MultiCultClassics

9797: Interracial Marriage Milestone.

2012-02-16T07:28:00.002-06:00

From USA TODAY…

U.S. rate of interracial marriage hits record high

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Interracial marriage in the USA reached an all-time high in 2010: 8.4% of all marriages, compared with 3.2% in 1980, finds a Pew Research Center study, released today, that analyzes unions between spouses of different races or ethnic groups.

Among marriages in 2010, 15% of couples married outside their race or ethnicity.

“Interracial marriage has gone from taboo to a rarity, and with each passing year, it’s less of a rarity,” says Pew’s Paul Taylor. Pew reviewed Census data from more than 850,000 people in the American Community Survey between 2008 and 2010.

In addition, Pew surveyed 2,003 adults in September and found more tolerance: 43% agree that “more people of different races marrying each other has been a change for the better in our society.” Another 44% say it made no difference; 11% say it’s been a change for the worse.

But questions about race make people cautious, says sociologist Daniel Lichter of Cornell University. “People don’t want to reveal negative attitudes that might reflect badly on them, and they tend to tell interviewers what they want to hear,” says Lichter, whose data analysis last year found similar trends in interracial marriage.

Pew found that minorities, younger adults, the college-educated, those who say they’re “liberal” and those who live in the Northeast and the West are more likely to view intermarriage positively.

Other regional differences were clear in the 2008-2010 data Pew analyzed: 35% of all newlyweds who married outside their race live in the West. In Hawaii, 42% of newlyweds fell into that category; other states with 20% or more are all west of the Mississippi.

Pew also found that among those who married in 2008-2010, 42% had been married before (one partner or both). And some patterns vary by gender among blacks and Asians but not among whites and Hispanics. Among blacks, 24% of newlywed men married outside their race, compared with 9% of women. Among Asians, the opposite is true: 36% of women married outside their race, compared with 17% of men.

9796: The Linsensitivity Continues.

2012-02-16T07:20:00.001-06:00

Brought to you by MSG Network.

9795: BHM 2012—McDonald’s.

2012-02-16T07:12:00.002-06:00

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

9794: MLK Major Correction.

2012-02-15T00:08:00.001-06:00

From The Root…

MLK Memorial ‘Drum Major’ Quote to Be Corrected

By Claudio E. Cabrera

A controversial “drum major” quote affixed to the side of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be corrected, according to the Washington Post. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made the announcement on Saturday a few days ahead of the 30-day deadline he’d set for himself.

“It’s the right thing to do, just because it’s a monument that’s so important for our nation, and it’s important that we get it right,” Salazar told the Post.

Salazar said that he met with King’s sister, Christine King Farris; his daughter Bernice King; and two nieces and that they all agreed the best fix would be the full quotation.

The original quote, which reads, “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter,” was truncated to “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

Many people, including Maya Angelou, felt the change made King sound boastful and arrogant. The cost of placing the new inscription on the memorial will be between $150,000 and $600,000. It will be paid from the foundation’s contingency fund or private sources.

9793: BHM 2012—AT&T.

2012-02-15T00:06:00.002-06:00

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

9792: Like A Phoenix From The Asses.

2012-02-14T21:52:00.001-06:00

Advertising Age reported University of Phoenix is staging an agency review, and the incumbent shop is dropping out of the competition. The client is tapping 20-25 agencies nationwide, committed to taking the brand to the next level. The CMO declared, “As part of that commitment I’m only willing to work with the strongest and most creative agency partners.” Um, this is University of Phoenix, right? The place that features groundbreaking lines such as, “I am a Phoenix.” These guys make Westwood College look like Harvard. For University of Phoenix, getting to the next level still won’t reach mediocrity.

Pereira & O'Dell Parts Ways With University of Phoenix Amid Agency Review

Shift as San Francisco Agencies Go Through Tumultuous Times

By Rupal Parekh

After a three-year run, San Francisco-based agency Pereira & O’Dell and the University of Phoenix are parting ways. The move comes as University of Phoenix, owned by the Apollo Group, initiated an agency review under new CMO Arra Yerganian. The agency bowed out of the review.

“I wanted to review and evaluate all of our agency partnerships,” said Mr. Yerganian, who previously held posts at Lennar Corp. and Pulte Group, and spent time at real-estate companies. He wants to take University of Phoenix to the next level, he said, and “as part of that commitment I’m only willing to work with the strongest and most creative agency partners.”

“We are reaching out to upwards of 20 to 25 agencies, all over the country, small and large,” Mr. Yerganian said. “I’m not predisposed to a particular size. We want an agency that has a soul and understands the mission-critical nature of the work we do. There are some fantastic agencies we could work with, and we’re conducting meetings over the next several weeks and months and will probably have this process wrapped up by May.”

The new shop’s responsibilities will include brand advertising, TV, print, digital and out-of-home. The company has recently hired other shops, including Market Vision, a Hispanic agency in San Antonio. “Serving the Latino community is going to be huge for us,” Mr. Yerganian said. “We have a large market share today, but we want to fortify.”

Andrew O’Dell , the CEO of Pereira & O’Dell , told Ad Age: “They have invited us to participate in the review. … But in the end, the agency made the decision that it made sense to end this portion of the relationship. I’m very proud of what we accomplished for them, and the work. I look forward to seeing the next phase. We part as friends and that’s the truth. We continue to be advocates for the University of Phoenix and are still working with them in various capacities.”

The agency is producing the Phoenix Lecture Series, featuring distinguished guest speakers.

“We value them immensely as a partner,” said Mr. Yerganian. “The team has done really terrific work.” Pereira & O’Dell (Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year two years ago) won the account shortly opening. The University of Phoenix spent more than $200 million on measured media at the time.

Spending has fallen somewhat since but is still sizable; the University of Phoenix spent $156 million in domestic measured media between January and November 2011, according to Kantar.

Despite the account’s size, Mr. O’Dell says there won’t be any layoffs. “There is no impact on our current staff,” he said. “New business we’ve won has offset any revenue shortfall that would have been caused, and we’re fortunate to have that situation.”

He declined to discuss the new accounts, citing confidentiality agreements.

The move means yet another key piece of business could leave San Francisco. Omnicom Group’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners recently lost two significant accounts, Hewlett-Packard and Sprint, and that resulted in a large round of layoffs. Meanwhile, Publicis & Hal Riney is defending its biggest account, U.S. Cellular.

“It’s unfortunate, and I wish that business would stay in the Bay Area,” said Mr. O’Dell . “But there’s going to be some great, talented people available in the San Francisco market, and I believe the majority of them will be absorbed into shops in the area over the next few months,” he added. “Talented people always thrive.”

9791: You Da Mandarin.

2012-02-14T00:46:00.001-06:00

Learn Mandarin to master the ancient art of hooking up with exotic chicks.

From Ads of the World.

9790: Keep On Trucking, KFC.

2012-02-14T00:38:00.004-06:00

Not sure this KFC commercial succeeds in hyping the freshness of the chicken. Is it the lumbering semi-trailer truck? The Tyson cartons being unloaded? Or maybe it’s the legal disclaimer that reads, “Fresh claim applicable to KFC’s drumsticks, thighs, breasts, and wings only. Not applicable in AK, HI, and in the event of unusual supply outages.” Gee, another slight for Native Alaskans and Hawaiians.

9789: BHM 2012—Regions.

2012-02-14T00:06:00.000-06:00

Regions presents the oddest image of the month.

9788: Jason Whitlock Is A Witless Twit.

2012-02-13T19:43:00.001-06:00

From Bleacher Report…

Jeremy Lin: Why Are We Letting Jason Whitlock off the Hook for His Tweet?

By Trevor Medeiros

As an Asian-American who has spent his entire life growing up in an urban setting, hearing demeaning ethnic stereotypes hurled in my direction is something I’ve become totally accustomed to.

“Hey, Yao Ming, pass the ball!”

“Don’t get all Jackie Chan on me!”

“Does he speak English?”

Maybe it’s because of my non-confrontational demeanor or because I’m so used to it that I usually don’t care when I hear this Asian-American stereotypical rhetoric staining my eardrums. And that’s why I wasn’t exactly outraged when I read Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock’s Linsensitive tweet (see, I can get in on the clever wordplay games, too!) pointed towards New York Knicks point guard, NBA sensation and Asian-American Jeremy Lin recently.

But the more I think about the aftermath of Whitlock’s tweet, the more I’m surprised that he isn’t receiving more backlash for his insulting one-liner.

Let’s get this straight: Whitlock has made a habit out of adding comedic flair and introducing issues of race to his columns for years.

However, this doesn’t give Whitlock the right to tweet a misguided joke that essentially degrades an entire race of human beings. And Whitlock followed that up by posting a half-hearted, half-assed apology, only after a group with a bit of ethos (the Asian American Journalists Association) called him out on it.

And yet, as I write this, it seems like Whitlock is on the verge of emerging scot-free from this incident, which baffles me, to say the least.

What if it was a white columnist, say, Skip Bayless, and not the African-American Whitlock, tweeting about the size of Lin’s package? Call it prior precedent, journalistic intuition or simply common sense, but something tells me that Bayless would find himself in much hotter water than Whitlock finds himself in today.

(Full disclosure: Whitlock’s work was once prominently featured on Bleacher Report’s website, via Foxsports.com.)

I bring up prior precedent for the fact that Whitlock’s peers have been reprimanded in the past for their own racially-insensitive comments. In 2008, Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman was suspended for two weeks for suggesting that some golfers should lynch Tiger Woods.

And in case you think I’m insinuating that only white journalists are punished for insensitive remarks, let me remind you of the Juan Williams incident. In 2010, the African-American Williams of Fox News was fired from National Public Radio over stereotypical comments directed towards Muslims.

Now, I’m not calling for Whitlock’s head on a silver platter. Too many times media outlets overact when one of their employees utter verbal gaffes.

But to punish the likes of Tilghman and Williams while letting Whitlock off the hook is hypocritical at best and racist at worst. It will tell me that you can expect to be punished when you bash African-Americans (like Tilghman did) and Muslims (like Williams did), but it’s OK to take to social media and talk in not-so-complimentary terms about an Asian-American point guard and his genitalia.

I told you that I don’t usually care all that much when I hear anti-Asian stereotypes flung about carelessly. But if supposedly reputable journalists like Jason Whitlock can fling them about carelessly and without consequences, maybe I—and much more of the public—should start caring after all.

9787: George Lucas Is A Money Whore.

2012-02-13T00:38:00.002-06:00

No way were lightsabers powered by Duracell® batteries.

9786: MetLife Targets Inner-City Blacks…?

2012-02-13T00:14:00.000-06:00

The new MetLife commercial presents a cavalcade of cartoon characters to communicate, “No matter who you are… No matter where you’re from… Every family everywhere should have the financial security they need.” Um, even inner-city dwellers like Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids? Hey Hey Hey! Times are changing indeed.

9785: BHM 2012—Shutterstock.

2012-02-13T00:13:00.002-06:00

Leave it to a stock image supplier to supply stock stereotypes during Black History Month.

9784: Draftfcbullshit.

2012-02-13T00:08:00.001-06:00

The Adweek-Draftfcb-U.S. Census Bureau publishing partnership is more extensive than a Black History Month list of factoids. The New America is labeled as sponsored content—which is actually code for advertising. Or self-promotional pap.

There are already a dozen entries producing a growing pile of editorial excrement that can only be described as airheaded, arrogant and asinine.

Additional inane press releases include The Multiracial Native American and The End of the Segregated City? However, the original perspectives are particularly annoying.

Has Webster’s Redefined Urban? is the title of an essay allegedly authored by Draftfcb Global Chief Talent Officer Cindy Augustine. Criticizing Urban Outfitters for excluding Blacks from its catalogs, Augustine remarked, “We Black Americans do not see this as a marketing oversight. Marketers are savvy and they certainly know their stats so it’s either a deliberate signal that we and our trillions of dollars are not welcome (don’t want the ‘urban’ brand to become ‘Black’) or they hope that the word ‘urban’ is enough of a signal for us to come shop, but hope we’re blind to our own invisibility—the best of both worlds and a sweet ROI.” Wow, that’s a mouthful for someone who admitted having zero advertising agency experience when she took the job in 2011. Now she’s a spokeswoman for Black America. The budding thought leader should know that multicultural marketing professionals are cautious to position themselves as experts by essentially declaring, “I am; therefore, I know.”

