16507: Blackweek Rising.

 

Advertising Age reported on Blackweek, a new conference slated to debut in New York on October 15-18, 2024, with an intent to “break the mold of conversations about diversity and inclusion” in Adland.

 

According to Ad Age, Blackweek is the brainchild of “Black and Latino leaders fed up with the state of industry diversity.” To underscore the point, a promotional video for the conference opens with VML North America Chief Creative Officer of Innovation Walter T. Geer III declaring, “The current state of inclusion in this space is bullshit.” Agreed—although much of the DEIBA+ dookie is excreted by White advertising agencies like VML.

 

The Blackweek crew includes Hero Collective and Hero Media CEO and Founder Joe Anthony, who stressed that the group is being “meticulous” and selective about sponsors and conference content.

 

“When we go to all of these events, we’re an ingredient, we’re not the full recipe,” said Anthony. “And we want a platform where it’s all about us.” In short, Blackweek organizers want to move beyond crumbs to full-course meal.

 

The initial plan is to schedule Blackweek during Advertising Week, as many industry decision makers will be in attendance for the latter soiree. However, the goal is to keep Blackweek focused on cultural objectives versus being an add-on to Advertising Week. Hopefully, the conference will not compete with The One Club’s Where Are All The Black People? / Here Are All The Black People sideshow.

 

MultiCultClassics suggests that the Blackweek lineup should feature Sanford Moore, Harry Webber, Hadji Williams, Derek Walker, and Nathan Young. And throw in Adonis Hoffman, Lowell Thompson, and Byron Allen too.

 

Ad Leaders Launch Blackweek, A Conference Meant To Solve Business Problems Through Diversity And Inclusion

 

The October event will also focus on media, creativity, health care and private equity

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

“The current state of inclusion in this space is bullshit.”

 

That’s a direct quote from VML’s Walter T. Geer III in a promotional video for Blackweek, a conference being launched by Black and Latino leaders fed up with the state of industry diversity. The new conference, set for Oct. 15-18 in New York, is meant to break the mold of conversations about diversity and inclusion in the industry.

 

“It’s no secret that inclusion in this industry is under attack,” said Joe Anthony, founder and CEO of Hero Collective and Hero Media, who is one of the founders of Blackweek. “We just haven’t seen the needle move since George Floyd on some of the key statistics that we feel are the metrics to monitor around our upward advancement in the industries where we make a significant amount of contribution but have very little ownership.”

 

In July, a survey by the 4A’s found that the number of agencies run by white executives increased to 90%. In May it was reported that ad spending on diverse-owned media was just below 2%. In 2022, the ANA reported that just over 7% of its members were Black.

 

The founders of the Blackweek conference, along with Anthony and Geer, who is VML’s chief creative officer, innovation in North America, are: Monique Nelson, executive chairman, Uniworld Group; Andre Gray, chief creative officer of Havas’ Annex 88; Adan Romero, chief creative officer, FKA Publicis; Dabo Ché, founder, Ché Creative; and Gabrielle Shirdan, founder and CEO, Kitchen Table.

 

Solutions-driven

 

The conference, to be held at Spring Studios in Tribeca, will focus on trade executives in marketing, entertainment, health care and private equity.

 

“This is a solutions-driven opportunity to come together for real results,” Geer said. “This is not the place where we’re going to come to say ‘We’re coming here to party.’ This is not to come to say ‘We’re going to celebrate us, or we’re going to give awards to us.’”

 

Organizers said the difference between this event and other conferences will be in the type of programming and how it’s meant to directly challenge business problems.

 

“We would love to see a panel on how can a BIPOC agency get the whole account,” Nelson said. “Why are they always just an ingredient? Those are questions that we can pose and certainly I think can have some pretty cogent answers to at the end of a Blackweek, and those are questions that I don’t think get asked at any of these other [conferences].”

 

The conference will have around 30 to 40 events including keynotes, panel discussions and fireside chats. There will also be networking sessions, opening receptions, brunches and social activities. There will be about four or five talk tracks centered around media, advertising and creative, tech, and health care, Anthony said.

 

While BIPOC voices will be highlighted, Geer emphasized that Blackweek is not a DE&I conference. It’s more like a “marketing conference meets an economic forum,” Anthony added.

 

“Eighty percent-plus of the world is non-white. If you don’t have a cultural strategy that truly represents all consumers, you’re missing out on a huge, huge opportunity to maximize your impact. So let’s all make a lot of money together by knocking down those obstacles that impact our ability to get to the truth of how we can add value to that,” Anthony said.

 

Sponsors and cost

 

Anthony said the group is being “meticulous” about sponsors, and while starting to have deep conversations with some, they didn’t want to sign anyone until more information about the event was made public.

