Madison Avenue and White Bread

 

Nearly 50 years later, is Mad Men portrayal of diversity still accurate?

The much-anticipated series "Mad Men" returned Sunday night to record-breaking viewership.  The season premiere, set in the mid-1960s, put a strong focus on race and showed, painfully, how bigoted and out of touch the advertising industry was.  To be fair, the industry was  reflective of business in general in this country, although adland seems to have lagged behind when it came to making the workforce more diverse.

We've seen in previous "Mad Men"episodes how intolerant the mainstream agency business was toward Jews, but at least they were somewhat in the picture.  Blacks weren't present at all --not even in the most menial of positions.

So it's an interesting coincidence that, the day after we were smacked in the face by the previous generation's racism, Advertising Age reported on results of a survey on diversity in the industry.  As the headline summed up nicely:  Results of study called "very disenchanting, but not surprising."

The study done last fall and winter, with responses from 831 ad professionals, shows we still have much to do to get past the attitudes depicted in "Mad Men."  Yes, society in general is much more understanding and appreciative of diversity.  And many agencies, especially the larger ones, are no longer lily white male bastions.  But the survey shows that, beneath the surface, all is still not great for minorities in adland.

Lack of diversity plays a role in minorities entering and staying in the agency business.  Thirty-three percent of African-Americans and 21 percent of Latinos cited lack of diversity as an important reason for leaving the business, compared to four percent for whites.

It's a tough challenge, for sure, for agencies to attract and retain good minority employees.  And it's important for reasons that go far beyond doing the right thing.  As minorities are becoming the majority in this country, it is crucial that diverse perspectives that reflect the nation's demographics are part of the strategic and creative process in marketing.  Just look at how many marketers have been embarrassed in recent months by poorly worded ads and graphics that showed a complete lack of awareness and understanding of some cultural sensitivities.

I think the process of bringing more diversity into the agency world must be multi-faceted.  It has to be more than simply saying "We are an equal opportunity employer" and recruiting at historically black universities. 

The effort needs to get to the high school and even middle school level, to let young people of color realize that they are welcome and needed in the business.  Schools in urban areas with a large minority population need to be enaged by the ad community, to help show kids what ad people do, what skills are needed and that people who look like them are wanted and needed. 

Here in New York, the Advertising Club has had diversity on its radar for some time, and they are taking some ambitious steps to do some of the things I mentioned above.  Their have some initiatives that are pulling together ad agencies and media partners to reach out beyond white America.

It will take time, but the process of reaching out must begin in earnest and build momentum.  It will require real commitment from industry leaders and from agency heads.  As I said before... it's more than the right thing; it's good business. 

Comments

[Jeanne Byington]

Clients need the education as much as agencies is my bet along with agencies needing stronger backbones to select the best people regardless of what they believe a client might think.

I would love to know more about lack of diversity being a reason to quit a job. I've been a minority in a range of instances [i.e. the only woman, the only Catholic] and wouldn't dream of giving up a client or a job for that reason.

[David Reich]

@ Jeanne: I haven't seen the details of the survey, just the highlights. But I would imagine that a minority person could be made to feel uncomfortable or not likely to advance if he or she sees no one or very few people who look like him or her at or near the top. It may not be a conscious message that they pick up on, but a much more subtle and probably unintended message.

[Lynn Taylor]

I really liked your perspective. It reminds me we need to try harder. Especially since it would be better if minorities felt welcome in mainstream agencies, not just minority agencies.

I think the problem is bigger among minorities, but similar to the reasons any young person does or doesn’t show interest in our industry- lack of awareness of what a career might be like. No access, so no attempt to train for it.

[Martha Takayama]

This is strong positive statement on an issue which is so often not mentioned. As a viewer I often wonder who are the minds that have designed the advertisements on early morning and prime time evening television, in particular. The target seems very narrow and perhaps mythical. Certainly economically, socially and intellectually a much more comprehensive representation of our multi-racial society would make for better business and hipefully work towards ameliorating societal problems. The industry to date seems only to have encouraged minorities as visual aides, seeking multi ethnic or minorty models. Your observation for the need to educate and guide from an early age on is a wonderful suggestion.

[Martha Takayama]

Making minorities feel out of place , uncomfortable or that they do not belong in a certainwork environment, can be a not always subtle but unpleasant form of trying to limit the de facto presence of minorities in a setting.

[David Reich]

Yes Martha, people can be made to feel out of place intentionally. I don't think nowadays that agencies are intentionally trying to make minorities feel out of place in their work environments. It's probably just the opposite. But small things can slip by unnoticed to most that someone who is in the minority might notice.

[Jeanne Byington]

David,

In your response to Martha, you circle back to the point of your post and to the mythical world illustrated in TV commercials Martha mentions: To address the subtleties and omissions is an obvious reason minorities should be part of the creative process to promote $billion industries.

How many brands and product lines that women choose have died because not enough women were in key marketing positions? I can point to wallpaper. Even in our global economy some marketers from one country feel they can impose the way they do things on another country to achieve similar results. It’s like borrowing someone’s dentures: They don’t fit and won’t work. One day we’ll learn from our mistakes.

[David Reich]

@ Jeanne -- "borrowing someone's dentures?" Eewww!!

[David Reich]

Here's an example of what can and should be done... from today's Media Daily News:

Alesha Taylor and Ralexis Castro, students at New York’s High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media, presented their integrated media campaign for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative at the first annual TEDxHarlem conference.

They worked with a team of 22 other students to create the campaign with TV, Web, print and mobile components. Each ad targeted teenagers in order to promote exercise.

The 4As and the Advertising Club of New York were responsible for helping bring the students and their work to the larger New York City community.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/171297/advertising-high-school-debuts-campaign-for-lets.html?edition=45104#ixzz1qWzpFmec