Draftfcb EVP Group Management Director Jeff Tarakajian proclaimed, “I officially predict the fall of multicultural advertising and the rise of advertising that’s multicultural.” Can’t help but recognize the inherent ignorance and latent racism in the bold vision. The truth is, as the country becomes increasingly diverse, the exclusively White advertising historically produced by agencies like Draftfcb is what has really fallen. In short, traditional “general-market” messages are irrelevant and obsolete. So how do the White guys respond? By stealing the work usually handled by minority shops, whispering to the clients that segregated efforts are no longer necessary. What makes Tarakajian’s statement most outrageous is the fact that Draftfcb produces perhaps the greatest amount of offensive, culturally clueless campaigns in the industry. These morons have not earned the right to execute “advertising that’s multicultural”—they are woefully unqualified for the task.

If anything, it’s safe to predict the fall of Draftfcb, especially considering the recent and impending account losses. The agency remains proof positive that the mergers of past decades—coupled with the hubris of out-of-touch, outdated and financially obsessed leaders—have created a lumbering dinosaur representing everything that’s wrong on Madison Avenue today. The Agency of the Future is history, and it does not deserve to be part of The New America.

9783: InBev Not Indian-Friendly…?

2012-02-12T11:17:00.001-06:00

Reuters reported on a $500 million lawsuit filed by Native Americans against beer manufacturers including Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, SAB Miller, Molson Coors Brewing Company and Pabst Brewing Company. An indirect link to the Budweiser ad posted earlier?

Indian tribe files $500 million suit against big brewers

By James B. Kelleher

(Reuters) - A Native American Indian tribe sued leading beer makers seeking $500 million in damages and accusing them of knowingly contributing to “crippling” alcoholism rates on one of the nation’s largest reservations in South Dakota.

The suit, filed by the Oglala Sioux tribe, alleges the brewers are “engaged in a common enterprise focused on assisting and participating in the illegal importation of alcohol” onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol is illegal.

The brewers sued include Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, SAB Miller, Molson Coors Brewing Company and Pabst Brewing Company, as well as four retailers in Whiteclay, Neb., and the distributors who sell to them.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in federal court in Lincoln, Neb., claims the defendants have knowingly turned Whiteclay, a small town Nebraska side of the border with South Dakota, into a major source of alcohol smuggling to the reservation. Whiteclay sells volumes of beer “far in excess of an amount that could be sold in compliance with the laws of the state of Nebraska.”

The lawsuit says Whiteclay has a population of fewer than 12 people and “no publicly accessible place to lawfully consume alcohol.” Yet each day, the four retailers in town sell more than 13,000 cans of beer.

Much of that beer ends up on the reservation, according to the lawsuit, where it has “devastating effects” on the tribe.

The suit says alcoholism is a scourge on Pine Ridge, a 2 million-acre reservation in southwestern South Dakota that is home to an estimated 40,000 people, most of them enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux tribe.

Eighty-five percent of the tribe’s members are “affected by alcoholism,” according to the suit, and one in four children born on Pine Ridge is diagnosed with either fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

The tribe is seeking $500 million in compensation to pay for “all damages it has suffered in the past and in reasonably likely to suffer in the future” as a result of the alcohol sales in Whiteclay.

SAB Miller declined to comment on the lawsuit. Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc and Molson Coors Brewing Company did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is one of the poorest spots in the country, according to the U.S. Census. More than 50 percent of its residents live below the poverty line, compared with 15.1 percent nationally. Shannon County, which lies entirely within the reservation, is the third poorest county in the country, the Census says.

The unemployment rate consistently tops 80 percent, according to most estimates. Violent crime and other social ills, including a high suicide rate, are all major problems on the reservation, according to the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.

A 2011 Centers for Disease Control report on the health of racial groups said that Native Americans report more binge drinking episodes per month and higher alcohol consumption per episode than other races.

A number of theories have been suggested to explain why binge drinking—defined as five drinks in a sitting for men and four for women—is such a problem among Native Americans, according to a National Institutes of Health survey of literature.

Among those are high unemployment and poverty rates on reservations, NIH said. Of the five counties in the United States with poverty rates greater than 39 percent, four are located within American Indian reservations, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

One other theory is that American Indian traditional culture may help explain the attraction of drinking. American Indians may “drink rapidly to induce an altered state of consciousness, a practice congruent with some Native American practices,” the NIH survey said.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Greg McCune)

9782: Considering Black Characters.

2012-02-12T11:02:00.002-06:00

From The New York Times…

Black Characters in Search of Reality

By Brent Staples

Through most of the 20th century, images of African-Americans in advertising were mainly limited to servants like the pancake-mammy Aunt Jemima and Rastus, the chef on the Cream of Wheat box. Imagine a Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep during the era of the Negro as household retainer and woke up in 2012. He would be struck speechless by billboards and commercials featuring affluent black people advising consumers on pharmaceuticals, real estate, financial services and the virtues of owning expensive cars. This kind of transformation has yet to take hold in the dramatic arts.

Advertisers, who must create the world anew every day, have to keep close tabs on changing social and cultural realities. The industry began to normalize images of black affluence in response to the civil rights revolution, and embraced those images as it became clear that they were good for selling breakfast cereal and mutual funds, too.

The dramatic arts are less nimble, partly because they draw on material that is rarely written by people of color and often firmly rooted in a past that allowed for only a narrow, impoverished view of African-American life. The black middle and upper classes have long fumed that stage and film have rendered them largely invisible — and are hungry for serious works with rounded characterizations of themselves.

This hunger was not satisfied by “The Help,” a movie about maids in the racist, early 1960s South that has been nominated in multiple categories for the Oscar. In addition to its best picture nomination, the film has produced a best actress nomination for the wonderful Viola Davis, who stars as the quietly volcanic Aibileen, and a best supporting actress nod for Octavia Spencer, who plays her voluble friend.

The troubling thing is that the only two black actors in this year’s Oscar competition are cast as domestics, and would probably not have found meaty, starring roles in other films had they passed on “The Help.” This brings to mind the first black Oscar winner, Hattie McDaniel, who received the award in 1940 for her portrayal of the loyal maid in “Gone With the Wind.” When criticized for often playing a mammy on film, Ms. McDaniel famously said she would rather play a maid in the movies than be one.

Black artists are often faced with the problem of having to elevate through sheer skill material that is stereotypical or even racist. The director Diane Paulus and her talented stars, Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis, undertake just such a renovation in the new Broadway production of “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.” African-Americans have generally disliked this work, the story of a love affair between a crippled beggar and a drug-addicted woman.

Sidney Poitier initially refused the role of Porgy in the 1959 film (calling it “not material complimentary to black people”), but later succumbed to Hollywood pressure. The New Yorker critic Hilton Als, who has praised the revised version, is no fan of the original either. The opera, he writes, is traditionally staged in a way that casts the love affair in the context of a poor black community’s “will to destruction.” There is “no uplift, just sweat, blood, carnality and resignation.”

Some purists have condemned the new version as a betrayal of the creators’ intentions. But the show now fleshes out the lives of the lovers, excavating the humanity of characters long buried beneath early-20th-century preconceptions.

In their vacation homes in Sag Harbor and Martha’s Vineyard, the black upper classes have complained about the white world’s tendency to equate blackness almost exclusively with poverty and deprivation. This grievance was in no way salved by late-20th-century sitcoms like “The Cosby Show” or “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which were comedies, after all, and could be dismissed as imaginary.

The hunger for textured depictions of black lives found an indulgence this season on Broadway. The Cort Theater in Manhattan was jumping during the two performances I attended of Lydia Diamond’s “Stick Fly.” This family drama is set in the Martha’s Vineyard vacation home of a black neurosurgeon and the blue-blooded wife he met at a “paper bag” party — so named because no African-American darker than the bag was supposed to be admitted.

The play deals interestingly, if melodramatically, with that special class tension that has always existed between the black elites and the less well off, with whom they were often pushed into close proximity by segregation. The playwright makes a passing reference to Jack and Jill, a once quasi-secret black organization, scarcely heard of among whites, whose chapters met mainly at the homes of black elites and served to foster what often became lifelong alliances.

At the performances I saw, the show unfolded with comfortable familiarity and knowing laughter from a largely black audience that was pleased to see itself credibly rendered onstage.

9781: Post-Apartheid South Africa.

2012-02-12T02:26:00.001-06:00

Democratic Alliance Students Organisation—a part of DA Youth in South Africa—sparked controversy with the poster depicted above. Commentary can be viewed here, here, here and here. Plus, the image that upset so many South Africans turned out to be a stock photograph of a couple that is probably not even South African.

9780: This Bud’s For Sioux…?

2012-02-12T01:51:00.001-06:00

Before crowning itself The King of Beers, it appears Budweiser was first a lowly chief. And what’s with the image—did the Native Americans just trade land for some Bud?

9779: BHM 2012—WWW.

2012-02-12T01:19:00.002-06:00

Black History Month presents patronizing via social media. Ronald McDonald woos with 365Black® while Colonel Sanders counters with KFC360º. AT&T parties for 28 Days and Allstate pushes its Beyond February Program. The Few and The Proud salute Montford Point Marines while American Airlines flies with BlackAtlas. Verizon is Celebrating Your Story as Procter & Gamble proclaims My Black Is Beautiful, a copycat effort that inspired more copycats like Pepsi We Inspire and Pine-Sol Powerful Women. Not sure whatever happened to the Budweiser Great Kings and Queens of Africa.

9778: Pit Bulls And Bullshit.

2012-02-11T22:23:00.003-06:00

At Advertising Age, Bob Garfield published a pretty amusing editorial on the McDonald’s incident featuring a local radio spot that offended pit bull advocates. As expected, the column managed to further piss off dog lovers, inspiring initial comments that will likely increase once Garfield’s regular workweek audience views the piece. But here’s a particularly ignorant one:

James Heike
Chicago, IL

Really disappointed in Garfield’s bumbling response here. Associating Pit Bulls with aggressive behavior is as ignorant as associating African American’s (sic) with criminal behavior. By proportion, the crime rate for African American’s (sic) is far higher than that of caucasians (sic). Does that make shaking hands with any African American dangerous? Of course not. While he provides no evidence, let’s say for the sake of argument that there are statistics out there that say there are higher rates of attacks by Pit Bulls, does that mean Pit Bulls are inherently dangerous? This neglects the fact that there are higher rates of abuse towards Pit Bulls, driving certain dogs to be aggressive. When was the last time you saw a Black Lab fighting ring? The bottom line is the media absolutely gives Pit Bulls a bad name and advertisements like McDonald’s further damage their reputation fueling unfair breed specific laws.

Wow. Wanna believe this moron is not a member of the advertising industry. Unfortunately, his cluelessness depicts an accurate profile of the modern-day Mad Man.

Mr. Heike does a nice job of displaying insensitivity by indirectly criticizing and stereotyping African Americans during Black History Month. Was the later reference to Black Labs a Freudian slip?

It’s easy to imagine Heike behind the keyboard, filled with delusions of intellectual grandeur as he drafted his passionate argument. Too bad it’s all rooted in flawed and incomplete thinking.

For starters, Heike obviously missed the Black History Month celebration co-created by Adweek, Draftfcb and the U.S. Census Bureau; otherwise, he might have noted the 27.4 percent poverty rate for Blacks. Nearly every researcher on Earth recognizes the direct link between poverty and crime.

More importantly, the trials and tribulations of pit bulls hardly reflect those of Blacks in America. Contrary to the insistence of organizations such as PETA, animals do not share the same rights as humans. To use Heike-like logic, NFL star Michael Vick was charged and convicted of illegal acts involving pit bulls—including actually killing dogs. Vick dealt with fines, faced protestors and spent time in prison for his crimes. Yet he ultimately and officially paid his debt to society. Now, if Vick had been found guilty of running slave rings where Blacks were forcibly used in evil fight clubs, and Vick actually murdered Blacks in the process, he would not be a leading NFL quarterback right now. The man would have received a court-sanctioned death sentence.