 

“We want every sponsor to come in and have an intentional purpose and have shown a track record or desire to want to improve and help us achieve our message of equity and empowerment,” Anthony said.

 

Blackweek won’t be targeting a large audience in the thousands, Geer added.

 

“It’s about how do we keep it small and tight and keep the right individuals in the room to have these right conversations, so when people come here, we don’t expect that someone’s going to sit off to the side and not do anything and just be there to listen,” Anthony said.

 

The goal for the “premium ticket” event is to target senior executives, Anthony said. With early bird pricing available through March 31, two separate packages are available at $1,499 and $1,999.

 

“That is an indication of how we’re trying to focus on a certain class of individual within these industries to maintain the high-level decision maker and individuals that can actually have the ability to affect change. That’s really where we want to start, and then we’ll start opening up the aperture in subsequent years,” Anthony said.

 

‘We’re not on those stages’

 

The goal was to hold Blackweek simultaneously with Advertising Week, Anthony said. Since Advertising Week hasn’t yet posted a date, Blackweek is scheduled for mid-October, which will potentially be around the same time as the established New York ad industry event.

 

“The intent [is] to disrupt at that moment while Advertising Week is going on,” Anthony said. “Everyone’s going to be in town at that same time, so there are no excuses that you can’t hop on the subway or hop down a few blocks to come down. Any executive or leader that has made any type of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion should put their money where their mouth is, and this is where they should actually be attending.”

 

The founders said they would try to adjust the date if it would help executives attend both conferences.

 

“The reality is we’re not on those stages with the frequency that we need to be, and that was one of the inspirations for us to do this as well,” said Anthony, referring to events such as Advertising Week, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and SXSW. “When we go to all of these events we’re an ingredient, we’re not the full recipe, and we want a platform where it’s all about us. We are the curriculum, we are the topic, we are the focus versus being a bolt-on.”

 

“To every single one of the trade organizations, if there is even an area for DE&I, it is really small way off to the side somewhere,” Nelson said. “If you don’t get your best friends to come and support you, no one may ever see what you presented.”

 

When asked if people will pay to be on stage at the conference, Anthony said “nothing is off the table” but the group is not “trying to have people pay to basically placate the culture.”

 

“What we’re focused on is a very meticulously constructed programming curriculum of people who need to be on the stages because they deserve to be on the stages versus people who’ve paid to be on the stage to self-promote whatever they’re doing,” Anthony added.

 

No gray area

 

Beyond sponsors, Hero Media is funding the event along with contributions and services from the rest of the founders.

 

Nelson, for example, is helping with sponsorship and soliciting some of the creative output, while Geer is helping with promotion and providing connections, Anthony said.

 

In total, led by Hero Media, the group plans to spend nearly $3 million on the conference.

 

Hero Media, along with creative agency Hero Collective, helped produce the promotional film featuring the founders talking about the reasons behind Blackweek’s launch, which will be shared on social media. “The reason why we call this Blackweek and the reason why we went with this black-and-white motif is because there's no gray area in the truth,” Anthony said.

 

Nelson said Blackweek will have a different focus than conferences like ADCOLOR and CultureCon which also have diversity elements, and doesn’t see the new conference as a challenger to other such events.

 

“There is room for all of us to play a multitude of roles, and each one is important,” said Geer. “We will be a force for change and a space where everyone is welcome.”

16415: FQ AI BS.

 

The Female Quotient ran the advertisement depicted above in the New York Times to hype its agenda for Advertising Week.

 

Meh.

 

Is anyone even slightly impressed over utilizing AI to expose common knowledge?

 

White men dominate Adland. Shocker.

 

If you want to see an AI-generated image representing the second largest group most responsible for inequality in the advertising industry, look below.

 

16012: It’s Hard To Advance Progress While Lounging Around…

 

Advertising Age reported on an Advertising Week panel held at The Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge. Based on the event photograph depicted above, the organization—despite the images on its corporate website—has a limited definition of equality, and maybe an exclusive view of female too (i.e., White women rule).

 

Advertising Week Insights: Creating A More Joyful Workplace

 

By Laura Mitchell

 

At the recent Advertising Week New York, The Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge convened thought leaders to discuss timely topics and share inspiring stories. Female Quotient founder and CEO Shelley Zalis moderated panels that supplied smart solutions for keeping employees engaged with their work and provided a blueprint for recovering from burnout and reinvigorating employees’ professional purpose.

 

One panel explored the topic of “quiet quitting,” that is, doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.

 

“I credit our fascination with quiet quitting to alliteration—it rolls off the tongue,” said Emily Goligoski, head of research and SVP at Charter. “But the meaning is wide ranging. If you’re doing the minimum at your job, you might argue that it’s lazy, but on the other hand that it’s actually healthy to have boundaries around your work.”

