16715: Recruitment & Retirement.

 

Job Leads is diversifying, now offering its services to Old White Guys…?

16714: National Ice Cream Day In Adland.

 

Today is National Ice Cream Day. Adland celebrates with scoops of vanilla in White bowls on White tables…

16713: Mars And Snickers Showing Poor Taste And Poorer Judgment?

 

Here’s an additional reaction to the Women’s Equality Party advertisement spotlighted in previous posts.

 

Did Mars—manufacturer of Snickers—approve and support the concept? Or does the company have grounds for a copyright infringement lawsuit?

 

Then again, Mars and Snickers once staged a patronizing promotion in 2010 to address hunger in America, as the following CBS News report revealed, ridiculed, and ripped…

 

Feeding America One Snickers at a Time: Mars’ Ridiculous Anti-Hunger Promotion

 

By Melanie Warner

 

Snickers is teaming up with celebs like David Arquette and NASCAR driver Kyle Busch to launch an absurdly ill-conceived promotion aimed at helping alleviate hunger in America -- a problem that isn’t ever going to be solved with candy bars.

 

It’s hard to understand why Mars, which owns Snickers and a dozen other candy brands, chose to adopt hunger as its cause when there are so many other worthy and meaningful charitable endeavors that don’t come with boatloads of irony and contradictions. Maybe they just couldn’t resist the punny appeal of the “Bar Hunger” tagline.

 

The problem with a candy company professing to care about something like hunger is that the people in America who are considered “food insecure” these days (the government stopped using “hungry” in 2006) are also the same people who are eating too many Snickers and other ultra-available, non-nutritious snacks. As cheap, quick, calorie-dense food has become more and more ubiquitous, it has fueled a seemingly contradictory phenomenon in which the Americans who suffer the most from hunger are also the fattest.

 

This strange correlation plays out in places like the South Bronx, where people can’t afford and don’t have easy access to the right kind of food. “Hunger and obesity are often flip sides to the same malnutrition coin,” Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger told the NYT. “Hunger is certainly almost an exclusive symptom of poverty. And extra obesity is one of the symptoms of poverty.”

 

How people can eat too many calories and also be hungry is still something of a mystery to nutrition researchers, but the prevailing theory is that diets high in junk food deprive people of nutrients, leading their bodies to crave more food in an attempt to get the nutrition it needs.

 

In other words, the last thing someone who’s overweight and food insecure needs is a Snickers bar.

 

The marketing staff at Snickers seems to be oblivious to this. Working with the non-profit group Feeding America, Snickers says it is giving away 3.5 million meals, which means Mars is donating funds to the organization and then translating that into equivalent meals. As part of the promotion, David Arquette will appear in GQ touting Snicker’s efforts and Kyle Busch now rides a SNICKERS ‘Bar Hunger’ race car.

 

Although [Feeding America] is a worthwhile organization that delivers a decent amount of non-junk food to needy families, Snickers’ Facebook page indicates that the promotion is all about selling more Snickers bars:

 

Every time you eat a Snickers, you can help us bar hunger in America. Just enter your wrapper code and we’ll donate a meal to someone in need. It’s the tastiest way to do some good.

 

Snickers marketing has long been about alleviating hunger of the more trivial sort, that grumbling in your stomach between meals. It should stick to that. When it comes the profound, interrelated problems of obesity and hunger, there’s no way Snickers is going to satisfy.

16712: Parody For Poverty…?

 

Here’s a delayed reaction to the Women’s Equality Party advertisement spotlighted in a previous post.

 

The responsible agency—Quiet Storm in the UK—purports to being an inclusive and culturally competent firm, yet can’t help but wonder about the thinking behind the concept.

 

After all, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” To make light of people experiencing poverty and hunger with candy bar references is insensitive at best—and insipid, inane, and inexcusable at least.

16711: Considering Cookies & Crumbs.

The trade publications—perfectly reflecting ever-exclusive Adland—generate lots of content, concern, and commentary for cookies. Yet there’s virtually zero consideration for crumbs being swept at non-White people, projects, and promotions.

16710: Ripping Off Candy Bar Campaign To Fight Hunger And Poverty Is Nuts.

