculum, and it is certified to award Career and Technical Education (CTE) diplomas. It is one of 35 CTE high schools in New York City.
The 4A’s Nancy Hill said that IAM High School is the model for what she hoped will be many other public high schools in cities around the country that will develop advertising-focused curricula to graduate students who are prepared for post-secondary education and the business world.
