11700: Sweet Racism.

From The New York Daily News…

German racist candy pulled from shelves

Haribo stopped the blackface licorice designs in its ‘Skipper Mix’ after complaints from Swedish customers.

By David Harding / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A German candy-maker has had to pull “racist” sweets from the shelves.

Haribo has removed the blackface licorice designs after customer complained in Sweden.

“I understand the criticism and think it’s important to listen to the customers,” said the company’s director, Ola Dagliden, reported The Local, citing Swedish website Nyheter24. The designs which have been accused of being racist were meant to represent a sailor’s trip around the world and some of the people he encountered.

They were sold in Haribo’s “Skipper Mix” packets. The product will still be sold but without the offending items, reported The Local.

Complaints from customers were registered with the company last December.

11699: How I Met Your Mama-San.

From USA TODAY…

‘How I Met Your Mother’ creators apologize for ‘racism’

‘How I Met Your Mother’ goes into the sunset with a Twitter-fueled controversy.

By Maria Puente, USA TODAY

In television, it’s never good to end a successful sitcom series with people shouting “Racism!” at you on Twitter.

That’s the situation faced by CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, which concludes its ninth and final season on March 31 and hoped for a happy swan song. But this week the producers ended up apologizing for offending some Asian Americans with a kung fu homage episode that did not go over well or unnoticed.

In Monday night’s episode, the Jason Segel character is trying to learn kung fu moves and his “teachers” are his co-stars — Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders and Alyson Hannigan.

All of these people are white and were dressed up in stereotypical “Asian” attire, in what many suggested was a “yellowface” version of now-derided “blackface” that few showrunners these days would mistake for benign entertainment.

On Twitter, the reaction was immediate and included a hashtag, #HowIMetYourRacism, stuffed with angry comments—and a few get-over-it comments, too.

The always-helpful BuzzFeed put together a list of the most powerful. Some choice tweets:

“@CBS #Yellowface doesn’t get you better ratings, it just makes people want to boycott your network,” warned JH Seouljaboy Park.

“people are already claiming asian americans are overreacting. demanding to be treated w/ decency is never overreacting,” tweeted E. Jae.

“Disturbing takeaway is that it’s somehow acceptable—safe, even—to do racist Asian jokes. It’s not edgy cable, it’s CBS,” added Michael Suen.

Only a few tweeters took the position of Jake, who said it was no big deal. “Seriously. People are WAY too sensitive these days. GTFO if you’re offended. There are way worse things in the world.”

But by Wednesday, show execs had capitulated. Co-creator Carter Bays took to Twitter to say, “sorry” in a series of tweets.

“With Monday’s episode, we set out to make a silly and unabashedly immature homage to Kung Fu movies, a genre we’ve always loved. But along the way we offended people. We’re deeply sorry, and we’re grateful to everyone who spoke up to make us aware of it. We try to make a show that’s universal, that anyone can watch and enjoy. We fell short of that this week, and feel terrible about it. To everyone we offended, I hope we can regain your friendship, and end this series on a note of goodwill. Thanks.”

The timing of this is unfortunate because today HIMYM could have gotten positive coverage of its finale episode in March, which producers say they actually filmed eight years ago.

The reason: Because the two child actors who were in the opening scenes of the series, where the Radner character is telling the long-winded story of how he met their mother, would grow up and not look the same should the series last beyond a few years, which it did.

So in 2006, Bays and co-creator Craig Thomas brought the young actors in, closed the set to all but one camera operator, and filmed the two-minute climactic scene, afterward swearing the young actors to secrecy.

The rest of the actors will film the rest of the finale next month, but the finale of the finale will be the scenes shot in 2006. Harris said he cornered the producers at an office party recently and badgered them into giving up details.

“It’s more complicated than you would assume,” Harris said, according to the Associated Press, “and for all of our fans, they won’t be disappointed.”

11698: What The L—WTF.

The fucked-up pitch that awarded the Staples account to mcgarrybowen, Carat and Edelman has resulted in fucked-up advertising. “What the L” plays like a poor man’s “Ship My Pants.”

11697: Mixed Messages.

Intearracial romance.

From Ads of the World.

11696: Draftfcb Fades To White…?

Advertising Age reported that Draftfcb may dump the first part of its masthead and return to being called FCB or Foote, Cone & Belding. So much for former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s proclamation “that by 2014, we will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” Not only is Boschetto history, but the entire shithole is reverting back to a stodgy, old, White advertising agency.