 

Quiet Storm in the UK is responsible for this Women’s Equality Party advertisement parodying the popular candy bar campaign. Sorry, this concept induces snickers and fails to satisfy.

16709: Heat Shields Delivered Daily.

 

Adweek reported—or published performative PR—on DEIBA+ stunts at Ogilvy and Fitzco.

 

According to Adweek, “two agencies are doubling down on their DEI efforts, and making a business case for them.” Okay, but “doubling down” on historically minimal efforts does not exactly equal full commitment, responsibility, and accountability; that is, 2 x 0 = 0.

 

The Ogilvy heat shield—dubbed the Modern Exchange program—connects staffers from across the global network, allowing them to figuratively join hands and symbolically sing kumbaya in DEIBA+ unity.

 

The Fitzco heat shield involves a Creative Inclusion Panel (CIP), whereby diverse staffers can evaluate client work in early stages, allegedly assessing stuff via an inclusivity standard. Sounds like a not-too-clever twist on asking the resident mailroom attendant and/or custodian of color to evaluate work.

 

Always amazing how an industry boasting breakthrough creativity consistently delivers contrived, clichéd, and crappy concepts to address systemic racism. 

 

Ogilvy and Fitzco Are Connecting People and Driving Business Through DEI Efforts

 

The programs enhance communication within the agencies as well as inform the work

 

By Kyle O’Brien

 

There is an unfortunate backward slide on DEI efforts happening in marketing, after a surge following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Consumer backlash has curtailed many programs at companies ranging from Bud Light to Target and most recently Tractor Supply, while agencies and businesses alike have scaled back their internal DEI agendas.

 

However, two agencies are doubling down on their DEI efforts, and making a business case for them. Ogilvy is helping its employees and clients connect through a program that reaches across offices and countries to ensure that everyone gets to know each other through their differences and similarities. Fitzco has created a diverse panel to review its work before it goes out to the public to make sure it supports inclusivity.

 

These aren’t the only agencies making a business case for diversity and inclusion, but programs like theirs highlight the need for the marketing world to stay the course.

 

A modern exchange of ideas

 

Ogilvy promotes a concept called “borderless creativity,” part of which is manifested in the Modern Exchange program. The idea came from Barbara Polanco, art director at Ogilvy’s Los Angeles office. She initially asked Tope Ajala, the agency’s global head of DEI, to connect her with other senior colleagues within Ogilvy, as well as clients, to spark conversations that would help inform her work.

 

That served as a challenge to the executive team to better connect their people globally.

 

“Six months after, [Polanco] came back with a big proposal: ‘I think the best way we can do this is to have something called the Modern Exchange,’” Ajala told ADWEEK.

 

That proposal led to the team gathering junior and senior level talent across the business and connecting them in a series of video conversations with candid dialogue.

 

An employee originally from the Dominican Republic talked with someone in the U.K. and found similarities through food, while Ogilvy’s CCO in Germany had a two-hour dialogue with a junior creative, and they’ve become partners and sponsors.

 

Having people and ideas come together helps the agency celebrate diversity, but also uncovers connections that might lead to better work and more progressive business practices. Ogilvy leaned into its commitment to DEI, utilizing a minority-owned company to do the production on the Modern Exchange video project.

 

“One of the key commitments we have is a 10% partnership with diverse suppliers globally. That is the ambition for us as an organization and as a business,” said Ajala, adding that organizations that lean into their employees and cultural nuances are the ones succeeding.

 

Ajala said this is one way employees can feel like the agency is invested in them and cares about them. In addition, Ogilvy wants to expand the program and invite clients to the Modern Exchange to talk about their commitments to DEI efforts, and encourage people to double down on employees and diverse suppliers.

 

Ogilvy is also making Modern Exchange public through its social channels and platforms, and possibly on YouTube as well.

 

“I want to emphasize the importance of connecting as humans and learning about each other, regardless of your title. When that is fostered—when the environment is rooted in respect for humanity—the work is better,” Polanco told ADWEEK.