 

Goligoski said she feels that employers aren’t doing enough to proactively keep people interested in their roles. “Charter surveyed 500 business leaders across the country, and I was really shocked to find only half of these organizations conducted employee engagement surveys,” she said.

 

Ashley Reichheld, principal, customer and marketing leader at Deloitte, believes that employers are part of the problem.

 

“Less than half of employees don’t trust their employers, and that has serious implications,” she said. She noted that many employers are busy measuring productivity with mouse clicks and other methods to make sure people are doing what they’re supposed to do in a hybrid environment. But she added, “Ultimately that also erodes trust. Micromanagement is not going to help your people thrive.”

 

By contrast, she said that 80% of people who do trust their employers are motivated to work.

 

On reimagining an employee-centered workplace

 

Zalis asked, “How do we re-envision the work place?” Jamie O'Banion, founder and CEO of BeautyBio, said, “We’re so focused on productivity we forget the human side. I try to be deliberate in listening and making people feel seen.”

 

For her part, Goligoski shared a method used at Chart for new employees, asking them to create a user’s guide. This can include things that drive them crazy or the times of day when they have the most energy. “It’s about intentionality and not expecting that a work culture just develops,” he said.

 

Jennie Blumenthal, founder and CEO of Corporate Rehab, noted that she saw a need to detox from the hustle culture.

 

“For 10 years, I’d had a little voice inside me saying, ‘I don’t know that I’m really supposed to be doing this but I’m getting all this success from it.’” she said. “The pandemic made me stop and listen to the voice.”

 

As a result, she launched a company to train executive women about how to get to the next level in their careers without losing themselves in the process. In her new book, “Corporate Rehab: Ditch the Hustle Culture and Thrive Again,” she supplies actionable steps and inspiring stories of “300 other women who left the workplace when they just couldn’t take it anymore.”

 

One of these women, Jaime Ellis, executive coach at JE Coaches, told the Equality Lounge about her own burnout: “I started having these fantasies of getting fired and realized it was my mind signaling to me that it was over.” She’s now writing a book about what she calls “achievement dysmorphia” in women. “Our brains tend to misconstrue our successes,” Ellis said. “We need to look back frequently at our accomplishments to remind ourselves how far we’ve come.”

 

On discovering your purpose and rewriting the rules

 

Pavi Siva Dinamani, cofounder and CEO at MisFit Communications, had her “snap” moment as the only female chemical engineer at her company. Today she heads a company that provides visibility to women.

 

“We produce video bios of women entrepreneurs that showcase their superpowers,” she said. “It’s important to create a strong personal brand—you never know who’s watching your content.”

 

The fact that women spend an extra 20 hours a week in caregiving at home contributes to burnout. Zalis and Blumenthal are joining forces to help leaders of Fortune 500 companies rewrite the rules, so that, for example, men are encouraged to leave work to take time off to help with their children and relieve the responsibilities typically carried by their partners.

 

“A new generation of dads wants to be there for their kids,” Blumenthal said.

 

Working through the pandemic provided a new perspective on professional lives and an opportunity to re-evaluate what we want and need from our careers. The conversations at Advertising Week’s Equality Lounge sessions yielded actionable strategies to address these challenges, and give us reasons for optimism.

16005: Advertising Week Is Weak.

Did anything interesting happen at Advertising Week 2022? The featured speakers spotlighted lots of celebrities, including Elmo and Tango. It appears, however, that there were minimal DE&I events, which perfectly reflects Adland’s diminishing interest in racial and ethnic equality. At this point, Muppets trump multiculturalism.

 

As always, Advertising Week compensates by hiring recording artists of color to entertain the Caucasian crowds—this year, Ludacris served as headliner for the wrap party.

 

In short, Adland—and Advertising Week—exhibit almost zero progress in terms of racial and ethnic diversity, equity and inclusion since 2006 at least. Now, that’s ludicrous.

 

14866: Pitbull Act Moves From Advertising Week To Advertising Weak Mobile Services.

Hey, why aren’t the divertsity defenders barking about this Boost Mobile commercial starring Pitbull lusting after chickenheads? Plus, it’s a wonder Cindy Gallop didn’t point out the phallic nature of the light switch mnemonic device.

14777: A Saturday Morning Look At The Look.

From Advertising Age…

P&G’s ‘The Look’ was a ‘Divine Opportunity’ for Creatives, Says Saturday Morning

An Advertising Week panel gave behind-the-scenes information about the moving ad

By I-Hsien Sherwood

In Procter & Gamble’s brand campaign “The Look,” an African-American man deals with the continual, micro-aggressive glimpses of society as he navigates his everyday life. Saturday Morning and P&G offered sobering insights into the creation of the spot at the “Let’s talk about bias” panel at Advertising Week New York 2019.

“When we wrote the script, we didn’t think it would be relevant,” said Keith Cartwright, executive creative director at 72andSunny and co-founder of Saturday Morning. “It’s something people of color deal with every day.”