To be clear, MultiCultClassics is not seeking to diminish the positions of pit bull fans. But please keep matters in proper perspective, folks. And show some fucking respect during Black History Month.

9777: Covering Whitney Houston.

2012-02-11T20:53:00.002-06:00

9776: Whitney Houston (1963-2012).

2012-02-11T19:58:00.002-06:00

Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

LOS ANGELES - Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Houston’s publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston’s death came on the eve of music’s biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It’s a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday’s ceremony. Houston’s longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world’s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”

She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

“The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

“The time that I first saw her singing in her mother’s act in a club … it was such a stunning impact,” Davis told “Good Morning America.”

“To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine,” he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with “Whitney Houston,” which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. “Saving All My Love for You” brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. “How Will I Know,” “You Give Good Love” and “The Greatest Love of All” also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, “Whitney,” came out in 1987 and included hits like “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

The New York Times wrote that Houston “possesses one of her generation’s most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity.”

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the “Soul Train Awards” in 1989.

“Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?” she told Katie Couric in 1996. “You’re not black enough for them. I don’t know. You’re not R&B enough. You’re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.”

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop’s pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

“When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place,” she told Rolling Stone in 1993. “You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that’s their image. It’s part of them, it’s not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody’s angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy.”

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America’s sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with “The Bodyguard.” Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy’s record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the “Bodyguard” soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.” Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, “My Love Is Your Love,” in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay.”

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time “The Preacher’s Wife” was released, “(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. … I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. … I wasn’t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.”

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown’s reality show, “Being Bobby Brown,” was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared “crack is whack,” was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album “I Look To You.” The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on “Good Morning America” went awry as Houston’s voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

9775: Gap & Ogilvy Be Very White.

2012-02-11T01:28:00.002-06:00

About a year ago, the Gap named Ogilvy as its global agency of record. Here’s a new series of print ads for the retailer. Not sure why the Gap needed an agency to produce this shit. And why is everything so White? Perhaps OgilvyCulture wasn’t consulted on the campaign.

9774: Totally Wasted.

2012-02-11T00:49:00.001-06:00

“Half My Creative Is Wasted—I Just Don’t Know Which Half.” Um, the half placing contrived banner ads like this.

9773: BHM 2012—Adweek, Draftfcb & U.S. Census.

2012-02-11T00:20:00.000-06:00

Lincoln Steffens pointed out that Adweek, Draftfcb and the U.S. Census Bureau teamed up to celebrate Black History Month with a story titled, “All About African Americans Today.” Draftfcb and the U.S. Census Bureau, incidentally, share an advertising agency-client relationship—and Adweek is apparently starving for original content—which may explain the publication of what essentially feels like a lazy press release. The celebratory factoids include 18 percent of Blacks holding a bachelor’s degree and a 27.4 percent poverty rate. Oh Happy Day. No mention of the number of Blacks working on Madison Avenue.

All About African Americans Today

Census Bureau releases facts and figures for Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a series of facts and stats about the African American population aggregated from recent studies.

42 million – The number of people who identified as Black, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, in the 2010 Census. They made up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population. The Black population grew by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2010.

65.7 million – The projected Black population of the United States (including those of more than one race) for July 1, 2050. On that date, according to the projection, Blacks would constitute 15 percent of the nation’s total population.

3.3 million – The Black population in New York state, which led all states in 2010. The other nine states in the top 10 were Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio.

38 percent – Percent of Mississippi’s total population that was Black in 2010. Mississippi led the nation in this category followed by Louisiana (33 percent), Georgia (32 percent), Maryland (31 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent).

2.2 million – People who identified as Black in New York City, the city with the largest African American population. It was followed by Chicago; Philadelphia; Detroit; Houston; Memphis, Tenn.; Baltimore; Los Angeles; Washington; and Dallas.

84.3 percent – Percent of the total population in Detroit, who identified as Black, which is the highest percentage nationally.

2.4 million – Number of Black military veterans in the United States in 2010.

82 percent – Among Blacks 25 and older, the percentage with a high school diploma or higher in 2010.

18 percent – Percentage of Blacks 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2010.

1.5 million – Among Blacks 25 and older, the number who had an advanced degree in 2010.

2.9 million – Number of Blacks enrolled in college in 2010, a 1.7 million increase since 1990.

11.1 million – The number of Blacks who voted in the 2010 congressional election, an increase from 11 percent of the total electorate in 2006 to 12 percent in 2010.

55 percent – Turnout rate in the 2008 presidential election for the 18- to 24-year-old citizen Black population, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate in this age group.

65 percent – Turnout rate among Black citizens regardless of age in the 2008 presidential election, up about 5 percentage points from 2004. Looking at voter turnout by race and Hispanic origin, non-Hispanic whites and Blacks had the highest turnout levels.

$32,068 – The annual median income of Black households in 2010, a decline of 3.2 percent from 2009.

27.4 percent – Poverty rate in 2010 for Blacks.

62.5 percent – Among households with a Black householder, the percentage that contained a family. There were 9.4 million Black family households.

1.3 million – Number of Black grandparents who lived with their own grandchildren younger than 18. Of this number, 47.6 percent were also responsible for their care.

44.2 percent – Nationally, the percentage of households with a householder who was Black who lived in owner-occupied homes.

9772: KKKnockers.

2012-02-10T14:14:00.002-06:00

Florida resident Sheyla Hershey (pictured above) insists her 38KKK breasts saved her life in a car crash by serving as additional air bags. The 38KKK knockers probably also get her a free pass into Klan rallies.

9771: BHM 2012—Wells Fargo.

2012-02-10T01:24:00.000-06:00

Wells Fargo jumps on the Tuskegee Airmen bandwagon.

9770: Lowell Thompson, Adman And Author.

2012-02-10T01:18:00.002-06:00

Just in time for Black History Month, Lowell Thompson has written a new book, African Americans in Chicago. Pick up your copy via Amazon.com or other booksellers.

9769: BHM 2012—Macy’s.

2012-02-09T00:19:00.001-06:00

Macy’s celebrates Black History Month with illegible copy placement.

9768: Local Rock Stars.

2012-02-08T20:11:00.002-06:00

Another example of the diminishing value of being a rock star.

9767: BHM 2012—Dollar General.

2012-02-08T00:48:00.000-06:00

For Black History Month, Dollar General presents an everyday typo.

9766: Job Hunting By Any Means Necessary.

2012-02-08T00:43:00.001-06:00

This actual job listing seeks a “Freelance Copywriter who can write like Malcolm X speaks.” However, the chances of landing the job significantly decrease if you’re Black and Muslim.

Freelance Copywriter who can write like Malcolm X speaks

Description:
This agency-client is seeking a freelance copywriter to help craft copy for an established US food brand that is a visionary activist empowering people who are passionate about health and well-being in the world to establish independence from the oppressive food system

The brand voice reference is Denzel Washington playing Malcolm X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT1jLY20tLo

If you can write powerful, snappy, copy that incites, is not afraid to be controversial, polarizing and poetic, and have a deep understanding of sustainability, and can write about food and make it sound radical and delicious at the same time, you're our copywriter.

Our agency-client builds leading brands for values-based companies in the natural products industry. They identify potential through research and analysis, and realize that potential through groundbreaking strategy and powerfully authentic creative.

Type of writer needed:
Bold
Pithy
Provocative
Poetic
Radical
Deeply understands sustainability
Can make food sexy and delicious

You can be based Anywhere for this job.

How to apply
If you are the person for the job, please submit the form at the Apply link on the Wordfruit site and send a separate application to Richard at Wordfruit to express an interest in this specific job.

Thanks.

Please apply online at:
http://wordfruit.com/apply

9765: Holy Hooters.

2012-02-07T07:15:00.002-06:00

You can’t make this shit up.

9764: BHM 2012—IHOP.

2012-02-07T00:10:00.000-06:00

Is IHOP celebrating Black History Month with a special on chicken and waffles?

9763: Kerry Washington Post.

2012-02-06T23:02:00.002-06:00

9762: Clint Eastwood Drives For Cash.

2012-02-06T20:56:00.002-06:00

The Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial that played during the Super Bowl is sparking controversy for its political undertones.

Seems like nobody is wondering why the automaker would hire Eastwood, who is most popularly known for driving a Gran Torino—which was produced by Ford.

9761: Malcolm X Rediscovered.

2012-02-06T07:09:00.003-06:00

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

Student rediscovers lost Malcolm X speech

By David Klepper

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The recording was forgotten, and so, too, was the odd twist of history that brought together Malcolm X and a bespectacled Ivy Leaguer fated to become one of America’s top diplomats.

The audiotape of Malcolm X’s 1961 address in Providence might never have surfaced at all if 22-year-old Brown University student Malcolm Burnley hadn’t stumbled across a reference to it in an old student newspaper. He found the recording of the little-remembered visit gathering dust in the university archives.

“No one had listened to this in 50 years,” Burnley told the Associated Press. “There aren’t many recordings of him before 1962. And this is a unique speech — it’s not like others he had given before.”

In the May 11, 1961, speech delivered to a mostly white audience of students and some residents, Malcolm X combines blistering humor and reason to argue that blacks should not look to integrate into white society but instead must forge their own identities and culture.

At the time, Malcolm X, 35, was a loyal supporter of the black separatist movement Nation of Islam, now based in Chicago. He would be assassinated four years later after leaving the group and crafting his own more global, spiritual ideology.

The legacy of slavery and racism, he told the crowd of 800, “has made the 20 million black people in this country a dead people. Dead economically, dead mentally, dead spiritually. Dead morally and otherwise. Integration will not bring a man back from the grave.”

The rediscovery of the speech could be the whole story. But Burnley found the young students in the crowd that night proved to be just as fascinating.

Malcolm X was prompted to come to Brown by an article about the growing Black Muslim movement published in the Brown Daily Herald. The article by Katharine Pierce, a young student at Pembroke College, then the women’s college at Brown, was first written for a religious studies class. It caught the eye of the student paper’s editor, Richard Holbrooke.

Holbrooke would become a leading American diplomat, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Germany soon after that nation’s reunification, ambassador to the United Nations and President Barack Obama’s special adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan before his death in 2010 at age 69.

But in 1961, Holbrooke, 20, was eager to use the student newspaper to examine race relations — an unusual interest on an Ivy League campus with only a handful of black students.

Pierce’s article ran in the newspaper’s magazine and made her the first woman whose name was featured on the newspaper’s masthead.

Somehow, the article made its way to Malcolm X. His staff and Holbrooke worked out details of the visit weeks in advance.

Tickets — going for 50 cents apiece — for the Brown speech sold quickly. About 800 people filled the venue meant for 500.

9760: BHM 2012—Walmart.

2012-02-06T00:10:00.002-06:00

Walmart flies through Black History Month with Red Tails. But why only salute the Tuskegee Airmen for their contribution to Black History? What about American History?

9759: Super Bowl XLVI—Bud Light Platinum.

2012-02-05T18:19:00.003-06:00

Bud Light Platinum launched on the Super Bowl with two spots—Factory and Work. Is this campaign from new AOR Translation? BTW, did the beer maker choose a minority shop to handle Bud Light Platinum because it has high-alcohol content like malt liquor? The Factory spot literally communicates the brew is produced on a mechanized assembly line, which is hardly the way to establish its premier character. The Work spot, well, doesn’t work—unless the intention was to present clichéd copy with tired nightclub visuals.

9758: Super Bowl XLVI—Pizza Hut.

2012-02-05T17:29:00.001-06:00

This Pizza Hut Contest Winner deserved to run on the Super Bowl? Really?!

9757: BHM 2012—At The Movies.

2012-02-05T10:59:00.004-06:00

Local theatres are playing special presentations for Black History Month.

9756: Debunking The Black Suicide Myth.

2012-02-05T10:55:00.002-06:00

From The Chicago Tribune…

Time to shatter the black suicide myth

By Clarence Page

The death of Don Cornelius, creator and host of “Soul Train,” brought two conflicting memories to mind: the weekly joy of that iconic program as a defining feature of black American pop culture, and the terrible pain inflicted on the surviving family and friends of those who commit suicide.

