9859: AT&T, Rethink Media Schedule.

AT&T hypes its super-fast network that keeps people informed up to the second, yet the telecom doesn’t seem to realize Black History Month ended four days ago—or that February had 29 days this year.

9845: BHM 2012—PNC Bank.

Every year, there’s at least one BHM ad depicting Black family members reading a book, usually utilizing royalty-free stock photography—bank on it.

9844: BHM 2012—More Madison Avenue Ads.

A few more parody BHM messages from White advertising agencies to complete the collection.

9839: BHM 2012—My Black Is Beautiful.

According to the Library of Congress, Black Women in American Culture and History is the official 2012 theme for Black History Month. Oddly enough, the My Black is Beautiful campaign doesn’t appear to recognize it.

9837: BHM 2012—Marines.

The Marines salute their own for Black History Month. The Montford Point Marines were the first Blacks to serve in the Marine Corps, changing the face of the United States Marine Corps forever.

9833: Ad Age BHM Rebuttal.

Must say the Advertising Age Black History Month celebration was pretty lame. No offense to the Black executives spotlighted in the series, but there really wasn’t a lot of new ground covered. Additionally, segregating the interviews in The Big Tent lessened the chance of non-Black readers perusing the content. Why are White adpeople allowed to hide during the event? Like dealing with diversity, Black History Month should be an opportunity for everyone to engage and enhance personal cultural competence. Ad Age should have asked White leaders the same questions posed to the Black executives. The trade publication minimally could have produced something like the piece below (click to enlarge).

9832: BHM 2012—JCP.

There’s no BHM in JCP, as the month of February is devoid of any Black Historical references. Although Valentine’s Day seems to make a nod towards the rise of interracial relationships in America. And a Black History Month search of JCP.com resulted in 8672 products, mostly black-colored kids clothing.

9827: BHM 2012—Verizon.

Verizon dials up another salute to Black innovation with the Celebrating Your Story promotion. Why does saluting innovation rarely seem innovative?

9824: BHM 2012—Douglass Alumni Association.

There’s no better way to commemorate the achievements of Blacks in America than over a game of UNO.

9819: BHM 2012—USTA.

USTA.com serves up a slamming BHM message.

9818: Ad Age’s Segregated Celebration.

Advertising Age presented two interviews—“Jimmy Smith on Mentors, Racism and the Future of Advertising” and “Ikea’s Leontyne Green Talks About Diversity and Marketing to African-Americans”—apparently sharing the unabridged sections from the “African American Execs on Life in Adland” piece published earlier in the week. Despite allegedly being part of Ad Age’s Black History Month celebration, both interviews went straight to The Big Tent. Um, isn’t Black History actually American History? Shouldn’t these interviews have appeared in the main publication section versus the minority space?

9815: BHM 2012—Heineken.

Heineken presents the annual Black History art contest—and so far, the Facebook page shows zero entrants.

9812: BHM 2012—Madison Avenue Ads.

If White advertising agencies produced self-promotional messages to celebrate Black History Month, the ads would probably look like these parodies.

9809: BHM 2012—Coca-Cola.

The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward promotion offers a chance to win a 5-day Apprenticeship Experience with Celebrity History Makers. They couldn’t toss in an internship with Coke’s ad agency?

9807: BHM 2012—American Family Insurance.

Not sure if this is a BHM ad, but it certainly displays all the patronizing, contrived corniness to qualify.

9801: BHM 2012—U.S. Virgin Islands.

Is this an ad for Black History Month, tourism or ancestry.com?

9799: BHM 2012—Allstate.

From conceptual and executional standpoints, Allstate strikes out for Black History Month.

9795: BHM 2012—McDonald’s.

The Awards Season would not be complete without trophies from Mickey D’s.

9793: BHM 2012—AT&T.

Is AT&T encouraging Black kids to tag public property?

9789: BHM 2012—Regions.

Regions presents the oddest image of the month.