17632: Got Multicultural? LERMA/ Wins Real California Milk.

MediaPost published unintentional Hispanic Heritage Month content by reporting LERMA/ gained AOR status for Real California Milk, the consumer-facing brand of the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB).

LERMA/ once served as a Latino-focused advertising agency alongside The Richards Group, eventually breaking away on its own around the time Stan Richards left the building.

Here’s hoping Real California Milk comes with more than real California crumbs.

LERMA/ Named AOR For Real California Milk

By Steve McClellan

Dallas-based full-service agency, LERMA/ has been named agency of record for Real California Milk, the consumer-facing brand of the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), following a competitive review led by Mercer Island Group.  

The organization had previously worked with Deutsch LA for many years although it wasn’t immediately clear if that agency was still the incumbent when the review was called or if it participated in the review. 

The account encompasses creative, strategy, social, media, data and analytics, multicultural marketing and website responsibilities.  

LERMA/ is tasked with building greater meaning and relevance around the Real California Milk seal, with the goal of increasing consumer preference and purchase of seal-stamped dairy products at retail.  

“LERMA/ stood out from the beginning for the passion they brought to our business and their understanding of the opportunity ahead,” said Adrienne Daniels, Executive Vice President, Marketing at the CMAB. “Beyond the strength of the creative thinking, we felt an immediate cultural fit with the team.”  

The first work from the partnership is expected to launch in January 2027.  

The CMAB represents California dairy farmers, and its mission is to promote demand for milk and other dairy products made in the state. That’s a separate organization from the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) which represents the companies that pasteurize, bottle, and distribute liquid milk. Their iconic “Got Milk?” campaign was created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners in the 1990’s. CMPB and Goodby parted ways in 2017 after 25 years.

17201: Underrepresented Voices Having Their Say.

Advertising Age published another Hispanic Heritage Month perspective, imploring brands to engage underrepresented voices.

 

This op-ed comes from the CEO of Lerma Advertising, a multicultural marketing shop with historical ties to The Richards Group—now known as TRG.

 

Don’t expect any color commentary from Stan Richards.

 

Why brands must lead with underrepresented voices to grow

 

By Pedro Lerma

 

I’ve been in this business long enough to know one thing: The future doesn’t look like the past. Too many marketers are clinging to what they believe is the “mainstream,” afraid that if they lean into underrepresented voices, they’ll lose their base. But here’s the truth: The mainstream doesn’t look like it used to. America doesn’t look like it used to. And neither do the audiences driving growth. So, what to do?

 

The case for the underrepresented

 

First, we need to get real. The “underrepresented” aren’t niche audiences. They are cultural powerhouses who represent enormous growth opportunities. And the underrepresented are different for each brand.

 

Whether it’s Hispanic Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, women, LGBTQ+ communities or people with disabilities, they aren’t sitting on the sidelines. They’re creating businesses that drive our economy, the music we dance to, the books we read, the shows we binge, the fashion we wear, the food we crave, the podcasts we stream, the slang we speak and the movements we follow.

 

Kantar research shows that 75% of all consumers say a brand’s degree of representation influences their purchase decisions. That means when you lead with underrepresented voices, you have an opportunity for “positive spillover.” In leading with the underrepresented in stories based on universal human truths, you’re not just talking to the underrepresented—you’re deepening your connection with your legacy customers, too.

 

What holds brands back?

 

I get it; it’s not easy. In today’s environment, every campaign lives in a political context. And that makes brands and agencies nervous. But here’s the reality: staying homogeneous doesn’t protect you; it exposes you. Playing it safe is a mirage and a one-way ticket to irrelevance.

 

Some brands worry they’ll alienate their core audience. My experience? The opposite happens. When you tell a story with empathy, nuance and cultural fluency, it resonates universally. You don’t lose people; you pull them in.

 

Here’s how brands have succeeded:

 

Earn the right to tell the story

 

First, don’t fake it. I once pitched a concept about gender pay equity to an automotive client. They loved it, but believed they still had work to do internally before they could authentically tell that story. It was a humble and wise move on their part because audiences can smell performative behavior from a mile away.

 

Invite them to the table

 

Include people from the community you’re representing in your creative development and validation process. The right voices early on make all the difference.

 

Start with the story, not the segment

 

I loved this Amazon ad featuring and narrated by a user experience designer who is deaf. While I have not experienced hearing loss, Brendan’s story still moved me deeply and made me feel better about the brand. I also expect that people who are deaf or have experienced hearing loss feel seen in a deeper, more personal way.