Like countless other boomers, I grew up with “Soul Train.” Today, the old clips look like an amusing period piece, especially to our kids or grandkids who wonder how any of us could have thought those “Saturday Night Fever” fashions were cool.

But in the 1970s and beyond, “Soul Train” defined cutting-edge cool. It became the longest-running syndicated show of its type on TV and, as Cornelius said every week, “The hippest trip in the galaxy.”

But the hip trip finally came to an end a few years ago on TV and for Cornelius, amid reports of failing health. Police say he died in his Los Angeles home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

That tragedy has special meaning in the African-American community, which has long nourished a dangerous myth that black people don’t commit suicide.

It is a point of mythical ethnic pride that our ancestors found ways to persevere despite centuries of slavery, struggle and hardship. Black people created the blues, it is often said, because we didn’t have psychotherapists.

Besides, as an old joke goes, we black people don’t kill ourselves because you can’t kill yourself by jumping out of a basement window. We can only wish that were true. Although whites and Native Americans have the highest suicide rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the black suicide rate has been high enough in recent years to claim one African-American every 4.5 hours.

No group is immune. By gender, non-Hispanic white and Native American men have the highest suicide rates, of about 25 lives per 100,000. That’s more than four times the rate of women in each racial group. It also is more than twice the rate of black and Hispanic men, whose suicide rate of about 11 per 100,000 is five times the rate of black and Hispanic women. Asian-American men have a rate of about 9 per 100,000, slightly more than twice the rate of Asian-American women.

Yet the black suicide myth persists. “As a mental-health advocate, over the years I’ve heard variations of the ‘black people don’t commit suicide’ meme,” wrote Bassey Ikpi on the black-oriented The Root website after Cornelius’ death. “Yesterday the chorus was deafening. People went so far as to create elaborate conspiracy theories rather than accept what could be a simple truth — that Cornelius had taken his own life.”

I share her sense of frustration. I suddenly became an expert because of a personal tragedy, as many Chicagoans know. Back in May 1984, suicide ended the life and career of Leanita McClain, an award-winning Chicago Tribune columnist and ghetto-to-Gold-Coast success story.

She was also my former wife. She killed herself with an overdose of prescribed pills two years after our divorce. Her upward career trajectory, like our marriage, was stopped only by the furies of her relentless depression.

“Happiness is a private club that will not let me enter,” she wrote in her “generic suicide note.”

It is not hard, although it is not pain-free either, for me to imagine that Don Cornelius could have written the same message. Suicides inflict a terrible cruelty on the survivors. Everyone asks “why” and there are no easy answers. I was surprised by how many of my friends came forth to share stories of their own loved ones who had ended their lives or come close to it in their severe depression. I was shocked by how common such illnesses can be, regardless of race or community background.

I also learned about guilt. “People feel guilty if they failed to get help for their lost loved one,” a counselor told me, and they feel guilty if they did get help and the loved one killed him or herself anyway. It is best to seek help. Whether you believe it or not, you have too much to lose.

9755: BHM 2012—Assorted Posters.

2012-02-04T09:26:00.002-06:00

9754: Enter The Dragon.

2012-02-04T09:24:00.002-06:00

At The Big Tent, Bill Imada presents a perspective on “what the Year of the Dragon will mean to the world of advertising,” along with a series of advertisements celebrating the Lunar New Year.

9753: BHM 2012—Someecards.

2012-02-03T00:11:00.002-06:00

Via Someecards

9752: Racists Really Are Stupid.

2012-02-02T17:23:00.001-06:00

From The Huffington Post…

Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism

The Huffington Post | Rebecca Searles

Are racists dumb? Do conservatives tend to be less intelligent than liberals? A provocative new study from Brock University in Ontario suggests the answer to both questions may be a qualified yes.

The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood.

I.Q., or intelligence quotient, is a score determined by standardized tests, but whether the tests truly reveal intelligence remains a topic of hot debate among psychologists.

Dr. Gordon Hodson, a professor of psychology at the university and the study’s lead author, said the finding represented evidence of a vicious cycle: People of low intelligence gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which stress resistance to change and, in turn, prejudice, he told LiveScience.

Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature “structure and order” that make it easier to comprehend a complicated world, Dodson said. “Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice,” he added.

Dr. Brian Nosek, a University of Virginia psychologist, echoed those sentiments.

“Reality is complicated and messy,” he told The Huffington Post in an email. “Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose a simpler solution. So, it may not be surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies.”

But Nosek said less intelligent types might be attracted to liberal “simplifying ideologies” as well as conservative ones.

In any case, the study has taken the Internet by storm, with some outspoken liberals saying that it validates their suspicions about conservatives and conservatives arguing that the research has been misinterpreted.

9751: Corporate Cultural Collusion Kool-Aid.

2012-02-02T13:18:00.002-06:00

Advertising Age reported that Kraft is shifting its Kool-Aid account from Ogilvy to Saatchi & Saatchi, citing the need for a “fresh perspective” on the brand. Right. First of all, everyone knows that minorities comprise a key audience for Kool-Aid (MultiCultClassics addressed this topic last year). So moving the work from one outdated White agency to another outdated White agency will hardly lead to freshness. Once again, Kraft is showing its commitment to supplier diversity is total bullshit. And the food company’s business sense—in terms of partnering with experts capable of sparking sales—is pathetic too. It seems like “fresh perspective” is code for Corporate Cultural Collusion.

Saatchi Snags Kraft’s Kool-Aid, Capri Sun

Marketer Cites Need for ‘Fresh Perspective’ on Beverage Brands

By Rupal Parekh

Kraft is once again rejiggering its roster, handing Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi creative duties for Kool-Aid and Capri Sun. Those beverage brands were previously handled by WPP’s Ogilvy.

Agency representatives either declined to comment or referred calls to Kraft Foods. Bridget A. MacConnell, Kraft ‘s senior manager-corporate affairs for beverages, told Ad Age that Saatchi’s New York office will be responsible for handling the two accounts and said the impetus was a desire for new creative thinking.

“While we appreciate our long partnership with Ogilvy, we needed a fresh perspective as we drive our refreshment beverage brands forward,” she said via email.

The pace with which Kraft continues to make changes to its agency roster is astounding. A Wall Street analyst recently found that between 2009 and 2010 Kraft had switched ad agency assignments on brands accounting for a whopping 48% of its total U.S. measured media spending.

The changes in the company’s agency relationships are part and parcel of a much larger wave of organizational changes at Kraft, which is in the midst of splitting into two companies—one focused on the North American grocery business, and another that concentrates on snacks. As a result of the split, Kraft has announced that it will slash up to 1,600 jobs. Meanwhile, the company is in the thick of ushering in a barrage of new products.

For Saatchi, the win expands its place on Kraft’s roster of agencies after winning creative duties last October for the world’s largest gum brand, Trident.

It also provides a continuation of some good momentum to kick off 2012, helpful on the heels of its late December loss of the JC Penney account after a five-year relationship. In the past month alone, Saatchi has picked up these additional Kraft assignments, a new creative assignment for the Sapphire credit card by Chase, and has been called in to help out on Miller Lite with a new brand campaign.

Between January and November of 2011, Kraft, which is the 32nd biggest national advertiser per the Ad Age DataCenter, devoted between $35 million and $40 million in domestic measured media to Capri Sun, and about $20 million on Kool-Aid, Kantar data shows.

For Ogilvy it means a further reduction of its Kraft business. The agency once handled a broad array of brands for the packaged-goods giant, but over the past few years it has gradually seen many of its Kraft accounts flee to other agencies. It continues to have two big global pieces of Kraft business, Tang and Cadbury chocolate, and also does work for Honeymaid graham crackers.

Contributing: E.J. Schultz

9750: Riding Soul Train Memories.

2012-02-02T10:23:00.002-06:00

From USA TODAY…

‘Soul Train’ laid the rails of a cultural revolution

By Marco R. della Cava and Steve Jones, USA TODAY

Armed with sharp suits and a mesmerizing voice, Don Cornelius set out in 1970 to entertain viewers of Chicago’s WCIU with a song-and-dance TV show called Soul Train. Turns out, America wanted in on the party.

Cornelius, 75, died Wednesday at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said. The music maverick struck financial and cultural gold with Soul Train, whose 35 years on the air made it the longest first-run syndicated show in history, with an effect that crossed generations and races.

“Soul Train gave the black community reason to be proud,” says Kenneth Gamble, half of the fabled songwriting team Gamble & Huff, who wrote the show’s chugging theme song, known as T.S.O.P (The Sound of Philadelphia). “It was so rare at the time to see someone black doing anything like that.”

If Dick Clark’s American Bandstand was Saturday morning’s placid place to play, Soul Train, with its driving music and innovative dancers rooted in the urban scene, was the coolest party you could hope to crash. Its minimalist stage played host to everyone from the Jackson 5 to Elton John.

“That show was the centerpiece of my Saturdays,” says hip-hop artist Terius “The-Dream” Nash, who co-wrote the Beyoncé hit Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It) and performed on the program in 2005. “Don reminded me of my old band teacher. He could look you in the eye and you felt like he knew what you were going to be.”

Soul Train “had a substantial impact and was very much a part of contemporary music history,” says Clive Davis, chief creative officer of Sony Music Worldwide and the record mogul who nurtured the careers of Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick. “His show reached a sizable and devoted audience, and every major artist of the time did it and did it willingly.”

The music industry mourns
News of Cornelius’ death rippled through the entertainment industry and the blogosphere, where fans famous and anonymous alike were eager to pay tribute to a man whose signature sign-off — “We wish you peace, love and soul!” — became as familiar as family.

“Don Cornelius! It’s so shocking and stunning,” Aretha Franklin said in a statement. “A young, progressive brother set the pace and worldwide standard for young aspiring African-American men.”

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the basketball legend and chairman of Soul Train Holdings, recalled being glued to the television on Saturdays: “Soul Train taught the world to dance” and gave musicians and dancers “the ultimate platform to showcase their talents when no one else would.”

When Arash Shirazi came to the USA from Iran, he watched Soul Train to learn English and wound up going into show business as a booking agent. He tweeted his condolences, adding that the show “opened the door to R&B dance culture. … It shaped my musical tastes and added a visual element to a song.”

Actor Omar Epps thanked the man for “creating a platform which helped uplift me through my childhood,” and rapper MC Hammer wrote: “It meant more to me to perform on #SoulTrain than to win a Grammy … Loved U So Much Don.”

With his smooth, resonant baritone, Cornelius introduced hundreds of stars to the nation’s multicultural TV audience, including James Brown, Jerry Butler, Marvin Gaye, The O’Jays and Barry White. In the background were a colorful menagerie of partiers who influenced dance and fashion and opened a window onto black culture that had received scant media exposure.

“Back then, there was no targeted television and I just had the sense that television shouldn’t be that way,” Cornelius told USA TODAY in a rare interview in 2010, when the show was celebrated with a VH1 documentary. “The primary mission of the show was to provide TV exposure for people who would not get it otherwise. People who didn’t get invited to The Mike Douglas Show, or (Johnny) Carson. There was no ethnic television, just general-market television, which meant mostly white people.”

Soul Train’s role in pushing black culture into the mainstream cannot be underestimated, says Mark Anthony Neal, professor of black popular culture at Duke University.

“Motown had laid down the sonic groundwork, but Don Cornelius let you visualize it,” he says. “Black power was visible on Soul Train. It’s what led to the love affair between black and white culture, and why eventually you started seeing white musicians like Boz Scaggs on Don’s show. That show filled a gap.”

Read the full story here.

9749: Alcoholic Art Direction…?

2012-02-02T07:31:00.002-06:00

After your sixth sip, Stalin will look like Santa, and Hitler will look like the Easter Bunny...?

From Ads of the World.

9748: BHM 2012—Museum of Science + Industry.

2012-02-02T00:00:00.002-06:00

If the Museum of Science + Industry Chicago celebrates Black Creativity every year, does that demonstrate a lack of creativity?

9747: Microsoft’s Truth In Advertising.

2012-02-01T15:58:00.000-06:00

To politely bash Google, Microsoft is running the ad above featuring the headline, “Putting people first.” Advertising Age just reported Microsoft canned 200 in its marketing department, including Chief Creative Officer Gayle Troberman. Putting people first indeed.