11695: Even More Ad Tax Crap.

Advertising Age reported on the latest hand-wringing over the proposed Ad Tax that will allegedly put 1.7 million jobs at risk. Can’t help but wonder about the diversity of the threatened jobholders. When White executives face risky scenarios, lobbyists are hired, studies are conducted and bullshit PR runs at an all-time high.

Study: Tax-Reform Proposals Would Put 1.7 Million Jobs at Risk

Proposals Unlikely to Pass, but Groups Still On Guard

By Ana Radelat

Facing a threat from Capitol Hill that would hurt the ability of businesses to deduct advertising expenses, the Association of National Advertisers released a study that says the move would badly hurt the U.S. economy.

The study, conducted by IHS Global Insight, said that by 2017 advertising will directly and indirectly foster $6.5 trillion in U.S. economic activity and help support 22.1 million U.S. jobs. It also found that each dollar spent on advertising expenses generates nearly $22 of economic output.

The study is a response to two proposals aimed at cutting the overall corporate tax rate. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman David Camp, R-Mich., have each proposed allowing businesses to deduct only 50 percent of their advertising expenses in a tax year and require the balance to be amortized over five years (Senate plan) or 10 years (House plan.)

Advertising is now treated as an ordinary business expense, fully deductible in the year incurred.

The ANA said the Senate plan would put 1.7 million jobs and $456 billion in sales at risk.

“This would undermine sales and innovation across each business sector,” said ANA President Bob Liodice. “This is the most wide-ranging and destructive threat the advertising industry has ever seen.”

The ANA, which was joined by The Advertising Coalition in releasing the study, has for months argued that proposals to alter the deductibility of advertising expenses would harm the U.S. economy. But, in a new effort to pressure lawmakers, the IHS Global Insight study breaks down the tax proposals’ impact on every state and each of the nation’s 435 congressional districts. For instance, the study said advertising is responsible for 673,062 or 16.6%, of all jobs in Michigan and 1.4 million or 16.4% of all Jobs in New York.

But whether Congress will act on a tax bill this year is in doubt.

Mr. Baucus had planned on leaving office at the end of this year. But now that he is President Obama’s choice to become the ambassador to China, he will likely leave before then.

This is also an election year, which makes it less likely lawmakers will want to tackle a controversial issue like taxes. And next year, Mr. Camp will have to relinquish his role as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee due to House GOP rules that place term limits on such positions.

ANA lobbyist Dan Jaffe said there may be time for Mr. Baucus to push forward his tax proposal before he leaves for China. Mr. Jaffe also said Mr. Camp’s impending term-limiting “may create an incentive for him to push harder” this year.

“I think it’s very shortsighted to believe nothing will happen,” Mr. Jaffe said.

Jim Davidson, executive director of The Advertising Coalition, said that even if the 113th Congress fails to address tax reform, the threat to the advertising industry will remain in future Congresses.

“It will just keep coming and coming and coming,” he said.

11694: SafeAuto Has Jingle Fever.

SafeAuto always pushes the envelope for cultural cluelessness. Now the insurer has a customer-created jingle—including an extended version.

11693: Popeyes’ New Drive-Thru…?

The New York Daily News reported an SUV crashed through a Brooklyn Popeyes restaurant. No word if the driver was just anxious to hear the Love That Chicken! Chorus promotion winners. Or maybe he was hoping to run into Annie the Chicken Queen—literally.

SUV crashes through wall of Popeyes in Brooklyn, injures 4

The fast food joint on Linden Blvd. in East Flatbush was filled with patrons when a Toyota SUV, driven by a 61-year-old man, crashed into a wall of the restaurant Sunday night.

By Peter Gerber and Mark Morales / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

An out-of-control SUV crashed through a wall and barreled into a crowded Popeyes restaurant in Brooklyn late Sunday, injuring four people, officials said.

The fast food shop on Linden Blvd. in East Flatbush was filled with patrons when a 2003 Toyota SUV blasted into — and through — a wall of the restaurant about 8:30 p.m., officials said.

“All of a sudden I heard a big boom. Before I know it, when I looked around, the whole place was white with smoke and dust,” said Popeyes worker Kerron Wills. “Everyone started screaming and panicking. I rushed to their aid to save them and get them out of the car.”

A 75-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman inside Popeyes suffered minor injuries, officials said. The driver, 61, and his passenger — a 56-year-old woman — also suffered minor injuries, cops said.

All four victims were rushed to Kings County Hospital where they are expected to survive, cops said.