 

Make underrepresented audiences the hero—not the afterthought

 

When Modelo celebrated Hispanic NFL players and mentorship, it wasn’t about being political. It was about empowerment.

 

Design for cultural relevance, then scale universally

 

Cheerios once told a story about an interracial family. It meant a lot to that specific audience, but it also appealed to any parent of a precocious kid.

 

Use cultural catalysts

 

With the World Cup and Olympics on the horizon, brands have the chance to consider important questions like “Will our communications follow past recipes?” or “Will we use these massive moments to feature new heroes in our storytelling?”

 

Be humble

 

Get ready for feedback—and listen. If you miss the mark, own it. Respond with humility and a willingness to grow. That’s how you build trust that lasts.

 

Leading with underrepresented audiences is a superpower, and the choice is clear: Cling to yesterday’s assumptions, or embrace tomorrow’s audiences. Those who do the latter will not only grow their revenue—they’ll be shaping the future.

 

When brands make space for everyone, everyone shows up.

17079: TRG—Not Your Founder’s White Advertising Agency…?

 

Advertising Age reported on the TRG resurrection post-Stan Richards’ resignation, publishing a crapload of content that feels like performative PR.

 

The White advertising agency, ironically and/or appropriately, is still struggling to get in the black.

 

TRG has still not fully recovered—how its CEO plans to get the agency on the map again

 

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

 

Can a song about cat litter put an agency back on the map?

 

Pete Lempert, the newly appointed CEO of TRG, thinks so. A longtime principal of the agency who took on that role in March, Lempert is charged with getting the Dallas-based independent formerly known as The Richards Group back on the industry’s radar. It’s been five years since its founder Stan Richards stepped down following a racist remark he made during an internal meeting. And yet, the agency has still not quite managed to shake perceptions that its reputation and culture are dated.

 

Lempert, the agency’s second CEO since Richards stepped down, said he’s ready to get TRG out there again, and believes work such as recent campaigns the agency has done for World’s Best Cat Litter will help to signal a new direction for the agency. That campaign—including a spot last year for its Poop Fighter brand featuring an R&B song about a cat named Rose whose poo-poo does not smell like a rose—offers the type of category-breaking advertising for which the shop wants to be known, he said.

 

“It’s got some moxie,” Lempert said of the World’s Best Cat Litter work, “and it has to because that category is not easy to become distinct in. That’s a client who said, ‘Look, we want people to see our work, we don’t want it to be wasted.’”

 

TRG has been back on a bit of a winning streak after several significant client losses in 2024, such as automaker Stellantis, which ended its 15-year relationship with the agency, as well as Credit One Bank, which had worked with TRG since 2019.

 

Lempert said TRG has brought in 13 new clients in the last 12 months, something he personally takes pride in as he served as the agency’s new business director before becoming its CEO.

 

“That sends a really good signal about the health of the company,” he said. “We’re looking to build the business and to be back on the radar with consultants.”

 

Still, some in the industry, including consultants and former employees, said TRG hasn’t evolved enough from the Richards incident in October 2020 to celebrate just yet. Some said its rebrand to TRG from The Richards Group in 2022 and its appointments of longtime agency veterans feel like surface-level changes. (Lempert joined TRG in 1994 and his predecessor as CEO, Glenn Dady, spent 45 years there.)

 

TRG then and now

 

“The Richards Group was, and still is, an insular culture that prides itself on doing things ‘Stan’s way,’” said Jay Pattisall, a VP and principal analyst for Forrester, who also worked as a brand strategist for TRG from 2000 to 2003. “Rebranding the agency to its existing acronym TRG and installing top lieutenants like Dady and Lempert are designed to produce an appearance of change while The Richards Group culture quietly lives on.”

 

Pattisall added that there are positives to that, praising the shop under Richards as “a creative force to be reckoned with” that produced iconic campaigns for clients including Continental Airlines, Corona, Chick-fil-A and The Home Depot.

 

Richards founded TRG in 1976 and several people, including former employees, said he oversaw everything that came out of that agency until he stepped down in 2020. These people said everyone was expected to follow Richards’ creative vision, which did produce some timeless ads, including “We’ll Leave the Light on For You” for Motel 6 and the famous Chick-fil-A cow mascots.

 

That said, “Stan also created a merciless culture,” Pattisall said, before adding regarding the 2020 incident: “Employees whistle-blowing the founder’s bad behavior can only be interpreted as a cry for help and a call for change.”

 

Richards was not available for comment.

 

Looking to the future

 

Lempert argued that TRG has taken “strides” to evolve the agency’s culture in the past five years. Rules are “less strict” these days than when everyone had to follow Richards’ vision, he said.