9746: Denny’s Latest Comedy Killer.

2012-02-01T10:37:00.002-06:00

Advertising Age reported on Denny’s latest effort to woo Latinos with a campaign created in conjunction with comedy site Funny of Die. Based on the videos, this endeavor definitely falls into the “Die” category.

Denny’s Partners With Dog Whisperer and Funny or Die to Connect With Hispanics

Campaign Targets Restaurant’s Fastest-Growing Consumer Base

By Maureen Morrison

Though many would be surprised to hear Denny’s and Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan uttered in the same sentence, the two are teaming up for Denny’s first Hispanic branded-content effort.

The move is part of the chain’s initial branded-content effort aimed at Hispanics, and is its first work by new Hispanic agency Casanova Pendrill, which partnered with lead agency Gotham for the effort. Dubbed “Skillet Whisperer,” the video is a spoof on National Geographic Wild’s reality show “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.” On the show, Mr. Millan works with owners of aggressive dogs and teaches them how to display their dominance to calm the animals.

In “Skillet Whisperer,” which has English- and Spanish-language versions and was produced by comedy site Funny or Die, Denny’s limited-time-offer Sizzling Skillets take the place of dogs, and Mr. Millan is called upon to tame skillets that are described in a voice-over as “too aggressive to enjoy.” The Spanish version is on YouTube and the English one is on Funny or Die; both will be promoted through a social-media push on Denny’s and Mr. Millan’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Denny’s CMO Frances Allen said the campaign was intended to connect with Hispanics, Denny’s fastest-growing customer base. “We thought it was time to engage a little more with [the Hispanic] audience,” said Ms. Allen. “This year we’ll be making a concerted push.” The Hispanic campaign is part of Denny’s ongoing “America’s Diner Is Always Open” platform, introduced in January 2011. From January through October 2011, Denny’s spent $55.2 million in measured media; the chain spent about $71 million in 2010.

Bringing in Mr. Millan to do a spoof on the Dog Whisperer was the idea of Casanova Pendrill, which won Denny’s Hispanic account in September. In addition to seeking someone unexpected for the Denny’s brand, “we were looking for someone energetic and who would connect with English-speaking Latinos but also the Spanish-preferred Latinos,” said Ingrid Otero-Smart, the agency’s president-CEO. “He has a really great connection with our target.”

The two versions have separate casts because “we wanted to make sure it was authentic,” Ms. Allen said. Mr. Millan’s 13-year-old son is featured in the Spanish-language version.

Mr. Millan has done other sponsorships, including deals with Swiffer and Best Western, but this is his first restaurant sponsorship. Part of the appeal of this project was that Denny’s is a brand everyone recognizes, it ties in naturally with family and the script was humorous, he said. “People are already familiar with Denny’s,” he said. “My goal for this joke, in a way, is to create communication and to create engagement.”

Also part of “America’s Diner Is Always Open” was Denny’s first foray into branded-content territory, “Always Open,” a talk show that ran on IAC’s College Humor last year. Aimed at millennials, the show was written and produced by DumbDumb, a company founded by actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett with help from Interpublic’s Gotham.

The current push is Denny’s first work with Funny or Die on branded content. Chris Bruss, head of branded entertainment at Funny or Die, said that the video strikes a balance between content and advertising. It also isn’t too product-heavy or trying to mask the branding altogether.

“What is strong about this video is that the whole idea is based around the world of Denny’s,” Mr. Bruss said. “It takes place in a Denny’s, and it’s about a Denny’s product. There’s no pulling the wool over the audience’s eyes.”

Ms. Allen said that “branded content has done well for Denny’s. Our job is to entertain [consumers] in a way that’s relevant for the brand. … It’s important that we find new and interesting ways to connect.”

There are no immediate plans to make the spots into a series, but Mr. Millan said he’d be interested in the opportunity—as long as it’s something that carries on with new content so that “people don’t get bored.”

9745: When Stock Photo Models Attack.

2012-02-01T10:02:00.001-06:00

From The New York Times…

Model in Anti-Obesity Ad Criticizes the Campaign

By Patrick McGeehan

Another of the overweight models appearing in ads from New York City’s health department — one who did not have a limb edited off — criticized the campaign, saying that the ads will not have the desired effect.

After reading about the virtual amputation of the leg of another model, Beth Anne Sacks said she felt misled when she saw herself in one of the ads in a subway car. Not only did she not like being one of the “poster people for obesity,” but she also said the message was too negative to inspire overweight people to change their eating habits.

“This is so negative,” Ms. Sacks said in an interview. “If they think they’re going to reach overweight people with these ads, they’re not going to do it. I don’t think they would make someone go, ‘You’re right, I need to change.’”

Ms. Sacks, a 43-year-old actress and singer (see video below) who lives in Manhattan, said the health department was trying to frighten people into changing their habits, but “the ad of me doesn’t scare me.” She is shown climbing the stairs of a subway station, with containers of French fries arrayed in front of her, to warn of the dangers of growing portions of fast food and sugary drinks.

“I look at it and think ‘Oh, it’s just a big girl walking up the subway stairs,’” she said referring to one of three ads the health department is placing in the transit system. “None of those scare me,” she said, not even the one of Cleo Berry, an able-bodied actor whose right leg was made to appear partly amputated to represent the devastating effects of diabetes.

John Kelly, a spokesman for the health department, said, “Our smoking cessation ads have helped drive smoking in New York City down to historic lows, and our other public health campaigns have been essential to the progress we’ve made helping New Yorkers live longer and healthier lives.”

Unlike Mr. Berry, whose image was captured by a stock photo agency several years ago, Ms. Sacks knew she was posing for a city-sponsored campaign. She said that she answered an ad on Craigslist in mid-December that was placed by the health department’s ad agency. It was seeking an “overweight actress” for a photo shoot within the next two days and offering $250, she said.

The next day, she was taken to a subway station downtown and photographed climbing the steps — not her favorite activity. “I’ve never been a stair person,” she said.

She said she was pleasantly surprised when she was paid $300 at the end of the day because it helped pay her rent. But now, she said, she has some regrets. “The 300 has come and gone, and now I’m all over the subway system,” she said.

9744: Don Cornelius (1936-2012).

2012-02-01T09:23:00.001-06:00

From The Los Angeles Times…

‘Soul Train’ creator Don Cornelius dead in apparent suicide

“Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius was found dead at his Sherman Oaks on home Wednesday morning.

Law enforcement sources said police arrived at Cornelius' home around 4 a.m. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The sources said there was no sign of foul play, but the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.

In a 2010 interview with The Times, he said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about “Soul Train.”

“We’ve been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn’t be the ‘Soul Train’ dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project,” he said. “It’s going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show.”

According to a Times article, Cornelius’ “Soul Train” became the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world for 35 years.

Cornelius stopped hosting the show in 1993, and “Soul Train” ceased production in 2006.

9743: BHM 2012—AT&T.

2012-02-01T08:14:00.000-06:00

AT&T reruns its 28 Days promotion for Black History Month. Um, somebody call AT&T and tell them there are 29 days in February 2012.

9742: Is TBWA Director Of Talent Biased?

2012-02-01T01:18:00.003-06:00

Admittedly did not closely read the lengthy Advertising Age ageism story, and missed the following gem:

“The job market is pretty rotten,” said Nancee Martin, director-talent at Omnicom Group’s TBWA Worldwide. “Opportunities are limited. Agencies aren’t doing the same kind of hiring they were five years ago, and there’s no denying that those closer to 55 are going to have a harder time,” she said, particularly creatives vs. those in sales or strategic planning.

Ms. Martin then spoke bluntly. “For a creative, pardon my French, but good fucking luck. There’s a commonly held conception that to be a creative, you need to know what’s hot, what music is cool, what website is all the rage—and [with age] you become less aware of those things by and large.”

Wow. That is pure, unadulterated, blatant ignorance straight from the mouth of an executive charged with hiring talent on Madison Avenue. Plus, the moron misused conception for perception. What’s next? Blacks aren’t smart enough to handle the intellectual challenges of life in an advertising agency? Latinos are too lazy to work alongside the privileged White people? Asians can’t… oh, wait a minute. Those Asian folks are really good with computers—and most of them are awesome designers. Somebody call Omnicom Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany R. Warren pronto. Or Cyrus Mehri. It sounds like Martin openly and literally admitted that older candidates are fucked when applying at TBWA. As elder adman Dan Wieden might say, “Now that’s fucked up.”

9741: BHM 2012—Colgate.

2012-02-01T00:09:00.002-06:00

Smile! Colgate-Palmolive presents the annual contribution to UNCF.

9740: Tecate Mimics General Motors…?

2012-01-31T23:23:00.003-06:00

Advertising Age reported Heineken’s Tecate consolidated its U.S. advertising account with an agency in Mexico. ¡Ay Caramba! Last week, General Motors consolidated its $3 billion media and planning duties with a U.K. firm. Now Tecate has pulled a similar move. It’s outrageous! Scandalous! Oh, wait a minute. Tecate yanked its billings from a faux Latino shop backed by a White agency in New York City? Um, never mind.

Tecate Consolidates U.S. Advertising With Mexican Agency

Cost-Cutting Move Follows Other Global Consolidation Efforts

By E.J. Schultz

In a cost-cutting move, Heineken’s Tecate beer brand is moving U.S. advertising from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners’ U.S. Hispanic unit Ramona to its longtime Mexican agency, Olabuenaga Chemistri, the brewer told Ad Age.

The consolidation means all Tecate and Tecate Light U.S. advertising—including digital—will be run from south of the border, an unusual arrangement for a brand sold in the U.S. Tecate, a Mexican import, was already an oddity among advertisers for focusing its entire U.S. account on the Hispanic market, particularly Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans. However, the brand lately had been testing a limited number of English-language ads.

It is the loss of a key account or Ramona. The agency did not return a call for comment this afternoon. Olabuenaga Chemistri, on the other hand, gains its first foothold in the U.S. market. The agency, based in Mexico City, has experience with several high-profile accounts, including work in Mexico for Bacardi and General Motors, as well as Mexican milk brand Leche Lala.

While Heineken’s push for global synergies drove the move, Tecate considered the creative consequences, said Tecate VP-Marketing Felix Palau. “If we found out there was any risk in switching to a single creative approach coming from Mexico, we [were] not going to conduct [the] move,” Mr. Palau said. “But that was not the case.”

Indeed, Heineken reviewed new proposals from both Olabuenaga Chemistri and Ramona before making the switch, he said. Under the new arrangement, the same Spanish-language ads will air in Mexico and the U.S. But Olabuenaga Chemistri will also create English language ads to air in several U.S. markets in the Southwest.

Tecate is the fourth-largest U.S. import behind Corona Extra, Heineken and Modelo Especial, according to 2010 rankings from Beer Marketer’s Insights, the latest available. But the brand has been slipping, with grocery-store sales down 8.38% in the year ending Dec. 25, according to SymphonyIRI, which excludes Walmart Stores and liquor stores. Heineken USA spent $17 million in measured media on Tecate and Tecate Light in the U.S. in 2010, according to Kantar Media.

Ramona has had Tecate since 2007, when it was called Adrenalina and partly owned by MDC Partners. The agency was formed specifically for the Tecate pitch and all three partners at the time had worked with Eduardo Casas, the then-Heineken USA executive leading the review. In 2010, the agency was absorbed by MDC Partners sibling Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners following the departure of the last of Adrenalina’s three founders, Manuel Wernicky. Adrenalina was renamed Ramona in 2010 when Sandra Alfaro, a management partner and director of account management at Vidal Partnership, was hired as general manager.

Under Ramona, Tecate last year sought to expand from its traditional base of new U.S. immigrants to more acculturated Hispanics by adding humor to its ads.