In each scene, the man experiences subtle discrimination in particular locations, selected specifically for the story. “It was important to establish the historical context,” said Kwame Taylor-Hayford, co-founder of Saturday Morning and founder of Kin. Scenes at a lunch counter and a swimming pool mirror are familiar from racist clashes during the Civil Rights Movement. Eric T. Austin, associate brand director and global media innovation at P&G, drew a throughline from the brand’s previous work “The Talk,” which featured mothers of color but largely left fathers out of the picture, to “The Look,” which focuses on a father and child.

“As the world’s largest advertiser, we have to take responsibility for the images we put into the world,” he said. “These images can lead to stereotypes,” and those stereotypes can lead to societal consequences like violence against people of color, Austin added, before invoking Trayvon’s Martin’s name as an example of the worst kind of consequence that can befall black men.

Cartwright detailed two other projects Saturday Morning has worked on—"A Better Half,” a short film made with a predominantly African-American crew, and “A Solid Bond,” a tale of friendship complicated by society’s prejudices.

“Getting the opportunity to work on ‘The Look’ given the context of what my family went through, it was phenomenal,” said Jayanta Jenkins, co-founder of Saturday Morning, whose father grew up in the Deep South. “This is the type of work I have strived to do consistently throughout my career. It was a divine opportunity to do what I love to do.”

14775: Advertising Age Outperforms Advertising Week In Stupidity.

Advertising Age criticized the arguably sexist selection of Pitbull as entertainment at Advertising Week, but followed up with an online cover image of a naked female corpse. Beautiful.

14772: At Advertising Week, PitBull Inspired Bullshit From Buttholes.

Advertising Age reported on the hypocritical outrage from White advertising agency executives feigning disdain over Pitbull performing at Advertising Week. Seems the headline act featured imagery like the photograph above, which countered all the divertsity and divertisements pushed throughout the week-long exclusivity. Of course, Cindy Gallop couldn’t let the self-absorbed opportunity pass without sputtering, “In an industry that sells first and foremost to female consumers, but continues to be male-dominated and massively power-imbalanced when it comes to women … and to talk gender equality, diversity and inclusion but spectacularly fail to deliver on it, it is wholly inappropriate to feature a closing Advertising Week musical act that objectifies women.” Okay, but Gallop is often presenting herself with imagery like the photograph below. Gallop pontificating against objectification is the equivalent of a Grand Wizard promoting Black Lives Matter. Finally, it must be noted that soirees such as Advertising Week are always falsely advocating for diversity—and compensating by hiring hip-hop artists of color to provide entertainment.

Advertising Week’s Pitbull Concert Undermines A Week Of Equality Talk, Say Critics

Industry professionals say Pitbull’s performance did not mix with all the talk of gender parity

By Ilyse Liffreing

In an industry that has long battled sexism, Advertising Week made a concerted effort in its programming this week to address issues of equality and parity. There was an entire track Thursday called “Future is Female,” with seminars titled “Fighting Bias” and “The Business Case for Female Inclusion.” Another track on Monday was devoted to “Diversity and Inclusion.”

So many industry execs were surprised and even disappointed with Advertising Week’s choice of selecting Pitbull as the headline act on the closing night of the event.

The audience at the packed concert venue at Webster Hall on Thursday night might have enjoyed the flashy spectacle (and open bar), but stepping back from the glitz and confetti, advertising industry professionals are saying Advertising Week was a bit tone deaf, and lacked introspection. Pitbull, flanked by backup dancers wearing sparkly red thong one-pieces, performed choreography full of booty-spanking and objectifying gestures. Many say it was a performance at odds with the many of the conference’s panels in the days leading up.

“Advertising industry closes week of diversity and equality panels with an empowering display of twerking and booty-slapping,” wrote Matt MacDonald, group executive creative director at BBDO, in response to a video Ad Age shared on Twitter of his performance of “I Like It.”

The conference, in its 16th year, is meant to be a celebration of the industry and its successes. One panel was called “Corporations & Compassion: A Discussion on Masculinity." The “Gender Parity–It’s Complicated” panel which revealed new research from She Runs It that shows a decline in women leaders. After all that, Pitbull’s performance seemed to undermine the entire week.

“In an industry that sells first and foremost to female consumers, but continues to be male-dominated and massively power-imbalanced when it comes to women … and to talk gender equality, diversity and inclusion but spectacularly fail to deliver on it, it is wholly inappropriate to feature a closing Advertising Week musical act that objectifies women,” says diversity advocate Cindy Gallop, former exec at BBH, founder at MakeLoveNotPorn and board advisor at We Are Rosie, in a statement.