 

“We’re fiercely independent,” he said. “For many, many years, we celebrated our independence in different ways, but now we own ourselves and that’s a liberating and an interesting place to be.”

 

Lempert said TRG is much more diverse culturally than when it was “owned by one man.” (Since its founder left, it was owned by a nonprofit under Dady and is now fully independent under its own LLC.)

 

He pointed to TRG’s new chief creative officer, Terence Reynolds, who is Black; three of TRG’s executive leaders who are women; and said that nearly 55% of the agency’s 215 total employees are women. Lempert added that TRG also employs workers from various parts of the world, including Asia, India, Europe and Africa.

 

The agency posts its staff diversity breakdown on its website. In 2024, TRG reported that 25% of employees were people of color, and a spokesperson added that among new hires, 50% were people of color. Its 2025 numbers have not yet been posted.

 

TRG’s various employee resource groups, which were set up under Dady, are also “designed to represent the interests of different people within the agency,” Lempert said.

 

Several consultants interviewed expressed faith in TRG’s new leadership, despite it being around since Richards’ early days.

 

“Pete seems like a good guy,” said one anonymous consultant, arguing that it’s time for the industry to give TRG a chance.

 

“It’s not their fault that Stan made a big mistake,” this consultant said. “The folks running TRG deserve a break and it’s a long enough time. I think the industry is wanting to really see what the new TRG is doing … and there should be more evidence of that.”

 

Mason Reed, managing director, retail acquisition and corporate marketing at TRG client Charles Schwab, said he finds the fact that Lempert has been with the agency so long to be a strength.

 

“Pete’s longevity at the agency provides a centering point for the teams at TRG,” Reed said. “Rather than relive stories of yesteryear or trade on past successes, he’s always building and empowering teams for now and the future. He has a brilliant way of balancing continuity with progress.”

 

Everyone interviewed for this story spoke highly of Reynolds.

 

Despite being another longtime veteran of TRG, having spent 30 years of his career with the agency, most recently as executive creative director, several people interviewed said they are looking to him to revive the shop.

 

Reynolds was recently inducted into the 2025 American Advertising Federation’s Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame, AAF District 10. He’s recognized for work such as the launch of the Hummer automotive brand early in his career, and then leading creative at TRG for brands including Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Charles Schwab, Flowers Foods and Metro by T-Mobile.

 

Pattisall said Reynolds can be the change TRG needs, calling him the “real deal.”

 

“Terence is talented, empathetic, inspirational and kind,” Pattisall said. “He’s everything TRG needs to become something bigger and better. Stan used to dismiss employees assembled to welcome clients by performatively saying, ‘Thanks very much, folks. Now let’s go have fun.’ Under Terence Reynolds’ creative direction TRG has the chance to genuinely have fun.”

 

Working to get a foot in the door

 

Lempert said he’s started reconnecting with search consultants who used to frequently invite TRG into some of the industry’s biggest pitches. TRG has begun getting invited to pitches again, but most of the agency’s recent wins have come directly from the brands, according to Lempert.

 

“We were just really trying to get our bearings and we were quiet because we didn’t have a lot to say,” he said of the immediate years following Richards’ resignation. “But [now] we have a good story to tell.”

 

TRG recently won Gameway, a company that makes premium video game lounges for airports, becoming its first brand advertising agency of record. In addition to Schwab and World’s Best Cat Litter, the agency’s current client list includes America’s Best Eyecare + Eyewear, Scripps Health, Sewell Automotive Cos. and Nature’s Own.

 

TRG’s current client accounts breakdown is 60% agency-of-record business and 40% project-based, said Lempert, who noted that many of the project-based clients have grown their business with TRG following an initial project.

 

Lempert said TRG wants to be known for delivering category-breaking work that drives real business impact. “Lately we’ve been dealing with clients who are a little smaller, but they’re a little hungrier and they’re more interested in doing work that’s a little bit out there.”

 

He added: “None of our creative is worth anything if it doesn’t help build our client’s business, and that’s the way we’re going to get noticed.”

 

Schwab is one of TRG’s largest and longest-standing clients, operating in one of marketing’s most conservative categories, but it has trusted TRG in following a similar creative approach.

 

TRG was behind Schwab’s out-of-home campaign that included augmented reality murals and anamorphic 3D billboards in New York’s Times Square, intended to draw in younger investors. The 2024 effort promoted the Schwab Investing Themes tool, which allows investors to choose from themes with baskets of relevant stocks that can then be customized. The financial firm declined to provide any campaign results.