11692: 7UP And Vodka.

Connecting a soft drink and recovering alcoholic with the line, “Drink what you want,” is the move of a desperate brand. Or a shitty advertising agency. Probably both.

11691: Goodbye Guys.

From The New York Post…

Disappearing male workers are not a joke

By Terry Keenan

Quick question: What was the most startling element of the dreary December jobs report?

If you said it was that everyone seemed to have forgotten the fact that it tends to snow around Christmas, thus skewing the data — an idea supported by the White House — you’d be wrong.

The real shocker was the continued deterioration in labor participation by those who should be in the prime of their working lives — young and middle-age males.

While the labor-force participation rate dipped to a 36-year low, the trend for middle-age males was even more worrisome.

Just 71.8 percent of working-age men have a job or are looking for work — that’s a drop of more than 1 percentage point.

Although male workers were the hardest hit by the first blows of the Great Recession, their employment prospects bounced back in 2010 and early 2011.

But then things stalled.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research now estimates that 91 percent of women who lost their jobs in the wake of the housing bust have found new employment, while only 68 percent of US males can make the same claim.

The drop in the overall worker-participation rate, to 62.8 percent, is due solely to men, not women, dropping out of the job market.

The US numbers for men are resembling those in Spain and Italy.

Meantime, the female participation rate held steady at 54.9 percent, though even that is hardly something to crow about.

Economists are often quick to scoff at the high double-digit unemployment rates in southern Europe, pointing to an underground cash economy that ameliorates the official numbers.

Sure, a fair number of under-the-table transactions happen here, too, but not nearly enough to compensate for having only 70 percent of our able-bodied men in the workforce.

A walk down the Upper East Side of Manhattan at pickup time on a school day could animate the story.

Near P.S. 6, at 82nd and Madison Avenue, an eyeball estimate would conclude that about 30 percent of the kids are picked up by dads.

Little wonder, then, that Hollywood has stopped making sitcoms about the situation. Back in 2011 and 2012, the networks rolled out dude-coms about stay-at-home dads yukking it up in with other guys in the same situation.

Within months, two of the most heavily promoted — “Guys with Kids” and “Up All Night” — were canceled.

I guess that story line is entertaining only if the main characters could get another gig in a New York minute.

11690: Pimp Says, “Just Sue It.”

From USA TODAY…

Pimp sues Nike for not labeling shoes ‘dangerous’

By Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

After brutally beating a man with his Nike Jordan shoes, a pimp filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nike for not providing a warning label that their shoes could be used as a dangerous weapon.

In June, Sirgiorgio Sanford Clardy, 26, or Portland, Ore., repeatedly stomped on the face of a client with his Jordan shoes when the man refused to pay Clardy’s prostitute. The man required stitches and plastic surgery after the beating, The Oregonian reports.

The newspaper reports that the jury also found Clardy guilty of robbing the man and beating the 18-year-old woman he forced to work as his prostitute; her injuries were so severe that she bled from her ears.

Clardy, who is representing himself, is asking a Multnomah County judge to order Nike to put warning labels on all their “potentially dangerous Nike and Jordan merchandise.”

Clardy handwrote a three-page complaint from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton where he is incarcerated, the newspaper reports.

The complaint says that Nike “failed to warn of risk or to provide an adequate warning or instruction” that their shoes are a “potentially dangerous product.”

11689: Amiri Baraka (1934-2014).

From The New York Times…

Amiri Baraka, Polarizing Poet and Playwright, Dies at 79

By Margalit Fox

Amiri Baraka, a poet and playwright of pulsating rage, whose long illumination of the black experience in America was called incandescent in some quarters and incendiary in others, died on Thursday in Newark. He was 79.

His death, at Beth Israel Medical Center, was confirmed by his son Ras Baraka, a member of the Newark Municipal Council. He did not specify a cause but said that Mr. Baraka had been hospitalized since Dec. 21.

Mr. Baraka was famous as one of the major forces in the Black Arts movement of the 1960s and ’70s, which sought to duplicate in fiction, poetry, drama and other mediums the aims of the black power movement in the political arena.

Among his best-known works are the poetry collections “The Dead Lecturer” and “Transbluesency: The Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones, 1961-1995”; the play “Dutchman”; and “Blues People: Negro Music in White America,” a highly regarded historical survey.