 

A double check on inclusion

 

Having a campaign falter because it’s tone deaf on inclusion and diversity efforts can make for brand embarrassment and a loss of dollars. Atlanta-based agency Fitzco is making sure its creative doesn’t go out into the world unless it’s dialed in on DEI.

 

Over the past year, Fitzco created a Creative Inclusion Panel (CIP), which allows anyone in the company to form a team to evaluate Fitzco’s client work before it gets released to hold it to an inclusivity standard.

 

The open forum invites the most junior to the most senior talent to participate in the creative process for both existing and new prospects. It’s a feedback-driven initiative designed to ensure that Fitzco is supporting inclusivity from end to end, whether that’s challenging audiences defined by demographics, making media investments that support a more balanced approach, or ensuring creative work is inclusive.

 

“It’s not about approving or disapproving work, it’s not about thumbs up or thumbs down. It’s really about challenging the work and making sure that from the eyes of our agency, the work is being as representative as it possibly can be,” Evan Levy, CEO of Fitzco, told ADWEEK.

 

The panel has worked well so far. Levy said the agency has won pitches that have been influenced by the Creative Inclusion Panel, and most of the work that Fitzco has put out into the world has gone through the CIP before it’s reached clients or the production process, including recent work for Welch’s Sparkling.

 

“It’s been really informative. It’s been educational. The agency has been proud of it, our clients have been appreciative of it. And it’s been a no-brainer addition to how we think and work,” said Levy.

 

Levy said the CIP is still a work in progress, and the earlier the panel sees the work, the better, but it can come in at any point during the campaign process.

 

“The panel can be initiated by anyone, so it could be prompted by an account lead, by a producer, by a creative director. There’s not a lot of formality in terms of who can ask or recommend that the panel come together. It’s very democratic, in that sense,” said Levy, adding that it demonstrates to clients that there’s a rigor that goes into the creative process.

 

Both Ogilvy and Fitzco have had inclusion programs for years and have no plans to scale them back. Fitzco was a founding member of Advertising for Change Atlanta, a coalition of agencies committed to developing and mentoring young, diverse talent.

 

“Atlanta agencies can come together to help work on, solve, challenge each other, share best practices around [DEI]… and that’s good for all of us,” said Levy.

16708: How To Expressly Catch A Panda.

AgencySpy posted on Panda Express choosing Opinionated as its new White advertising agency.

 

The Panda Express VP of Integrated Marketing Communications gushed, “Opinionated’s focus on family, authenticity, and transparency played a huge part in our decision to move forward with them. As did their drive to truly understand the Chinese American experience and perspective.”

 

Okay, except based on the people section of the agency website, it appears Opinionated lacks legitimate diversity that might lead to Chinese American culinary and cultural competence.

 

What’s more, AgencySpy revealed Opinionated “tapped key players from TDW + Co”—a multicultural marketing shop—to presumably gain enlightenment. This is a common tactic for White advertising agencies, albeit often a crumby consolation con for consultants of color.

 

And that’s no ancient Chinese secret.

 

Panda Express Names Opinionated as its New Creative AOR Following a Competitive Pitch

 

By Kyle O’Brien

 

Chinese restaurant chain Panda Express has selected independent agency Opinionated as its new creative AOR. The win follows a competitive review that launched in January and was led internally by the brand.

 

Panda Express—with more than 2,500 stores, 50,000 associates and nearing $6 billion in sales—is looking to the Portland, Oregon-based Opinionated to develop a strategic marketing platform that will elevate it from a well-known brand to a beloved one. The first campaign under the platform is expected to debut in January 2025 to coincide with the Lunar New Year, and will embrace the brand’s unique and rich Chinese American heritage.

 

Founded in 1983 at the Glendale Galleria in California, Panda Express is the largest family-owned and operated Asian dining concept in America. It is also one of the most successful restaurants in its category, regularly outperforming the QSR/fast casual industry.

 

The pride in its heritage and values was apparently a key element of Opinionated’s pitch and, coupled with its unique insights into the brand, played a key role in Panda Express’s decision to award the agency the business.

