9981: Talking The Talk.

From The Los Angeles Times…

For black parents in Pasadena, shootings give fresh relevance to ‘The Talk’

The fatal shootings of Kendrec McDade in Pasadena and a black teen in Florida renew the painful generations-old discussion about the need to swallow one’s anger and pride when dealing with the police.

By Christopher Goffard and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times

When Martin A. Gordon talks to his 19-year-old son about the history of race relations in America, he invokes the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King Jr.and the watershed moments of the civil rights era. It’s a story of hard-won rights that fills the ‘60s-era activist with pride.

Then the conversation turns urgently personal, survival its theme: On the wrong street, at the wrong time of day, he tells his son, pride might be his undoing. “I know my son can be a moment away from being killed if he acts the wrong way, if he’s arrogant,” Gordon said. “He started to learn about this as a child.”

Gordon was speaking in a Pasadena church, blocks from where an unarmed black college student, Kendrec McDade, was fatally shot March 24 by two white police officers pursuing two men who they mistakenly believed were armed robbers. Police say the incident began when the 19-year-old McDade and a friend stole a backpack from a car, and the owner lied to police, telling them the thieves were armed.

The incident, which remains under investigation, followed the controversial shooting death of an unarmed black teen in Florida by a neighborhood watch leader. For many black parents, the shootings have given fresh relevance to a painful generations-old conversation. “The Talk,” some call it.

“Certain things are a reality for him — he needed to understand that early on,” Jim Collins, a longtime Pasadena resident, recalled of his conversation with his son. “The Talk is because they have to know what to do and not do.”

Parents say some version of the conversation, ubiquitous in African American life, is necessary regardless of how high they climb on the socioeconomic ladder. It is about learning to say “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” when a policeman pulls you over, no matter how unjustified the stop seems. It is about keeping your hands on the steering wheel and giving officers no cause for panic. It is about swallowing your anger and pride and coming home alive.

Gordon, an activist with the Pasadena Community Coalition, said he worries when his son stays out late. “If I wake up and he’s not there, I go, ‘Oh, boy,’” Gordon said.

He said he speaks at seminars, instructing black youths about how to handle themselves around police. He wants them to know their rights, but also to be respectful.

“Just because you asserted your rights doesn’t mean you won’t get your butt kicked,” Gordon said. “You can be dead and no one’s there to speak for your rights. That’s what scares me most.”

Read the full story here.

9905: Seeing The Light On Latinos.

From CBS News…

NM Tourism ad seeks “light-skinned” Hispanics

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico’s new tourism ad isn’t done yet, but it’s already creating quite a buzz.

First, the Tourism Department touched some local nerves by hiring a Texas firm to produce its new branding campaign. That firm chose a California producer rather than someone in New Mexico’s film industry to shoot the spot. And on Friday, traditional and social media was abuzz over the ad’s “real people” casting notice, which called for Caucasian or “light-skinned” Hispanics to star in the spot.

The Santa Fe New Mexican in an editorial Friday (http://bit.ly/z9ZwJ1) called the “light-skinned” requirement “wrong-headed.”

“Hearing that term brings to mind a vision of casting agents holding up paper bags next to people’s faces to ensure they can pass,” the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote. “We don’t know, of course, who made it into the shoot and how New Mexico will be presented to the world once the campaign is unveiled. But really, light-skinned only? What were they thinking?”

The ad, which is being designed as part of a $2 million yearlong effort by Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson to create a brand that will attract more out-of-state visitors, was shot in a variety of locations and is scheduled to be unveiled next month.

Jacobson, according to the editorial, has said that it included Native Americans dancing.

But the casting notice seeking fit and attractive people to portray real families carried the light-skin requirement.

“We’d wager that there are more than a few active Native climbers and bikers, couples and families even,” the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote. “Native people dance and make art, yes, but they are fully in the modern world. They, along with dark-skinned people, even take vacations.”

Tourism officials did not immediately respond to emails or phone calls about the ad.

According to the latest Census data, 46 percent of New Mexicans are of Hispanic or Latino origin. Just under 10 percent are Native American.

The state also has the nation’s first female Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez.

9786: MetLife Targets Inner-City Blacks…?

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.

9742: Is TBWA Director Of Talent Biased?

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.”

9732: Is Ageism Getting Old?

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.

9702: Black Bankruptcy Bias…?

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.

9611: Lowe’s Blow.

Don’t expect to see this banner ad on the Lowe’s website anytime soon.

9533: Belated Brazilian Celebration.

From Ads of the World.

9531: Cracker Barrel Lives Up To Its Name.

Cracker Barrel launched a new campaign with two contrived commercials that proclaim, “You’re always welcome here.” Um,
not exactly. Can’t help but think the ultra-folksy spots emphasize the “Cracker” in the restaurant chain’s name.

9525: Racing And Racism…?

First Lady Michelle Obama was booed at a NASCAR event on Sunday. No big surprise.