Some wondered how difficult it would have been to hire a female performer who embodied some of equality themes of the week. Pitbull himself, however, was at the conference for a panel called “Reinventing Storytelling for Multicultural Audiences.” He had been on hand to announce the news that his new multicultural agency, 305 Worldwide, created with Horizon Media, had taken on its first client: Boost Mobile (Ad Age spoke with the rapper ahead of his concert on Thursday). The idea of hiring him as a headliner may have been an afterthought on the part of Advertising Week.

Advertising Week has not responded to a request for comment.

Others commented with some snark that the choice of Pitbull was outdated. Pitbull, whose songs include “I Know You Want Me” and “3 to Tango,” got his start in the 2000s, and his debut album “M.I.A.M.I” came out in 2004. Nearly 20 years later and the superstar is still performing, and announced a new album at the performance. But, for many, his heyday has passed. From the stage, he appeared self-aware, saying: “I’m in the 11th hour of my career.”

For observers who feel pushback against Pitbull is much ado about nothing, Gallop says, hold on.

“For anybody leaping to Advertising Week’s defense on this front, for the women in our industry, it’s not just ‘this one thing’, it’s the cumulative effect of so many things like this,” she says.

Pitbull himself managed to work a message of inclusion into his act. “Music brings everybody together," he said from the stage. “It has no barriers. It has no boundaries. It definitely has no borders. And it has no limits.”

14769: Ignoring The Standard Chief Diversity Officer Talk.

Advertising Age reported on an Advertising Week workshop hosted by Droga5 Engagement and Inclusion Director Tiffany Edwards. The event was titled, “Beyond Diversity Talk,” yet Edwards appeared to deliver the stereotypically contrived and clichéd diversity drivel. Forget the facts that Droga5 is Diversity0; and the White advertising agency staged a notorious sexual harassment scandal too. Sorry, but Chief Diversity Officers rarely go beyond diversity talk. Indeed, all they seem to do is talk—while the exclusive majority fails to listen.

Employees aren’t off the hook either, says Tiffany Edwards

By I-Hsien Sherwood

To tackle diversity issues, agency leaders and employees must work toward the same goals, but often at very different tasks. This was the central lesson of “Beyond Diversity Talk,” a workshop at Advertising Week New York hosted on Tuesday by Tiffany Edwards, engagement and inclusion director at Droga5.

As with most diversity panels, she began with the business case for multiculturalism. But she sped through the data—no one ever attends a diversity panel to become convinced, and “at this point, if we don’t know the business case for diversity, we’ve probably made the choice to shut it out,” she noted.

Edwards then split her advice into two channels of actions that should be taken simultaneously—one for business leaders and one for “the people on the ground doing the work.” For example, leaders need to stop leaving all the diversity and inclusion work to the people with diversity and inclusion in their titles.

“Writing a check or attending awards shows are not the only actions you can take,” she said. At the same time, people of color and members of underrepresented groups need to take initiative and stop relying on leadership or even D&I staff to make change.

First, leaders need to identify an area of diversity their organization needs to focus on initially. Edwards insisted that issue should almost always be race, an opinion she acknowledged some people might disagree with. “If race isn’t the baseline, people of color tend to get left out of the conversation,” she said, citing the women’s rights and LGBTQ rights movements, both of which have struggled with extending the full benefits they’ve gained to people of color.

And while most agencies are increasing diversity hires, they’re having trouble keeping them. “Put real systems in place for their advancement,” Edwards said, and give people of diverse populations decision-making power.

In addition, leaders need to mentor and sponsor diverse talent, and not just “people you like or connect with,” she said. One of the benefits of a multicultural workplace is learning from people we might not naturally gravitate toward.

As for entry- and mid-level employees, they need to hold leaders accountable, Edwards added. Ask what issue the organization has decided to focus on first. And act as allies to people who may be struggling with bias at work.

That might mean that white employees discuss diversity and white privilege and hold each other accountable even when people of color aren’t present. Or it could mean becoming an active and official participant in the work. “A lot of people assume you have to be a person of color to be part of a diversity committee, or you have to be a woman to be part of a women’s committee,” Edwards said, “but everyone should come into the room and join the conversation.”

14433: Michael Roth’s Memo To The Troops Features Massive Poops.

IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth is undoubtedly crossing his fingers that he wrote his last memo for 2018—as racist and sexist scandals at the White holding company prompted continuous messages to the troops over the past years.

The latest missive was posted at AgencySpy, which kinda indicates it’s not newsworthy material. However, there were a few gems to highlight:

FCB Health was named Healthcare Network of the Year, marking the third consecutive year an IPG agency has been awarded this prestigious honor.

Okay, but McCann Health pulled the plug on its Global CCO for violating the company’s Code of Conduct, marking too many consecutive years an IPG agency has been marred by this dubious honor. And the White man refuses to go quietly too.