Going forward, Tecate will keep its “con caracter” tagline, which positions it as the drink for men “with character,” Mr. Palau said. But ads will be tweaked to ensure they work in Mexico and the U.S. For instance, U.S. ads now tend to overtly play up Hispanic notions of character that Mr. Palau said even border on U.S. stereotypes of Hispanic men. “This new campaign and this new creative approach doesn’t necessarily talk about the difference between a Hispanic manifestation of character and a more universal manifestation of character. Now we are talking to a broader base of Hispanics [so] it’s less relevant to say ‘I’m Hispanic.’ The fact that Tecate is a Mexican beer and they will see Hispanic talent in the ads, that’s more than enough.”
The agency switch follows other maneuvers by Amsterdam-based Heineken to seek synergies. In November, the brewer launched a review to consolidate its global media planning and buying under one shop, pitting roster shops Starcom MediaVest of Publicis Groupe and WPP’s Mindshare against each other. Heineken has also streamlined procurement. And last year it appointed independent shop Wieden & Kennedy as global creative agency for its flagship Heineken brand.

Olabuenaga Chemistri is co-owned by Ana Maria Olabuenaga and Jorge Cuchi, who is the chief creative officer. The agency has a partnership with Publicis Groupe that gives it access to some of the company’s resources, including agencies such as Leo Burnett Hispanic shop Lapiz, which is based in Chicago. Olabuenaga Chemistri is said to be considering hiring people from Ramona to help service the account, and might keep some presence in New York.

9739: Old Advice From TBWA.

2012-01-31T15:13:00.001-06:00

As a companion piece to its ageism story, Advertising Age also published ~~patronizing~~ helpful advice from TBWA Worldwide Director of Talent Nancee Martin titled, “Six Tips for Older Job Hunters.” The keen instructions stressed things like “include your cell number in all communications.” Gee, wonder how many new hires at TBWA would fall into the category of “older” employees.

9738: Jim Edwards Is Alive.

2012-01-31T12:49:00.000-06:00

MultiCultClassics had wondered whatever happened to Jim Edwards, last seen posting advertising columns for BNET. Well, Edwards resurfaced last November as a senior editor for Business Insider. Check out Edwards’ perspective on the Advertising Age ageism story—appearing alongside a banner for new bareMinerals® Active Cell Renewal Night Serum to make you look younger.

9737: Ida Chacon Says Adios To P&G.

2012-01-31T07:35:00.002-06:00

From Advertising Age…

P&G Multicultural Exec Ida Chacon Joins Latinum

As VP-Marketing at Hispanic Business Network, She’ll Help Marketers Grow in Latino Market

By Laurel Wentz

A well-known Procter & Gamble multicultural executive, Ida Chacon, is joining the Latinum Network in the newly created role of VP-marketing and commercial solutions. Ms. Chacon was P&G’s multicultural marketing capabilities manager, working with the marketer to develop its ethnic strategy, manage relationships with U.S. Hispanic agencies, and consult on Hispanic efforts for individual brands.

Latinum is a business network that helps marketing executives understand and take advantage of the U.S. Hispanic market through research, analysis and collaboration. About 85 companies, including P&G, have joined so far.

“Ida will be responsible for three things,” said David Wellisch, Latinum’s founder. “We generate a lot of insights and strategies, and then work individually with our [member] companies to make sure they get incremental ROI. That’s not that different from what she was doing at P&G.”

Ms. Chacon will also help facilitate member companies’ sharing best practices, Mr. Wellisch said. In addition, she’ll assist companies in finding the right partners for commercial collaborations, in which two marketers team up on an initiative in order to “decrease costs and increase ROI,” he said.

Ms. Chacon spent 13 years at Procter & Gamble, the biggest U.S. Hispanic advertiser. The marketer used to have a separate U.S. Hispanic business unit, based in Puerto Rico, but made a major shift a few years ago to disband the unit and put more of the responsibility for Hispanic marketing at the individual brand level, with advice and guidance from a Center of Expertise.

Because P&G invests so much money in so many brands in the U.S. Hispanic market, its multicultural executives are highly regarded. Graciela Eleta, who headed P&G’s U.S. Hispanic efforts for many years and left the company in 2007, was snapped up by Univision Communications. Ms. Eleta has been Univision’s SVP-brand solutions for four years, helping the Spanish-language media group to attract more advertisers to the U.S. Hispanic market.

P&G’s multicultural efforts are led by Alexandra “Alita” Vegas, director of multicultural business development for North America since December 2009. Ms. Vegas joined P&G in her native Venezuela in 1994. Before taking the U.S. Hispanic role two years ago, she was managing director-hair care in Greater China.

9736: Tuesday With Taraji P. Henson.

2012-01-31T00:17:00.002-06:00

9735: Ovaltine Campaign Comes Up Short.

2012-01-30T19:24:00.002-06:00

Not sure what Y&R in Vietnam was thinking with this campaign—especially since 5’5” is the average height for Vietnamese men.

From Ads of the World.

9734: Oh, Man! Draftfcb Is Fucked.

2012-01-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

Advertising Age reported Miller Lite is tapping Saatchi & Saatchi to “assist” Draftfcb on a new campaign. Man up, Draftfcb!

Miller Lite Looks Beyond DraftFCB

Saatchi & Saatchi Will Work Alongside Draft on MillerCoors Brand

By E.J. Schultz

MillerCoors is bringing in roster agency Saatchi & Saatchi to assist DraftFCB on a new campaign for the struggling Miller Lite brand, Ad Age has learned. DraftFCB has been the brand’s lead creative agency since 2009.

The move is a boost for Saatchi, which has other MillerCoors brands including Keystone, Miller High Life and MGD 64, now known as Miller 64. For DraftFCB, the roster expansion is another setback following a tough 2011 in which it lost one of its largest global accounts, SC Johnson, after nearly 58 years. On the positive side, the decision secures DraftFCB’s place on Miller Lite’s roster through the summer, squashing speculation that it was in danger of losing the account. DraftFCB remains the lead agency for Coors Light, which is enjoying a solid run that recently propelled it past Budweiser as the nation’s second best-selling beer. Lite ranks No. 4.

Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, and DraftFCB, Chicago, are working separately on different ads that will be part of the same Miller Lite campaign expected to debut in the spring. The new ads are expected to replace DraftFCB’s “Man Up” campaign that mocks men who choose other brands. The ads have not been finalized, but have been through consumer testing and will be shown in March to MillerCoors distributors at the brewer’s annual spring convention, the brewer said.

“We are excited about the consumer reaction to new Miller Lite creative from both DraftFCB and Saatchi, and they are in the process of producing complimentary work from both agencies that we will first share with our distributor system in March,” MillerCoors spokesman Pete Marino told Ad Age. “We said we would leave no stone unturned to develop the best Miller Lite creative. We broadened the tent a bit and offered Saatchi, who is already a roster agency, a chance to participate in this Miller Lite creative assignment.”

A DraftFCB spokesman said: “Our ongoing commitment to MillerCoors couldn’t be stronger, and we’re happy to have helped make Coors Light the No. 2 beer in the USA. We’re also really proud of our latest work for Miller Lite and eager to show it at the upcoming convention in March.”

Saatchi declined comment, referring calls to MillerCoors.

Like most big beer brands, Miller Lite has struggled in the face of less spending by blue-collar drinkers and more competition from spirits and smaller craft beers. Lite’s drop has been pronounced and particularly concerning for MillerCoors, which has made reversing the slide a top priority. Shipments fell by 4.3% in 2011, while market share dropped from 7.4% to 7.2%, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights.

The brewer did not reveal specifics of the new campaign. But Miller Lite is expected to continue to seek differentiation from other light beers by pushing a message that emphasizes quality taste.

9733: Digital Is Cool; Ad Age, Not So Much.

2012-01-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

This banner hyping Advertising Age’s upcoming digital issue must be the handiwork of a non-digital hack.

9732: Is Ageism Getting Old?

2012-01-30T15:28:00.002-06:00

Advertising Age published a lengthy piece titled, “Aging in Adland: The Gray-Hair Phobia That’s Hindering Older Execs.” The piece spotlights the trials and tribulations of 56-year-old adman Dave Shea, essentially hinting at the ageism rampant on Madison Avenue. It’s an old story that increasingly gains media attention with the graying of Mad Men. And of course, these tales inspire comment threads featuring lots of anger and frustration.

Can’t help but think Shea is hurting his cause by posing with a copy of Ogilvy On Advertising, surrounded by classic campaign paraphernalia. He may as well have been clutching James Webb Young’s How To Become An Advertising Man while clacking away on a Corona Sterling typewriter and humming jingle concepts.

Back in 2008, MultiCultClassics presented a series titled, “Until The Boomers Die.” Ironically, the effort was short-lived, with only two entries here and here. Yet the goal was to examine the generational-rooted issues that are snowballing in an industry purporting to be on the cutting edge of culture. Like it or not, Madison Avenue isn’t just a Boy’s Club—it’s a Young Boy’s Club. Hell, add “White” to the list of adjectives too.

One stereotypical comment left at the Ad Age story reads, “…[Ageism] is code for discrimination. People who shudder at sexism or racism are often quite comfortable with ageism. Why?”

Well, mostly because the overwhelming majority of alleged ageism victims comprise the primary source of our industry’s sexism and racism—as well as the full spectrum of isms that have stifled progress for several decades. The proverbial shoe is on the other foot, turnabout is fair play, what goes around comes around, etc. Although the new casualties prefer to label it reverse discrimination.

Cultural cluelessness can lead to flawed reasoning and peculiar terminology.

9731: You Say Potato, I Say Bullshit.

2012-01-30T00:09:00.001-06:00

Mickey D’s spent a ton of money hyping its suppliers via documentary-style videos. But how did “the best potatoes in the world” get approved by the McLegal Department?

9730: Robitussin Monkeying Around.

2012-01-29T20:36:00.003-06:00

If PETA and Anjelica Huston are going after CareerBuilder for the advertiser’s use of live chimps, what would they think about Robitussin depicting an orangutan selling drugs? Oh, wait a minute, PETA already weighed in on the matter.

9729: Depend On Diversity.

2012-01-29T20:04:00.003-06:00

The only time that “Color is in” and “White is out” in the advertising industry is when discussing adult incontinence underwear.

9728: Herman Cain Endorses Fellow Adulterer.

2012-01-29T11:47:00.002-06:00

Hey, look! Herman Cain is back and endorsing Newt Gingrich.

“I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich,” declared Cain. “There are several reasons as to why I have reached this public decision. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that I know Speaker Gingrich is a patriot, Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas.”

Plus, Cain and Gingrich share a lot of the same positions on women and marriage.

9727: The Latest Oily BP Spot.

2012-01-29T11:33:00.006-06:00

Guess this tourism commercial serves as an official apology from BP.

Look! The birdies are no longer soaked in oil!

9726: King-Sized Overconsumption.

2012-01-28T22:10:00.002-06:00

There’s something disturbing about this Burger King commercial touting the new thick-cut fries—especially the shot of the dude choking down a handful. Talk about promoting gluttony fit for a king.

9725: Sundancing With Zoe Saldana.

2012-01-28T16:11:00.001-06:00

9724: Greenpeace Is Cold.

2012-01-28T15:21:00.003-06:00

Leave it to Greenpeace to present a message on climate change with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But did anyone else initially think the polar bears might have suffered death from drinking too much Coca-Cola?

From Ads of the World.

9723: Just For Bearded Babies.

2012-01-28T00:14:00.001-06:00

Just For Men tries to be creative with its advertising. Fails.

9722: Chicken McBites McSucks.

2012-01-28T00:10:00.002-06:00

This Mickey D’s Chicken McBites commercial demonstrates why multicultural advertising agencies should avoid doing vignette-style spots. It’s like, why are all the Asian Americans getting more excited over fried chicken than, say, African Americans?

9721: Just Say Noooooooooooooooo!

2012-01-27T21:17:00.004-06:00

Was this annoying JCPenney commercial produced by ex-AOR Saatchi & Saatchi before the retailer and agency broke up, or is it the work of a new partnership? Regardless of the creator, the spot—like most of JCPenney’s merchandise—totally sucks.

9720: The Patriots Of Madison Avenue.

2012-01-27T17:02:00.003-06:00

A number of advertising sources—including MultiCultClassics—have noted the outrageousness of General Motors’ decision to consolidate its $3 billion media and planning duties with U.K.-based Carat. The gripes are basically the same; i.e., how dare the automaker that needed a federal bailout to stay in business now take its business overseas? The added pro-American sentiment, however, sounds slightly silly coming from Madison Avenue practitioners.

