9990: Taking Another Run At AMC’s The Pitch.

A visitor took offense to parts of MultiCultClassics’ review of AMC series The Pitch. Here are the highlights of the gripe:

You rightly bemoan the lack of diversity in agencies like McKinney. (Although the fact that most of the creatives working on the pitch seems to have escaped you. Or don’t women count?) But apparently you have no compunction about discriminating against people based solely on their age.

Why is ageism any more acceptable than racism or sexism? All discrimination is wrong. There are incredibly talented creatives over 40 and even 50. Should you cast them aside just because they may have a few grey hairs or wrinkles? What is this, “Logan's Run?”

OK, to avoid completely rehashing past posts, MultiCultClassics will respond with topline statements and links.

Q. Which group has most benefited from affirmative action?
A. White women. And this certainly holds true in the advertising industry, where White women are pretty well represented in the majority of departments. Granted, there appears to be a dearth of dames in creative director roles, although the McKinney GCD spotlighted in The Pitch proved female creative honchos do exist. Ironically, the theme of the infamous Neil French rant has seemingly been consistently corroborated by White women—including the McKinney GCD. So when it comes to diversity, White women do not count.

MultiCultClassics does not discriminate against people based solely on their age. Boomers and Old White Guys have been criticized at this blog, but primarily for their outdated attitudes and behaviors, which have little to do with how old they are. BTW, the characters on The Pitch displayed age-related bias by giving the assignment to “younger” staffers. Additionally, MultiCultClassics has noted the hypocrisy of elder adpeople crying ageism now that they are in the cultural crosshairs, despite having spent their careers turning blind eyes and deaf ears while nearly every minority group has faced blatant discrimination in our industry. Former passive bigots are suddenly accusing everyone else of bigotry.

For the record, the barbs directed at the participants on The Pitch were not intended for Tracy Wong. The man is clearly an authentic, relevant leader. On the program, he inspired his team to do their thang, provided direction and resources, and finally supported and promoted their efforts. Take a close look at the performances of the McKinney bigwigs. The GCD didn’t offer a single meaningful contribution, while the CCO clumsily forced himself into the process. They made a point to assign the project to “younger” writers and art directors, and then effectively stifled their creativity. McKinney was lucky to encounter conservative, culturally clueless clients and seal a victory, yet the win doesn’t negate their stupidity. The North Carolina-based shop may succeed on reality TV, but actual reality is probably another story.

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.

9681: Cross-Cultural Wingmen.

Still seeking the KFC wingman commercial, but came across a 2009 cross-cultural campaign targeting the Caribbean market and Latin American market.

9666: Subliminal Images In Bottles.

Are these ads demeaning to women and flight attendants?


From Ads of the World.

9625: Miller Lite “Man Up” Scarf Barf.

This is quite possibly the worst Miller Lite “Man Up” commercial to date. The bartender is positively hateful. Plus, the production budget must have led to casting restrictions. The Black woman in the background of the opening scenes suddenly reappears wearing a matching scarf at the end of the spot.

9608: Snatch Club.

Gee, this should increase female memberships.

From Ads of the World.

9572: Questlove Receives Hate Messages.

From The New York Daily News…

Questlove: I received hate messages, racial epithets after Michele Bachmann music diss on ‘Late Night’

Bandleader said he never thought song would cause so much reaction

By Kathryn Kattalia, New York Daily News

Questlove isn’t laughing anymore.

The bandleader who chose to play Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” as Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachman took the stage on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” last week says the joke wasn’t worth all the backlash.

The musician says he’s received a slew of hate messages and racial epithets from Bachmann supporters and Tea Party members since leading house band The Roots to play the snarky song that introduced the Minnesota Congresswoman onto the show.

“I’ve seen some really colorful epithets in the past four days,” he told Pitchfork.

“Blocking 3,500 tea party extremists in a three day period is no fun, especially when you’re a drummer dangerously close to carpal tunnel,” he went on. “In the end, was it worth it? Absolutely not.”

Questlove said he never thought the song would cause so much reaction.

“It wasn’t like a chess move where you have to think 12 steps ahead,” he said. “You’re just, like, ‘Fuck, all right, I’m gonna do it,’ in a kamikaze-type way. And I really didn’t think about how it could be perceived as a misogynist swipe — it didn’t hit me until my [Twitter\] timeline started showing up that it was seen that way.”

He added that the walk-on song wasn’t meant to come off as sexist.

“It deeply offended a lot of women’s groups and non-Bachmann supporters, and for that I’m deeply sorry,” he told Pitchfork. “I’m not parading like I’m the poster boy for the feminist movement, but those who truly know me know that that’s not me. I was really just going with her whole revisionist history angle, I wasn’t calling her out on being a woman.”

During the show, the musician had hinted at the joke to his followers.

“Aight late night walk on song devotees: you love it when we snark: this next one takes the cake. ask around cause i aint tweeting title,” he posted.

Last week, NBC senior vice president Dough Vaughn wrote a letter of apology to the presidential hopeful, calling the show’s choice to play the song “unfortunate” and “unacceptable.”

Fallon also took to Twitter to apologize for the walk-on debacle.

“I’m so sorry about the intro mess. I really hope she comes back,” he wrote.