Mr. Baraka, whose work was widely anthologized and who was heard often on the lecture circuit, was also long famous as a political firebrand. Here, too, critical opinion was divided: He was described variously as an indomitable champion of the disenfranchised, particularly in the racially charged political landscape of Newark, where he lived most of his life, or as a gadfly whose finest hour had come and gone by the end of the 1960s.

In the series of alternating embraces and repudiations that would become an ideological hallmark, Mr. Baraka spent his early career as a beatnik, his middle years as a black nationalist and his later ones as a Marxist. His shifting stance was seen as either an accurate mirror of the changing times or an accurate barometer of his own quicksilver mien.

He came to renewed, unfavorable attention in 2002, when a poem he wrote about the Sept. 11 attacks, which contained lines widely seen as anti-Semitic, touched off a firestorm that resulted in the elimination of his post as New Jersey’s poet laureate.

Over six decades, Mr. Baraka’s writings — his work also included essays and music criticism — were periodically accused of being anti-Semitic, misogynist, homophobic, racist, isolationist and dangerously militant.

But his champions and detractors agreed that at his finest he was a powerful voice on the printed page, a riveting orator in person and an enduring presence on the international literary scene whom — whether one loved or hated him — it was seldom possible to ignore.

Read the full story here.

11688: LatinWorks Says, “Adios, Chevy.”

Advertising Age reported Chevy moved its Latino business from LatinWorks to McCann’s Casanova Pendrill. Looks like another Omnicom shop was dumped by the auto brand. Spike DDB remains on the Chevy roster, but probably only until Commonwealth identifies some Black ad people to pick up the crumbs.

Chevy Moves Hispanic to McCann’s Casanova from LatinWorks

Shift Represents Further Consolidation at Dedicated Chevy Agency Commonwealth

By Laurel Wentz

General Motors’ Chevrolet is moving all its U.S. Hispanic advertising to Casanova Pendrill, McCann Worldgroup’s Hispanic agency, from Omnicom-backed LatinWorks. The shift is essentially a consolidation with Commonwealth, McCann’s dedicated agency for General Motors’ Chevrolet account.

“Connecting with Hispanic audiences in a meaningful way is critical to Chevrolet,” said Paul Edwards, U.S. VP, Chevrolet Marketing, in a statement confirming the move. “We welcome Casanova Pendrill to the Chevrolet team and we look forward to working with them to build on Chevrolet’s strong product momentum among Hispanic consumers.”

The agencies were told Wednesday morning that the business would move to Casanova. This is the first major move by Mr. Edwards in his new post. Both Hispanic shops had presented proposals; Casanova is believed to have presented a more integrated solution.

“We talked about what we offer as an independent expert in multicultural,” said Sergio Alcocer, LatinWorks’ president and chief creative officer. “It’s difficult when an agency does the global work for a brand to make the case why the Hispanic market in the U.S. needs to stand alone.”

LatinWorks won the Chevy business without a pitch four years ago from Joel Ewanick, GM’s chief marketing officer who had been a LatinWorks client earlier at Hyundai. Mr. Ewanick was dismissed from the company in July 2012. In 2012, Chevrolet slashed LatinWorks’ Hispanic budget drastically as part of the global move to consolidate Chevy at Commonwealth. Chevrolet U.S. marketing chief Chris Perry, who also worked closely with LatinWorks, resigned in mid-December 2013.

Hispanic responsibility for Silverado, which LatinWorks has also worked on, is expected to move to Casanova, too.

Since the review only covered Hispanic, Omnicom’s Spike DDB is likely to retain Chevrolet’s African-American business. The agency could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

The transition of the Chevy business to Casanova from LatinWorks will take place over the next 30 days, the car maker said.

Commonwealth has been aggressively building up its offering, shifting Linus Karlsson, who was chief creative officer of global brands at McCann Erickson, to creative chairman of Commonwealth, while Andreas Dahlqvist, who was deputy chief creative officer of global brands, becomes chief creative officer at Commonwealth.

Contributing: Alexandra Bruell

11687: The Crazy Ones Is Sickening.

CBS series The Crazy Ones aired installment 13—delivering bad luck to anyone who made the mistake of watching. Plus, the show continued its peculiar habit of depicting Black clients. Half the staff of Lewis Roberts+Roberts got sick during the episode. All of the audience probably felt ill afterwards too.

11686: French Cultural Contradictions.

This Fondation Cultura campaign from St. John’s in France stresses the imperative for culture. Not surprisingly, check out St. John’s management and you’ll see an utter lack of culture.

From Ads of the World.

11685: Burger King Bulletin.