For starters, many U.S. agencies are currently tied to holding companies based in Europe and abroad. Why, Dentsu of Japan owns the Agency of the Year. And JWT fancies itself a true international agency—at least when producing propaganda on its commitment to diversity. Admakers love to stage commercial shoots in foreign lands under the guise of saving clients production dollars. Of course, all of these shops woo potential new accounts with real and imagined global capabilities. (On an ironic side note, one of the few networks headquartered in this country, IPG, reportedly didn’t pay taxes from 2008 through 2010.)

Oh, and when a U.S. agency is seeking new creative or organizational leadership, the top candidates are Brits with strong English accents and weak American experience.

9719: The Colonel Meets Crocodile Dundee.

2012-01-27T10:25:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Australia Day, prompting this KFC ad from the Land Down Under. Not familiar with Australian culture—outside of Crocodile Dundee references—so it’s tough to comment on the image here. Then again, there are unintentional ties for Aussies who celebrate Invasion Day, as the Kentucky-rooted fast feeder tries to replace Vegemite sandwiches.

From Ads of the World.

9718: KFC Stamp-Lickin’ Good.

2012-01-27T00:17:00.001-06:00

KFC is running an actual promotion to persuade the U.S. Postal Service to create a commemorative stamp for Colonel Sanders. Wow. Maybe the fast feeder should petition the Social Security Administration to put the old man’s face on food stamps.

9717: Racy Rosario Dawson.

2012-01-26T10:17:00.004-06:00

9716: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 17.

2012-01-26T10:13:00.003-06:00

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

Advertising Age honored mcgarrybowen as Agency of the Year, so MultiCultClassics decided to jump on the bandwagon too.

The shop has undeniably enjoyed great success in recent years, and is often recognized for its old-school ways. Well, the throwback style goes beyond client services and rainmaking. The agency website boasts having a diverse staff—alongside a company portrait debunking the claim. And glancing at the people section reveals mostly White people in charge. But the biggest example of maintaining Mad Men traditions is Chief Digital Officer John McGarry III, who happens to be the son of CEO John P. McGarry, Jr. Congratulations to the McGarry clan for proudly perpetuating the industry’s storied White male dominance and nepotism.

C’MON WHITE MEN!

9715: Big, Fat Liars.

2012-01-25T10:11:00.004-06:00

From The New York Times…

Blame Photoshop, Not Diabetes, for This Amputation

By Patrick McGeehan

New York City’s health watchdogs warn that drinking too much sugary soda could cost you a leg. But you also might lose a limb if you appear in one of their ads.

A blunt new poster from the Bloomberg administration shows an overweight man on a stool, his right leg missing below the knee. A pair of crutches leans against a wall beside him. The advertisement, being placed throughout the subway system, warns that ever-growing portions of fast food and sodas could cause diabetes, which could lead to amputations.

But it turns out that the person shown in the advertisement did not need crutches because his legs were intact. The health department confirmed on Tuesday that its advertising agency had removed the lower half of the man’s leg from the picture to make its point: the headline over the image reads “Portions have grown. So has Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to amputations.”

When city officials announced the campaign on Jan. 9, they did not let on that the man shown — whose photo came from a company that supplies stock images to advertising firms and others — was not an amputee and may not have had diabetes. The city did not identify the man, and efforts to reach the agency that supplied the photo were unsuccessful. The photographer who took the picture, Morten Smidt, said he did not know the man’s name.

Mr. Smidt said on Tuesday that he had not seen the advertisement. In response to a description of it, he said, “Well, it is an illustration now, clearly not the picture I did.”

In a news release about the campaign, the health department said that in 2006, nearly 3,000 New Yorkers with diabetes were hospitalized for amputations. The advertisements are the latest in a series of attention-grabbing messages about the dangers of smoking, drinking and consuming too many sweets and fatty foods. Other advertisements that the health department sponsored featured a grizzled smoker who talked through a voice box and a woman named “Marie” from the Bronx who showed off what appeared to be fingers whose tips had been lost to smoking.

City officials said those advertisements were testimonials that showed real people and real consequences. But they said that doing so was not always feasible. “Sometimes we use individuals who are suffering from the particular disease; other times we have to use actors,” said John Kelly, a health department spokesman. “We might stop using actors in our ads if the food industry stops using actors in theirs.”

The American Beverage Association, which opposes the city’s efforts against sodas and fast food, called the advertisement overwrought. “This is another example of the ‘What can we get away with?’ approach that shapes these taxpayer-funded ad campaigns,” Chris Gindlesperger, the association’s director of communications, said in a statement.

Bob Garfield, a commentator for Advertising Age and National Public Radio, said that the misrepresentation “was lazy or cheap or silly, but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.” Still, he said, “Why people lie when there’s no penalty for telling the truth is an absolute mystery to me.”

9714: It’s The Sleaziest Cheesiest.

2012-01-25T00:02:00.003-06:00

Sociological Images spotlighted this anti-obesity campaign that attacks cheese and people with cottage cheese thighs. It’s another ineffective example of shaming the victim versus naming the villain.

Meanwhile, the media weight behind this effort likely appears anorexic when compared to pro-cheese propaganda.

9713: GM Moves From Bailout To Bullshit.

2012-01-24T17:38:00.002-06:00

Advertising Age reported on an event that has ties to the recent MultiCultClassics rant spotlighting the Chevrolet Route 66 crowdsourcing contest. One gripe about the Chevy promotion involved the hypocrisy of a corporation taking advantage of desperate people in a rough economy—despite having begged for a federal bailout to remain in business. Now General Motors announced consolidating its $3 billion media and planning duties with a firm based in the U.K. The U.S. saves GM’s ass from financial ruin, and the company responds by taking its business overseas. Brilliant. It seems like the automaker spends more time producing lies than lemons.

Ewanick on GM Media Review: ‘Should Have Done This Many Years Ago’

Quality as Well as Efficiency Drove Decision

By Stephen Williams

General Motors’ Joel Ewanick insists that it wasn’t only money but quality that drove his decision to place GM’s $3 billion global media-buying and -planning account with Aegis’ Carat agency.

“We scrutinized the presentations” during the review process, which began months ago, said Mr. Ewanick, GM’s global chief marketing officer. “I really want to compliment Carat . I went back and forth on this in the past nine weeks. At the end of the day, it was definitely about finding efficiencies, but at the same time we wanted to raise the quality.

“We saw ways to grow with Carat , and we’re willing to establish a new culture,” Mr. Ewanick said. “We probably should have done this many years ago, and that became painfully clear during the presentations.” The consolidation reduces the number to one from 50. Still, he said, “it’s going to take a couple of years for this to seed in.”

The other shoe in the agency review, which formally began last August and involved Chevrolet creative globally, will not drop for several weeks, Mr. Ewanick said. “The creative side is even more complicated than the media,” he said. As of now, Goodby Silverstein & Partners handles North American creative duties for Chevrolet.

Mr. Ewanick said his attention for the immediate future is focused on ad buys for the Super Bowl. He said that this past Sunday he decided to air a 30-second version of a contest-winning, consumer-generated Camaro commercial called “Happy Grads.” It ran during that night’s NFC Championship game on Fox.

The company plans five spots for next week’s game. “It’s almost like running a political campaign,” Mr. Ewanick said.

9712: Women & Washers.

2012-01-24T00:20:00.000-06:00

If this Bosch ad had been produced for the U.S., would the Darwinian chart have included slaves and Black maids?

From Sociological Images

9711: McTweets Bashtags.

2012-01-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

McDonald’s #McDStories Twitter marketing effort goes awry

By Tiffany Hsu

McDonald’s latest marketing campaign was supposed to deliver social media praise via the hashtag #McDStories. Instead, in a classic example of the risks of Twitter-based advertising, tweeters with a much snarkier intent commandeered the effort.

The campaign started out as a wholesome, feel-good exercise. There were two hashtags, #McDStories and #meetthefarmers, that launched Thursday and were intended to highlight the fast-food giant’s commitment to fresh produce and meats.

Initially, tweets came in warm and fuzzy, like this one fromMcDonald’s itself: “When u make something w/ pride, people can taste it,” – McD potato supplier #McDStories.”

But then more Twitter users got wind of the campaign and began offering their own, usually backhanded interpretations.

To wit: “I only eatMcDonald’swhen I am ill because it makes me feel sick anyway. #McDStories,” tweeted Parker Stafford through the knightps handle.

Another user, tweeting as nelo_taylor, wrote: “These #McDStories never get old, kinda like a box of McDonald’s 10 piece Chicken McNuggets left in the sun for a week.”

Within two hours, McDonalds pulled #McDStories, saying that the effort “did not go as planned.” The #meetthefarmers hashtag, which escaped the Twitter thrashing and instead drew mostly positive tweets, remained.

“As Twitter continues to evolve its platform and engagement opportunities, we’re learning from our experiences,” Rick Wion, McDonald’s social media director, said in a statement today.

9710: Chevrolet Route 66 Is A Bad Trip.

2012-01-23T00:51:00.002-06:00

Chevrolet Route 66 is one of those crowdsourcing promotions whereby people submit commercial concepts for prizes and the chance to see their big idea play during the Super Bowl. The tired formula actually ran out of gas years ago, yet lazy advertisers continue to ride with it annually.

The Chevy contest is obscene for a host of reasons.

First, the car company opened the field to everyone, including independent directors and filmmakers. This allowed D- and F-level production houses to essentially expel ~~fecal matter~~ spec work.

Second, Chevy presented cash prizes starting at $1,000 and topping at $25,000. Um, the average cost to create a television spot is over $300,000. It’s a safe bet that the typical Chevy commercial shoot spends more than $1,000 just for craft services.

Third, while the winning commercial is OK, does anyone believe Chevy’s lead advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, couldn’t come up with something much, much better?

Finally, it’s appalling that Chevy would take advantage of the desperation fueled by a lousy economy—especially when the automaker needed a federal bailout to avoid complete financial collapse.

9709: The 3% Conference Is 100% Silly.

2012-01-23T00:01:00.003-06:00

The 3% Conference is out to address the dearth of female creative directors in the advertising industry. While the event doesn’t yet have a time, place or participants, the initial hype includes:

Women control 80% of consumer spending, yet don’t feel advertisers understand them. Could it be because only 3% of advertising creative directors are women?

The official website also features a contrived and clichéd video that, if produced by female creative directors, might explain why there are so few of them. But seriously, the conference appears to be an attempt to stage a live rehash of Tiffany Rolfe’s perspective published in Advertising Age last year. MultiCultClassics has repeatedly weighed in on the topic. Besides, if women comprise 3 percent of the creative directors, what do the minority figures look like? Anybody interested in a Less-Than-1% Conference?

9708: More Walgreens News And Comedy.

2012-01-22T10:57:00.000-06:00

As MultiCultClassics predicted, the Walgreens saga is producing comedy already. While Adweek reported the creative portion of the account is up for grabs, Advertising Age claims the drugstore chain is simply fishing for more ideas. According to Ad Age, “It’s possible that the marketer might retain [incumbent agency] Downtown Partners and be looking for additional creative help. The review does not include multicultural or media services, or digital-media planning or buying.” Of course the multicultural players aren’t included in the review. It’s also a safe bet that the minorities will not be allowed to participate in the competition. And once a White agency has been selected, look for the owning network to pitch its resident colored agencies to handle the multicultural duties—probably without a formal review. BTW, the Walgreens website boasts a deep commitment to diversity.

9707: Carla Unplugged.

2012-01-22T02:06:00.005-06:00

The only prominent Black character on AMC series Mad Men—Carla the housekeeper—was portrayed by Deborah Lacey. Here’s a pictorial peek at the actress.

9706: Walgreens Review Is Rx For Comedy.

2012-01-22T00:31:00.002-06:00

Adweek reported the creative portion of the Walgreens account is going into review. Can’t help but believe the upcoming competition will provide comedy galore. For starters, the incumbent agency, Downtown Partners, is an Omnicom unit. And everyone knows Omnicom is masterful at keeping unhappy clients in the network by serving up sister agencies as replacements. Second, Walgreens’ digital agency is Publicis Groupe’s Digitas, which recently “won” the Sprint account via old-fashioned cronyism. It all sounds like a prescription for Corporate Cultural Collusion.