At our annual Women’s Breakfast in Cannes, we [celebrated] “sheroes” who have changed the world through their excellence, perseverance and passion and featured feminist icon Gloria Steinem and founder of the #MeToo movement Tarana Burke.

Yeah, and the breakfast played on while the aforementioned Code of Conduct violator was quietly banned from attending Cannes. Hell, Ms. Burke could launch a #MeToo spin-off exclusively starring victims of IPG perpetrators and predators.

None of this would be possible without the supportive and inclusive communities we have worked so hard to build. At IPG, we take diversity, equality and inclusion seriously. An environment that encourages respect and trust is paramount, especially in a world often plagued by intolerance. This year we took additional actions to ensure that our workplaces and communities remain safe spaces. We hosted our first Day of Understanding with thought leaders on D&I and participants across the network. We spoke at major industry conferences and events on topics that included upholding change, what leadership looks like in violent times, and the importance of challenging stereotypes. One-third of all the women leaders who signed up in support of Time’s Up Advertising were from IPG and IPG agencies.

Um, none of this would be necessary if IPG wasn’t such a den of deviants. The “additional actions” were probably mandated by IPG attorneys feeling overwhelmed by discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits. And the “women leaders” supporting TIME’S UP/Advertising were likely “encouraged” to do so by Roth versus drawing inspiration on their own. Finally, it’s a wonder Roth didn’t brag about being on an all-White D&I panel at Advertising Week.

Roth’s memo warrants hitting the delete button pronto.

14335: CEO = Caucasian Exclusivity Officer.

Black Enterprise spotlighted an Advertising Week event titled, “CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion,” where the panel was exclusively comprised of White people. Plus, one of the White men—Scott Kauffman of MDC Partners—recently lost his CEO job. Ironically, at the same event last year, Kauffman declared, “I’m intolerant of intolerance. We are on a journey that is not going to end, at least as long as I’m on this planet. We are swimming against a tide of hundreds of years of history, and I think we have to keep pressing on.” Okay, but we’ll have to keep pressing on without you. Meanwhile, the other advertising-related White panelist was IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth, who reportedly is plotting his exit from the company proclaiming to be recognized for leadership in diversity and inclusion, despite staging the most notorious racist- and sexual harassment-based scandals in recent years. Oh, and the White holding company Chairman and CEO crowned a Pioneer of Diversity—John Wren of Omnicom—didn’t bother showing up. Somebody needs to change the event name to “CEO Inaction for Diversity & Inclusion.”

All-White Panel at #AWNewYork Addresses the Lack of Diversity in Corporate America

By Selena Hill

Day one of New York Advertising Week kicked off Monday with a plethora of sessions, workshops, industry leaders, and networking events centered on marketing, advertising, technology, and creative spaces. One panel discussion, titled CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, focused on fostering D&I solutions within corporate culture. During the discussion, the panelists addressed a wide range of issues, including gender inequality, Charlottesville, LGBTQ rights, and implicit bias. The only problem, however, was the blatant lack of ethnic diversity among the all-white panel.

Facilitated by PwC, the panel was named after PwC’s CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. The speakers included Shannon Schuyler, the Chief Purpose Officer at PwC; Deirdre Mahlan, the president of Diageo North America; Scott Kauffman, the Chairman & CEO of MCD Partners; and Michael Roth, the Chairman & CEO of Interpublic Group. Shortly before wrapping up the conversation, the elephant in the room was finally addressed when Kauffman acknowledged the irony of “two white Jewish men and three white women” talking about the need for more diverse work environments.

When asked about the lack of diversity on the panel, Schuyler told BLACK ENTERPRISE afterward that both she and her partner, who happens to be a black man, were aware of the glaring oversight. “Certainly, it was not lost on me. In fact, my husband said he was watching [via livestream] and he was like ‘do you know you guys are all white?,’” she said. “It’s something we need to work on.”

Schuyler admitted that working in a corporate D&I role and being married to an African American has helped make her more aware of situations where minority voices are missing. “We’re all white and we’re talking about diversity,” she said very matter-of-factly. “That’s why I think this is a journey and we’re not there. We’re not even close to being there. But it’s about recognizing it and saying what can we do differently next time.”

She went on to talk about how she sees her role in overseeing PwC’s CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion program as part of a much-needed solution. Since its inception in 2014, the initiative has recruited over 500 CEO and university president signatories who are actively working to recruit and retain diverse employees and ultimately change the face of their organizations, industries, and corporate America. “One of the things we hope for is that we get more CEO’s who sign up for CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, then the number of women and minorities will increase,” she said. “Generally, you don’t have many African Americans or Hispanics that are CEO’s. So that’s the problem we have to solve.”

