It's hard to believe we're still having the same conversation. It's 2010. There's a black man in the Oval Office. Titans of industry come in all colors -- except, it seems, for ours.
The media, marketing and advertising universe is devoid of multicultural leadership, or diverse understudies, for that matter. As Noreen O'Leary reports, only 6.4 percent of the American population working in the advertising business and related services in 2009 were African American, 3.2 percent were Asian and 9.5 percent Hispanic. Sure, the number has inched higher in the past few years, as government agencies mandated more diverse hiring practices. But there's still a long way to go.
Jamison Reeves, the black man du jour in ads these days, tells Adweek critic Barbara Lippert in her Q&A with the actor that he rarely, if ever, sees a producer, director or copywriter who is black on any of his sets. "I'm usually the only black person there," he says. When he sees someone else of color, "it seems weird, but good."
The pending count of the population in the 2010 census set to be delivered to President Obama in December may finally prove to be the catalyst to diversity in the media business. As Jim Edwards reports, the minority will soon be the majority. The tally will impact how marketers allocate media dollars and how agencies target consumers. Will the ethnic agencies that for so long provided the only home for minorities to work and grow become obsolete? Time will tell.
Yet one thing is certain: As creative editor Eleftheria Parpis reports, campaigns created by minority agencies for minority markets are increasingly crossing into mainstream markets. By 2050, it's expected that whites will no longer be the dominant ethnicity in America, and many marketers, like McDonald's, are already gearing up for that change. While minorities still struggle to achieve equality at agency, media and marketing companies, it might not be moral responsibility that changes their situation. The demographic shift may hold the key to parity as no one can ignore the numbers -- numbers that seem to be squarely on the side of minorities.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY LINEUP
// https://sites.google.com/site/mayuradocs/PinIt.png
6 comments:
You have to wonder about these “special issues” that essentially regurgitate the same commentary year after year. Right down to the clichéd multi-colored masthead, this issue reads like the kind of stereotypical diversity recruitment advertisements you see in minority publications.
It's like the government cheese of the ad world. They dole it out and hope you choke on it and die so they never have to address it again.
It’s interesting to note the “diversity progress” of the trade journals – Ad Age and Adweek. Ad Age has actually made progress, routinely covering diversity-related events and launching things like The Big Tent. Adweek is not quite as progressive, although it might be a function of their depleted staff. Here are some older references on the topic.
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com/2005/03/essay-fourteen.html
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com/2005/03/essay-seventeen.html
Yea I'm tired of having this conversation. I've been at my agency for going on 6 years and I see little improvement. I have to ask if my peers are not interested in media or are we simply being passed up for entry level positions that would launch our careers.
I think a better understanding of this will help assess the root of the problem.
Amanda,
It really is a serious issue. I just walked out one day (not before giving my two weeks, of course, but I couldn't stand being pushed to the back of the bus. I wouldn't stand for it.
Can you guess what I told them on my way out???
Read the name at the top of this blog.
Lol. Way to make an exit!
Post a Comment