 

“It’s pretty out there for a financial advertising company,” Lempert said. “It was dramatic to look at. It was super attention-getting in a high-visibility spot. And it worked.”

 

Mixed reviews of TRG so far

 

Still, it may take more time to rebuild TRG’s reputation. Currently, consultants seem to have mixed feelings.

 

“To be honest, they are a complete non-entity,” said one agency search consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The rebrand, although necessary, left them with zero equity [or] awareness and they’ve done nothing to build it back up.”

 

Lisa Colantuono, president of agency search firm AAR Partners, is one consultant who is apparently already won over.

 

“Over the past few years, TRG has transformed challenges into opportunities, demonstrating resilience and a renewed commitment to creativity and collaboration, paving the way for a brighter future,” Colantuono said. “Stan took responsibility for his actions and publicly fired himself, earning admiration from many marketers for his accountability and integrity in the face of adversity. This commitment to accountability is deeply rooted in TRG’s culture, ensuring they uphold the highest standards in all their client partnerships.”

 

Yet that specter still looms. Lempert admitted that many people in the industry are likely “wondering if we’re still the agency that we used to be.”

 

“We’re not the agency we used to be, but we are doing great,” he said. “We’re actually in an upswing right now. People tend to think of us as we were five years ago, and we’re just not that agency anymore.”

17038: TRG FYI ICYMI.

 

MediaPost reported TRG continued its evolutionary leadership progression by promoting 30-year veteran Terence Reynolds to Chief Creative Officer.

 

Hey, it would demonstrate revolutionary change if the firm’s name transitioned from The Richards Group to TRG to The Reynolds Group.

 

More Change At TRG As Reynolds Is Upped To Chief Creative Officer

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Dallas-based advertising agency TRG has promoted Terence Reynolds to Chief Creative Officer, effective immediately. He’s been with the agency for 30 years, most recently as executive creative director and creative council member. He succeeds Sue Batterton, who left earlier this year for ad agency Archer.  

 

Reynolds’ appointment follows last month’s news that another longtime agency veteran, Pete Lempert, was promoted to CEO, succeeding Glenn Dady who retired after 39 years at the agency and six years in the CEO role.   

 

Reynolds has led creative teams for national and international brands like Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Charles Schwab, Flowers Foods, and Metro by T-Mobile.    

 

In addition to overseeing the agency’s creative output, Reynolds will also focus on attracting and nurturing diverse talent at the agency.   

 

“Terence has been a force throughout TRG, mentoring teams and pushing our craft to new heights,” said Lempert. “He’s always finding new ways to shape what’s next.”    

 

Reynolds’ work has been recognized by the Clios, Communication Arts, The One Show, the ADDYs, the New York Art Directors Show, and ADCOLOR. Earlier this month he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame.   

 

Before joining TRG, Reynolds worked at GSD&M on the Southwest Airlines and Walmart accounts. 

17016: TRG Is Not Too Black.

 

Advertising Age reported TRG is taking the next step in its evolutionary progression, as an Old White Guy will succeed the Old White Guy CEO who replaced the Old White Guy Founder.

 

TRG Names New CEO As Glenn Dady Announces Retirement

 

Longtime principal Pete Lempert is set to succeed Dady on March 31

 

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

 

TRG has named longtime principal Pete Lempert as its new CEO, effective March 31, as Glenn Dady announces his retirement.

 

Dady has been CEO since 2019 and is set to retire after 45 years with the Dallas-based independent agency. Lempert first joined TRG in 1994 and became principal in 1996. He also added the titles of chief development officer and managing principal in 2024, according to the agency.

 

Lempert “has the perfect combination of creativity and business acumen,” Dady said in a statement. “He is a proven leader who has consistently delivered results for our clients while improving the employee experience and culture within the agency.”

 

In his 31 years at the agency, Lempert has led business for brands including Corona, Nokia, Advance Auto Parts, Amstel Beer, Charles Schwab and Orkin.

 

“It’s an honor to lead this incredible independent agency into our next chapter,” Lempert said in a statement, adding that “TRG and the marketplace have shifted dramatically over the past five years. ... We are well positioned for the future, where bold ideas will be nurtured to succeed in a rapidly changing marketplace.”

 

TRG’s current client list includes Charles Schwab, America’s Best Eyecare + Eyewear, Scripps Health, Sewell Automotive Cos., World’s Best Cat Litter and Nature’s Own.

 

TRG rebranded from The Richards Group in 2022, distancing itself from its founder Stan Richards, who stepped down in October 2020 following a racist remark he made during an internal meeting. Dady, who had worked alongside Richards for 39 years and took the reins from him, was tasked with addressing the fallout from the founder’s actions, including a string of client losses and employee departures.