Another main part of Schuyler’s role at PwC is to help employees find their individual purpose at the multinational professional services firm. “If we can’t create a sense of belonging and fulfillment [making] people believe that they can succeed, then we won’t be successful,” she said. “We have really focused the last couple of years on being this focus-driven organization and what our values are.” Schuyler added that data “shows that a more diverse workplace is more successful financially, but more importantly, it’s more successful for your people to be able to grow, develop, and be their best.”

14318: Bogusky On Balls.

Advertising Age reported on CP+B Chief Creative Engineer Alex Bogusky “appearing” at Advertising Week. In reference to the state of the industry, Bogusky said, “All our wounds are self-inflicted.” He also remarked, “Even a great day in advertising includes three swift kicks to the groin.” Hey, former CP+B CCO Ralph Watson would probably agree—and his alleged victims would likely be happy to deliver the blows. But Bogusky’s groin comment makes one wonder if he really is ready to return to Adland 2018. As White women, sexual harassment and divertsity grab so many headlines, Bogusky should be more careful with his genitalia gender-specific perspectives. In the advertising world, all the cultural cluelessness is self-inflicted too.

Alex Bogusky at Advertising Week: ‘All our wounds are self inflicted’

By Judann Pollack

Alex Bogusky’s coming out since returning to CP&B was typically atypical.

Bogusky appeared at an Advertising Week panel in the form of mannequin wearing a “Good enough sucks” t-shirt and with a TV for a head. The TV streamed video of Bogusky, who was named CP&B’s chief creative engineer in August after an eight-year absence.

“I left the building eight years ago and it was like going into a coma and waking up eight years later,” Bogusky said through the TV. “I walked out and walked into a completely different place.”

He appeared, so to speak, in a Q&A with CP&B President Danielle Aldrich, and introduced by co-founder Chuck Porter, who was frank about the impetus for bringing Bogusky back. (They did not explain why Bogusky didn’t take the stage in person.) Principal Chuck Porter said CP&B had become more conservative in the years since and lost the mojo that led it to be named Ad Age’s Agency of the Decade in 2008.

“We weren’t a leader anymore,” said Porter. He made an exception for Brazil, where a CP&B outpost is doing standout creative work. “It was so clear, they were doing what we used to do,” he said, “except in Portugese.”

Bogusky, he said, is charged with restoring “the DNA” that made it CP&B in the first place.

Bogusky said CP&B has taken on more of a New York agency culture, at the expense of the maverick feel it got in part from its nonconformist beginnings in Miami. (It is now headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.) “You can get homogenized if you don’t cook in your own juices.”

The agency industry has meanwhile become commoditized and squeezed, suffering incursions by consulting companies and the pressure to help agency holding companies impress investors every quarter. He later said the industry’s wounds “have been self-inflicted.”

“Even a great day in advertising includes three swift kicks to the groin,” Bogusky said.

CP&B’s earlier maker culture was what drew great talent to it, Bogusky said. Now, the people he wants are the type who join an agency less to be part of it than to change it, he said.

Bogusky also said he is frustrated by creatives who complain that budgets are too small: “I tell them with $150,000 in many parts of the country you can build a house.” Much of that is immaterial anyway, because with today’s realities, lavishly produced TV extravaganzas are less of a factor and the best work is often highly creative and less expensive to produce, he said.

Bogusky noted that in the eight years after he left CP&B, he had not kept up with award winners. But as he prepared to return, he looked at recent Cannes winners only to discover that he, as a consumer, had seen few to none of the decorated campaigns in his daily life. That proves that creatives should not be “focus groups” for one another and should remember they are writing for the consumer, not themselves, he said.

And then there was the ping pong table. Bogusky said that during his tenure, the agency used to laugh at shops with that played basketball or ping pong at work, because, he said, none of that was nearly as fun as creating advertising. So he was dismayed on his return to find a ping pong table stashed in a closet. Bogusky said he considered burning it, but is giving it away to avoid being wasteful.

But whether Bogusky, sometimes hailed as a creative savior, is making an impact inside or outside of the agency is yet to be seen. The theater where CP&B was presenting was under three quarters full. And one marketing consultant, when asked whether the return of Bogusky would give the industry a jolt, said, “A lot of young creatives don’t even know who he is.”

14317: Ignorance Solves Nothing.