 

“Opinionated’s focus on family, authenticity and transparency played a huge part in our decision to move forward with them. As did their drive to truly understand the Chinese American experience and perspective,” said Fabiola del Rio, vp, integrated marketing communications, Panda Express. “We have a deep understanding of American Chinese food and culture at Panda Express and hadn’t required that expertise of the agencies, but Opinionated tapped key players from TDW + Co, a community based multicultural marketing agency, and came at our business as one solid team with a strategic vision for our brand—and they nailed it.”

 

The brand’s most recent campaign “However You Panda,” launched in Fall 2023 and centered on a series of spots that celebrated the human moments and heartfelt bonds Panda Express fans have with the cuisine. That work was created by former creative AOR, L.A.-based The Many. Prior to The Many, Panda Express worked with creative consultancy Wolfgang.

 

Media duties, which were not up for review, are handled by Pal8.

 

“We went into this pitch with a lot of passion for the heart of what Panda Express stands for as a brand,” said Mark Fitzloff, founder and chief creative officer of Opinionated. “Panda Express has a story and a culture that we are eager to express through great creative work that we hope will become as beloved as their orange chicken.”

 

Panda Express marks the latest in a string of new-business wins for Opinionated. Over the past year, the agency has added Dick’s Sporting Goods and FootJoy to its client roster, while also growing its partnerships with Adidas and Drumstick.

16707: National Cooperative Dairy Federation Campaign Is Udderly Patronizing.

 

This National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India campaign is explained as follows:

 

The core theme of our Cover Design is based on Celebrating Indian women as the manifestation of Durga. Be it her nurturing the future generation of India, her strengthening its economic backbone or rendering her services on the highest posts, today's woman is an embodiment of Multi-tasking, much like the divine goddess.

 

While celebrating womanhood is at its core, the design also articulates inclusiveness which is evident through women garbed in various community attires.

 

Wow, that’s really milking it in terms of patronizing propaganda…

 

16706: Job Interviews Are Family Affairs.

 

According to the image depicted above, FOX News reported that employers say 19% of recent college graduates have brought a parent to their job interview. Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré sees nothing wrong with that.

 

16705: From Popeyes To Poop.

 

Comedian Ken Jeong went from promoting Popeyes to Cottonelle…? Perfect.

 

16704: Quiet Vacationing & Quiet Vacating.

 

Mediapsssst at MediaPost reported on a Harris Poll survey revealing 48% of Americans engaged in “quiet vacationing” during the week of July 4, whereby people extended the holiday time off without informing their employer.

 

Such sneaky behavior wouldn’t be surprising at White advertising agencies. For the Fourth of July, “quiet vacationing” lengthened the break. In contrast, Juneteenth presented an opportunity for “quiet vacating”—that is, White adpeople could display faux equality advocacy while silently abandoning DEIBA+ initiatives.

 

Give Me Liberty: The Art Of “Quiet Vacationing”

 

By Richard Whitman, Columnist

 

July 4 is one of those holidays that can fall on any day of the week. So if it lands on a Monday or Friday (or the weekend), yay, automatic three-day weekend for many of us.

 

But if it falls nearer to mid-week, like this year’s holiday (Thursday), that can put a wrench in extended weekend plans.

 

But according to a June survey by Stagwell’s Harris Poll (working with Inc magazine) almost half of Americans (48%) have a somewhat sneaky solution to the problem—just take some extra time off without reporting it to employers. Harris Poll has dubbed the practice “quiet vacationing.”

 

Some employers may not care as July 4 week tends to be nearly as quiet (businesswise) as the week between Christmas and New Years. The Harris survey reported that 10% of employers close for the entire week.

 

But some employers probably care a lot and strictly speaking “quiet vacationing” is quietly stealing pay you didn’t earn.

 

According to the survey younger workers are more inclined to engage in quiet vacationing. And they also believe that working during July 4 week should be “taboo” in American culture. They probably believe employers should give them the entire month of August off (like many parts of Europe) although the survey didn’t get into that.

 

Why not just make every holiday a Monday holiday? No unreported time off necessary and more three-day weekends throughout the year.

 

Or better yet, how about a four-day work week all year round? CNN reported earlier this year on a KPMG survey that found nearly a third of employers were considering it, to boost employee retention and address burnout.

 

Sounds good to me. Not holding my breath.