Walgreens Reviews Creative Business

Annual media spend approaches $200 million

By Andrew McMains

Add Walgreens to the list of restless retailers.

The drugstore chain, which has more than 8,200 locations, has contacted agencies about its creative business via a request for information that’s due back next week.

The document asks agencies about their experience in retail, healthcare and with Fortune 500 companies. The RFI also identifies potential conflicts, listing Walmart, Target, CVS, Rite Aid and Amazon as direct competitors.

Walgreens spent more than $192 million in media in 2010 and about $164 million in the first 10 months of 2011, according to Nielsen. Those figures don’t include online spending.

The chain’s lead creative agency is Downtown Partners in Chicago, a unit of Omnicom Group. Publicis Groupe’s Digitas handles digital creative efforts. Calls to each agency and Walgreens were not immediately returned.

Not in play, according to the RFI, are media planning and buying (both traditional and digital), search engine marketing/optimization and multicultural efforts.

Other retailers who have reviewed or shifted creative business in the past three months include Radio Shack, JCPenney, Staples and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Retail, of course, is among the business sectors hardest hit by the economic downturn, so the restlessness is understandable. As consumer confidence (and buying power) wanes, so do sales at many retailers. What’s more, many stores offer the same merchandise, which puts the onus on marketing to develop brand distinctions beyond the price points.

Last year, Walgreens developed its first national campaign for its namesake line of health and wellness products. The effort included TV spots, online videos, Web banner ads and blogging.

Walgreens posted a 6 percent increase in sales in 2011 to $73.1 billion. In December alone, sales grew nearly 3 percent to $6.98 billion, according to the Deerfield, Ill.-based company.

9705: Hospital Branding Ad Is Sick.

2012-01-21T21:54:00.000-06:00

This scenario is overly staged—and Dad looks like he’s about to seriously beat his daughter. Plus, if Dad’s flipping over his kid’s phone bills, how will he react to hospital bills from Children’s of Alabama?

From Ads of the World.

9704: Miami Ad School Degree = 7-Eleven Job.

2012-01-21T21:44:00.003-06:00

This campaign is another example of Miami Ad School students receiving poor guidance from instructors. It’s bad enough that the students think glorifying the client’s logo is a big idea. But to do so while promoting food items in a thoroughly unappetizing way is, well, nauseating.

From Ads of the World.

9703: Etta James (1938-2012).

2012-01-21T14:46:00.000-06:00

From The New York Times…

Etta James Dies at 73; Voice Behind ‘At Last’

By Peter Keepnews

Etta James, whose powerful, versatile and emotionally direct voice could enliven the raunchiest blues as well as the subtlest love songs, most indelibly in her signature hit, “At Last,” died on Friday morning in Riverside, Calif. She was 73.

Her manager, Lupe De Leon, said that the cause was complications of leukemia. Ms. James, who died at Riverside Community Hospital, had been undergoing treatment for some time for a number of conditions, including leukemia and dementia. She also lived in Riverside.

Ms. James was not easy to pigeonhole. She is most often referred to as a rhythm and blues singer, and that is how she made her name in the 1950s with records like “Good Rockin’ Daddy.” She is in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.

She was also comfortable, and convincing, singing pop standards, as she did in 1961 with “At Last,” which was written in 1941 and originally recorded by Glenn Miller’s orchestra. And among her four Grammy Awards (including a lifetime-achievement honor in 2003) was one for best jazz vocal performance, which she won in 1995 for the album “Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday.”

Regardless of how she was categorized, she was admired. Expressing a common sentiment, Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in 1990 that she had “one of the great voices in American popular music, with a huge range, a multiplicity of tones and vast reserves of volume.”

For all her accomplishments, Ms. James had an up-and-down career, partly because of changing audience tastes but largely because of drug problems. She developed a heroin habit in the 1960s; after she overcame it in the 1970s, she began using cocaine. She candidly described her struggles with addiction and her many trips to rehab in her autobiography, “Rage to Survive,” written with David Ritz (1995).

Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 1938. Her mother, Dorothy Hawkins, was 14 at the time; her father was long gone, and Ms. James never knew for sure who he was, although she recalled her mother telling her that he was the celebrated pool player Rudolf Wanderone, better known as Minnesota Fats. She was reared by foster parents and moved to San Francisco with her mother when she was 12.

She began singing at the St. Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles at 5 and turned to secular music as a teenager, forming a vocal group with two friends. She was 15 when she made her first record, “Roll With Me Henry,” which set her own lyrics to the tune of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ recent hit “Work With Me Annie.” When some disc jockeys complained that the title was too suggestive, it was changed to “The Wallflower,” although the record itself was not.

“The Wallflower” rose to No. 2 on the rhythm-and-blues charts in 1954. As was often the case in those days with records by black performers, a toned-down version was soon recorded by a white singer and found a wider audience: Georgia Gibbs’s version, with the title and lyric changed to “Dance With Me, Henry,” was a No. 1 pop hit in 1955. (Its success was not entirely bad news for Ms. James. She shared the songwriting royalties with Mr. Ballard and the bandleader and talent scout Johnny Otis, who had arranged for her recording session. Mr. Otis died on Tuesday.)

In 1960 Ms. James was signed by Chess Records, the Chicago label that was home to Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and other leading lights of black music. She quickly had a string of hits, including “All I Could Do Was Cry,” “Trust in Me” and “At Last,” which established her as Chess’s first major female star.

She remained with Chess well into the 1970s, reappearing on the charts after a long absence in 1967 with the funky and high-spirited “Tell Mama.” In the late ’70s and early ’80s she was an opening act for the Rolling Stones.

After decades of touring, recording for various labels and drifting in and out of the public eye, Ms. James found herself in the news in 2009 after Beyoncé Knowles recorded a version of “At Last” closely modeled on hers. (Ms. Knowles played Ms. James in the 2008 movie “Cadillac Records,” a fictionalized account of the rise and fall of Chess.) Ms. Knowles also performed “At Last” at an inaugural ball for President Obama in Washington.

When the movie was released, Ms. James had kind words for Ms. Knowles’s portrayal. But in February 2009, referring specifically to the Washington performance, she told an audience, “I can’t stand Beyoncé,” and threatened to “whip” the younger singer for doing “At Last.” She later said she had been joking, but she did add that she wished she had been invited to sing the song herself for the new president.

Ms. James’s survivors include her husband of 42 years, Artis Mills; two sons, Donto and Sametto James; and four grandchildren.

Though her life had its share of troubles to the end — her husband and sons were locked in a long-running battle over control of her estate, which was resolved in her husband’s favor only weeks before her death — Ms. James said she wanted her music to transcend unhappiness rather than reflect it.

“A lot of people think the blues is depressing,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 1992, “but that’s not the blues I’m singing. When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life. People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”

9702: Black Bankruptcy Bias…?

2012-01-21T14:45:00.002-06:00

From The New York Times…

Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests

By Tara Siegel Bernard

Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to wind up in the more onerous and costly form of consumer bankruptcy as they try to dig out from their debts, a new study has found.

The disparity persisted even when the researchers adjusted for income, homeownership, assets and education. The evidence suggested that lawyers were disproportionately steering blacks into a process that was not as good for them financially, in part because of biases, whether conscious or unconscious.

The vast majority of debtors file under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, which typically allows them to erase most debts in a matter of months. It tends to have a higher success rate and is less expensive than the alternative, Chapter 13, which requires debtors to dedicate their disposable income to paying back their debts for several years.

The study of racial differences in bankruptcy filings was written by Robert M. Lawless, a bankruptcy expert and law professor, and Dov Cohen, a psychology professor, both with the University of Illinois; and Jean Braucher, a law professor at the University of Arizona.

A survey conducted as part of their research found that bankruptcy lawyers were much more likely to steer black debtors into a Chapter 13 than white filers even when they had identical financial situations. The lawyers, the survey found, were also more likely to view blacks as having “good values” when they expressed a preference for Chapter 13.

“Unfortunately I’m not surprised with these results,” said Neil Ellington, executive vice president of Consumer Education Services, a credit counseling agency in Raleigh, N.C. “The same underlying issues that created the problem in mortgage lending, with minorities paying higher interest rates than their white counterparts having the same loan qualifications, are present in all financial fields.”

The findings, which will be published in The Journal of Empirical Legal Studies later this year, did not suggest that there was any obvious evidence of discrimination in the bankruptcy process. “I don’t think there is any overt conspiracy,” Professor Lawless said. “But when you have a complex system, these biases can play out and the people within the system don’t see the pattern because nobody is in charge of looking at these big issues.”

Read the full story here.

9701: Sam’s Club No Longer White Boy’s Club.

2012-01-21T08:59:00.003-06:00

From USA TODAY…

Wal-Mart makes executive changes; woman to head Sam’s Club

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the world’s biggest retailer, said Friday that it has named Rosalind Brewer CEO of Sam’s Club— the first woman and the first African-American to hold a CEO position at one of the company’s business units.

Brewer, 49, is replacing Brian Cornell, 52, who is leaving the company so he can return to the Northeast for family reasons.

Brewer, who will also be president of Sam’s Club, was previously president of the retailer’s U.S. East business unit. She will report to Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke. The moves are effective Feb. 1.

Wal-Mart has in recent years has been battered by a combination of the slow-growing economy and its own decisions that caused U.S. customers to flee to competitors. But it has refocused on offering the lowest prices and shoppers’ favorite goods and that strategy has been paying off.

In its third fiscal quarter ended Oct. 28, its net income fell 2.9% but it reversed a slump in U.S. namesake business.

Its Sam’s Club warehouse club business has outperformed its namesake stores. Revenue in stores open at least one year rose 5.7% at Sam’s Club and 1.3% at Walmart U.S. stores in its third quarter.

Before joining Wal-Mart, Brewer held a number of executive positions at Kimberly-Clark.

Wal-Mart also said Friday that it is promoting Gisel Ruiz, 41, to executive vice president and chief operating officer for its U.S. operations. Ruiz has been an executive vice president working on human relations and store innovation issues.

Wal-Mart is also promoting Rollin Ford, 49, to chief administrative officer. Ford was chief information officer. He will be replaced as CIO by Karenann Terrell, 50.

9700: Overreaction Of The Week.

2012-01-21T02:40:00.003-06:00

Another futile search for the KFC Hot Wings/Wingman commercial drew a bunch of fried chicken videos—and a banner ad featuring Dennis Haysbert.

9699: Saluting Buffalo Soldiers.

2012-01-20T21:35:00.004-06:00

Here’s a comment left at a previous post by Buffalo Soldier 9:

Keep history alive by telling that history.

Read the greatest ‘historical novel’—Rescue at Pine Ridge—the first generation of Buffalo Soldiers. The website is: http://www.rescueatpineridge.com

This is the greatest story of Black Military History…5 stars Amazon Internationally and Barnes & Noble. YouTube commercials are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD66NUKmZPs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVslyHmDy9A&feature=related

Rescue at Pine Ridge is the story of the rescue of the famed 7th Cavalry by the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers. The 7th Cavalry was entrapped again after the Little Big Horn Massacre, fourteen years later, the day after the Wounded Knee Massacre. If it wasn’t for the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, there would [have] been a second massacre of the 7th Cavalry. This story is about brutality, compassion, reprisal, bravery, heroism, redemption and gallantry.

You’ll enjoy the novel that embodies the Native Americans, Outlaws and African-American/Black soldiers, from the south to the north, in the days of the Native American Wars with the approaching United States of America.

The novel was taken from my mini-series movie with the same title, “RaPR”, to keep the story alive. The movie so far has the interest of Mr. Bill Duke, Hill Harper, Glynn Turman, James Whitmore Jr., Reginald T. Dorsey and a host of other major actors in which we are in talks with, in starring in this epic American story.

When you get a chance, also please visit our Alpha Wolf Productions website at http://www.alphawolfprods.com and see our other productions, like Stagecoach Mary, the first Black Woman to deliver mail for the US Postal System in Montana, in the 1890’s. Spread the word.

Peace.

9698: Bacardi Revisionist History Party.

2012-01-20T00:00:00.002-06:00

This party seems uncommonly integrated for circa 1957. Perhaps the concept creators drank too much Bacardi.