Another podcast appearance. Who knows what this is leading up to, (yeah, right ;-p ). In the latest episode, Duane Forrester from Microsoft and “The Online Marketing Guy” and Hal Goodtree from North Carolina agency Goodtree and Company appeared to discuss things like why the French live in Canada and not France, North Carolina’s own Silicon Valley and 3-D racist NYT front page ads. Download it directly here. Topics here.
I had a few additional thoughts on the show, specifically, after hearing myself ramble and reading more comments over on Ad Age today in addition to the original piece on the Cyrus Mehri legal action. More than a few comments flat-out deny any racism exists, or that minorities are being excluded from consideration at any level in the industry. One person going as far as to say that in over 30 years in the business, they’ve never seen a problem outlined in the report.
Well then, I guess it don’t exist now, do it.
The cluelessness and ignorance on display in that and other statements is astonishing. All you can say is A) Get out more, B) While I haven’t encountered a Great White shark in person, I’m pretty sure they exist and C) In this industry, I’ve seen enough sexist, misogynistic, racist and ageist behavior to last a lifetime. (Or lawsuit. Whichever comes first.)
In response to several people charging Mr. Mehri with being an opportunist, I can’t speak for what’s in someone’s head, nor do I have an interest in the outcome of any of this, shit, far from it. But from what I saw and after talking with him, he’d agree with me that he was the least important person in the room that night when Sanford Moore and others went to town.
Like the rest on the panel, he shut up and let the stories from those in attendance do the talking. That this latest effort by him comes off as opportunistic, hmm, dunno about that. We’re in advertising, right? Is he just supposed to announce this initiative with a small ad in the back of a trade rag? Whatever, k, thnx, bye.
Finally, one thing mentioned in the podcast was that this is not something easily fixed in just a few years, and I agree 100%. It’s also not just one issue either. Again, like a perfect storm, there are a bunch of things converging here: The cultural cluelessness of agencies still perpetuating racial stereotypes, hiring issues for minorities in general, educational opportunities/incentives for young minorities starting out, budget cuts across the board, as well as the digital divide between big and small agencies.
Things not easily solved by me, that’s for sure.
Tags: The Beancast
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