Hold the pickle—and the presses. Adweek updated its story on Burger King, announcing the fast feeder is indeed conducting a search for a new global advertising agency to replace Mother. Given the quality of work that Burger King has approved in recent years, no self-respecting agency would want to partner with the restaurant chain. Fortunately, there are no self-respecting agencies. So expect lots of interested parties.

11684: Bolloré Bullshit At Havas.

Adweek reported David Jones relinquished his Global CEO position at Havas, and Yannick Bolloré will inherit the title. Yannick Bolloré is the son of Havas investor Vincent Bolloré, making the move a continuation of the nepotism that fuels the organization. Wonder how new Havas Worldwide CEO Andrew Benett—with his self-appointed expertise on talent—would explain Bolloré’s promotion.

David Jones Exits Havas

Bolloré, Benett replace him at holding company, ad agency

By Noreen O’Leary

David Jones is out as global CEO at the Havas holding company and its namesake ad agency.

At the holding company, Jones will be succeeded by Yannick Bolloré, the son of Havas investor Vincent Bolloré, as global CEO. And, at ad agency Havas Worldwide, global co-president Andrew Benett becomes CEO.

The Paris-based holding company said Jones, who became CEO of Havas Worldwide in 2009 and then took the helm of the holding company in 2011, will become co-founder and chief of an undisclosed tech start-up launching next month. He will be retained as an advisor to Havas throughout 2014.

The changes come in the wake of a power struggle between Jones and Benett in recent months amid speculation Benett was going over Jones’ head to establish a direct relationship with Bolloré, whose father named him as his successor as chairman in August.

11683: Burger King Bolts…Again.

Adweek reported that Burger King and Mother have split, making it the third agency shift in three years for the fast feeder. Then again, given that Mother’s efforts included the infamous Mary J. Blige commercial and ultra-lame breakfast sandwiches and coffee launches, it’s a wonder the shop lasted three weeks. The Adweek story stated, “Still not clear is whether the chain is launching an agency review…” Considering the excrement that Mother and predecessor mcgarrybowen shat out in recent years, BK officials might as well handle the ad chores in-house—with grill workers.

Burger King and Mother Split

Third agency shift in 3 years

By Noreen O’Leary

There goes Burger King again. Just 11 months after the fast-food marketer named independent Mother New York creative lead on its business, the two have parted ways. It’s the company’s third change in creative and media partners since mid-2011.

Still not clear is whether the chain is launching an agency review and reps from Burger King and Mother didn’t respond to inquiries.

Before Mother took over last February, mcgarrybowen was the company’s last creative lead, picking up the business in June 2011. (After a high-profile review, mcgarrybowen prevailed, succeeding Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.) Mcgarrybowen won lead status but the marketer then decided to play the field, with each new assignment becoming a competition among all roster shops.

Mother’s last work for Burger King was September’s launch of satisfries, a new, lower-calorie, lower-fat french fry, with spots like “Satisfry Everybody.”

The Mother split comes after Burger King quietly shifted media agencies at the end of the year, moving its business to Horizon Media after a review. Burger King spends an estimated $250 million a year on measured media. On the media side, since mid-2011 Burger King has worked with Starcom and Mindshare.

11682: New SNL SBF.

From The New York Times…

‘S.N.L.’ Hires Black Female Cast Member

By Bill Carter

“Saturday Night Live” concluded its search for a black female cast member on Monday when it hired Sasheer Zamata, a young sketch comedian who has been performing in the New York area for the last four years.

The selection of Ms. Zamata came at the conclusion of what amounted to a midseason talent search by “S.N.L.,” which had been criticized for what was described as a glaring omission in the show’s cast.

Ms. Zamata will be what the show calls a “featured player,” the conventional post for new cast members. She is scheduled to make her first appearance on Jan. 18, the next new edition of the show. (It will be hosted by the singer Drake.) The news of Ms. Zamata’s hiring was first posted by the Deadline Hollywood website.

Ms. Zamata, who is 27, is from Indianapolis and attended the University of Virginia. She came to New York in 2009 and began working with the improvisational group Upright Citizens Brigade.

She has performed stand-up comedy in New York and around the country and has also appeared in online videos for sites like College Humor. She has appeared in sketches on the Comedy Central series “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” on FX.

The addition of Ms. Zamata will bring the current cast of “S.N.L.” to 17 players, seven of them women.

11681: Happy 123rd Birthday!

Google celebrated the 123rd birthday of Zora Neale Hurston.