Advertising Age published an empty-headed Op-Ed from McCann Paris Art Director Lauren Haberfield, who unwittingly underscored how divertsity trumps diversity—and White women are totally unqualified to advocate for legitimate inclusion in adland. Haberfield opened her offensive perspective by typing, “It’s Advertising Week. Another opportunity to get together, collectively pat ourselves on the back and talk about how dedicated we are to fixing this whole ‘diversity issue.’” Of course, Haberfield is really focused on promoting herself and White women, as the sarcastic rant exclusively highlighted her Caucasian sisters, only making brief and insincere mentions of racial and ethnic minorities. Haberfield whined about the oh-so-torturous time that she and White women must wait for fair representation, completely oblivious to the fact that her progress waaaaay exceeds the baby steps—and moonwalking—endured by people of color. It’s more than a little ironic that Advertising Week served as a stage for investigating the industry’s dearth of diversity—back in 2006. Twelve years later, White women have seized the spotlight and kicked minorities to the curb. Haberfield sobbed about the alleged lack of lady leaders, totally ignorant to the reality that the entire U.S. advertising industry features fewer than 100 Black women in power positions. That averages to under two Black women per state. Haberfield took a couple of swipes at White men, failing to acknowledge that White women have been active co-conspirators in denying agency access to racial and ethnic minorities. Sorry, but White women in the advertising industry don’t deserve sympathy. Rather, they need to be held accountable for the exclusivity during Advertising Week—and the remaining 51 weeks in the year.

This Advertising Week, don’t pat yourself on the back for solving the diversity problem

By Lauren Haberfield

It’s Advertising Week. Another opportunity to get together, collectively pat ourselves on the back and talk about how dedicated we are to fixing this whole “diversity issue.”

Thanks to a huge amount of effort from specially formed organizations (that we will all take credit for), progress has been made. According to the 3% Movement, 29 percent of creative directors in the U.S. today are now women. The industry has realized that representation matters, and many businesses are finally taking real action and committing to a more diverse workplace, not just adding a few token women to an agency’s creative leadership.

We’ve actively made an effort to promote women into leadership roles. We’ve leveled the playing field, and women finally have access to the opportunities and recognition they deserve. Problem solved! Now all we have to do as women is work hard and show everyone what we are made of, and we will all rise to the top … right?

Sadly, not even close. We may look up and see more women above us, but for any person who isn’t a cisgender white male, thriving in our industry has little to do with how good our work is or how talented we are. If I’ve learned anything during my time in this industry, it’s that every single creative woman, no matter her level, has to deal with a whole lot of completely unnecessary bullshit and, on top of that, make bad-ass, awe-inspiring work.

Earlier this year, I was one of 20 women from around the world identified as the next creative leaders in the industry as part of See It Be It, run by the Cannes Lions Festival. It was a life-changing week that included exclusive mentoring, training, networking and development. I left the festival bursting with motivation, game-changing ideas and genuine optimism convinced that, in the words of Oprah, “A new day is on the horizon!”

Four months later, I’m still waiting for that day to dawn.

So how can we stop the endless talk about this issue and start to overcome it? For starters, we have to remember that diversity is not just about percentages and statistics; it’s about actively embracing the differences of others and opening up our minds to a new way of thinking. To paraphrase Olympic gold medalist, activist and all-round legend Abby Wambach, diversity is inviting minority groups to the table, inclusion is letting them speak.

We can keep inviting more and more women, people of color and of different ages to the table, but if we aren’t embracing the differences their points of view bring, why bother? To back up an empty statement that your CEO made about diversity at the last Advertising Week?

We all need to start taking responsibility for the inequalities in our industry. Calling yourself a feminist doesn’t count. Just because you’re not the person actively displaying sexist, ageist or racist behaviors does not mean you’re not accountable. You have to do something about it. Here are some ways to start:

Putting women in charge of a project? Mix it up. Make it something other than a beauty or femvertising campaign.

Asking women to talk on a panel? Let them talk about their creativity and not just about the fact that they’re women.

Organizing a team-bonding activity? Make it at lunch time so that moms (and dads) can get home to their kids.

Inclusion needs to be at the heart of every action, of every decision, every single day and it needs to start now. We are already losing the race. If we do not adapt, agencies, already threatened by consultants, tech giants and marketers going in-house, will no longer be invited to compete. We need to open up our minds and see that embracing difference is the only way to create something truly new that actually connects to the world we live in.

Take women in leadership positions: Throughout history, successful leaders have been portrayed as asserting masculine qualities—they need to be strong, dominating and sometimes bullying to earn respect. But how is a female creative leader meant to come up with authentic ideas when faced with this false “ideal” every day?

We need to embrace the feminine qualities that create great leaders and allow women and men to benefit from them. Leaders should be empathetic, transparent, able to connect with those around them and should not have to hide their emotions.

When women lead, companies thrive. It’s good business. And most importantly, it’s good for the work.

Imagine for a second that we actually “fixed” the gender disparity problem, and all the incredible, talented women on the sidelines of our industry could stop carefully tiptoeing around fragile egos, stop lying about their childcare needs, stop pretending to laugh at that joke-that-was-sexist-but-was-just-a-joke, stop trying not to appear intimidating and could just … focus on the work.

There would be a lot more bad-ass, awe-inspiring campaigns, and we would all be better off for it.

Lauren Haberfield is an art director at McCann Paris