 

Last year, TRG lost longtime client Stellantis-owned Ram, one of the few big-name clients that stuck by TRG after the 2020 backlash. Stagwell’s Doner won lead creative duties for Ram in December following a Stellantis U.S. agency review.

16988: Semi-Belated BHM 2025—TRG.

 

TRG also snuck in a Black History Month acknowledgement toward the very end of February, delegating the task to its Black ERG.

 

It’s BLK@TRG ERG BHM ICYMI.

 

No comment from Stan Richards.

16603: UT DEIBA+ TTFN & CUL8R BS.

 

CNN reported on University of Texas at Austin, where an estimated 60 staff members previously focused on DEIBA+ roles received pink slips. Critics and equality advocates charge that UT is caving in to the Texas anti-DEIBA+ law.

 

Meanwhile, Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations appears to be unaffected. Don’t expect Richards—or anyone at TRG—to comment. Yet can’t help but wonder if people connected to Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations helped draft the performative PR depicted above.

 

University of Texas at Austin eliminating nearly 60 staff who once worked in DEI roles, civil rights and faculty groups say

 

By Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN

 

The University of Texas at Austin has sent layoff notices to an estimated 60 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, according to the Texas NAACP and the Texas Conference of American Association of University Professors.

 

The staffing cuts come as the university works to comply with the state’s anti-DEI law, or SB17, that bans public colleges and universities from maintaining DEI offices, holding mandatory DEI training, and having departments focused on “promoting differential treatment” based on race, sex or ethnicity.

 

In a statement released Wednesday, the Texas NAACP and AAUP said impacted staff members were given a 90-day layoff notice. Forty of those employees were from the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which will be closing, the statement said. The office was formerly called the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement before SB17 went into effect in January.

 

Brian Davis, a university spokesman, said he was unable to confirm the number of jobs that are being eliminated. Davis told CNN in an email that the university would not comment beyond a letter President Jay Hartzell’s released to the campus community earlier this week.

 

Hartzell said in the letter that the university is redirecting funds from DEI initiatives to “teaching and research.”

 

“As part of this reallocation, associate or assistant deans who were formerly focused on DEI will return to their full-time faculty positions,” Hartzell said. “The positions that provided support for those associate and assistant deans and a small number of staff roles across campus that were formerly focused on DEI will no longer be funded.”

 

Hartzell said staff members who lose their jobs will have an opportunity to apply for other open positions at UT Austin.

 

But Texas NAACP and AAUP said in the statement they believe the “terminations clearly are intended to retaliate against employees because of their previous association with DEI.”

 

“We call on University of Texas at Austin officials to be forthcoming about these terminations, their impact on University services to students and the community, and the provisions made to displaced staff, who until today had been assured that their positions were not in jeopardy,” the statement said.

 

The office closure and job cuts come after several cultural programs, identity groups and events on campus lost all university funding earlier this year. Student leaders tell CNN they have been scrambling to raise money so their programs can stay afloat.

 

One student said Tuesday she was saddened by the news of staff jobs being cut. Aaliyah Barlow, president of the university’s Black Student Alliance, said she feels discouraged by the disinvestment in DEI-related jobs and programs.

 

“Me personally, I cried,” Barlow said. “The fact that I am going to come back here next year and all the staff members I know and all the programs I value are just going to be gone, it’s very disheartening. I feel like my college experience is ruined.”

16557: BHM 2024—TRG.

TRG—the White advertising agency formerly known as The Richards Group—appears to be acknowledging BHM 2024 by promoting its pipeline partnership with an HBCU. Wonder if Stan Richards might think this is too Black… Also, which educational institution has received more financial support from TRG—Paul Quinn College or Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations?

16322: Just A Thought On The Bud Light Mess.

 

The Bud Light–Dylan Mulvaney scenario is a marketing disaster, at least in regards to the resulting protests and boycotts. It’s too bad that InBev didn’t have Stan Richards consulting during the concept’s early stages.

 

Remember Richards’ infamous utterings that led to his resignation from the enterprise he created? When reviewing a concept for the Motel 6 account celebrating Black artists, Richards dismissed the idea as being “too Black”—and went on to contend that the campaign would not appeal to Motel 6’s “significant White supremacist constituents.”

 

In short, Bud Light could’ve benefited from someone standing up during the first internal review to declare, “This Dylan Mulvaney promotion is too trans—it will not play well with our significant transphobic and homophobic constituents.”

 

Just a thought.