Gothamist: City Councilman Thinks Ad Agencies Are Too White

your sister's gay boyfriend

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:47:19 -0500

Maybe people complain because there's something to complain about, you know? Like the stereotype that black people are bad tippers - maybe black people get shitty service. Anyway, I agree that it's a class issue. Entry level ad jobs pay crap to begin with, and because there's such high demand for jobs, it often requires: 1. $20,000+ for portfolio school 2. Enough money saved up to go unemployed/work retail/work for free for a while. 3. Friends in New York/SF/Chicago who will let you crash on their couch while you go unemployed/work retail/work for free. 4. Money for computer, printing portfolio, minibooks, etc. And you want to keep up with the industry? Industry rags and design magazines aren't cheap. Simply put, this is a profession with huge entry barriers. Plus, just like any other profession, connection helps. Theoretically, I suppose a kid could do up a portfolio with a Sharpie and napkins if the ideas are brilliant enough. Theoretically. But it's a whole lot easier to get in advertising if you're wealthy and you have a safety net because chances are, you're going to be spending money just to get in.

amerika

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 11:40:12 -0500

It's not the ad agencies' fault. This is merely a symptom of the way things are in America.

SU

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:58:20 -0500

I don't believe there are many South Asians (Indians) in the industry, but that does not neccessarily mean the industry is partial towards Asians over South Asians. It's just that there are more Asians interested in the field and they are good at it! Let's not turn this into another affirmative action issue.

I Like Kittens.

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 05:13:10 -0500

I'm black and I've interned at a few agencies. I don't think it is a race issue so much as it is a class issue. One of the best internships I had was unpaid. Fortunately, I had been planning ahead and saved up money and was living at home, but it should also be noted that I was not in NYC. The interns in my intern class were all middle/upper-middle/upper class people for the most part. Everyone went to private schools or really nice public schools. I think the more interesting question would involve examining the socio-economic backgrounds of everyone in advertising and not just minorities.

Scott

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 02:10:14 -0500

I'm a Puerto Rican-Jew (double word score!) just getting started in the advertising/design industry and I have already noted the relative whiteness of agencies and in-house teams. I think the main reason for this, as has already been mentioned, is that urban blacks and latinos are generally not encouraged to enter professions in the arts but rather to get a 'real job' to support themselves and their families. It is largely a socio-economic issue, rather than an ethnic one - the working class remains the working class. The cost of art schools, the 'old boys club' mentality which still lingers in the upper-ranks, and the lack of access to computers at a young age all contribute to this trend. But I can totally agree with what Phil said about the reason there aren't many minorities employed, is because few apply. That's obvious. The fact that caucasians are now the minority is irrelevant, but interesting. Also interesting to note is that black males are the least likely of all ethnic-and-gender groups to finish a university degree, and latinos have the lowest rate of unemployment nationwide, but also rank on the bottom for higher education. By the way, if anyone in the ad/design game wants to meet me and give me a job to add some flavor to your agency, that's more than ok with me! Email me.

Brightliner

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 23:37:24 -0500

What's the big deal? If an agency doesn't want to be diverse and their campaigns bomb because of ignorance of what appeals to the public, then they'll just lose accounts. If they desperately needed to be diverse to run successful campaigns, they would have done so by now. Since they're doing okay, I'm guessing they don't need to. Just good, old city government wasting more tax dollars.

Shawist

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 22:51:41 -0500

Simon Lok truly demostrates what a progressive tolerant city New York is, so much so that he is willing to show such profound open-mindedness for all to see. Sure makes us New Yorkers, so very proud.

King Kong

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 20:28:48 -0500

Simon Lok, way to demonstrate your prejudices. Keep up the good work and you'll soon be promoting more images of derogatory racial stereotypes in your ads! You too, can be a racist white person and achieve the American Dream!

los

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 20:01:16 -0500

"Putney Swope" 1969 by Robert Downey Sr rent it funny ha ha like a topical storm

another old ad guy

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:46:19 -0500

Ad agencies, as has been said for years don't lead the public, they merely reflect it. I started out in the ad business in the distant era when there was just three broadcast networks. If you recall, the programming on those networks was pretty lily white. With the proliferation of hundreds of cable outlets catering to viewers from very diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, the need for advertising and marketing people who understand and can target specific groups grows in importance. And one reason why Hispanic ad agencies in NYC, Miami, LA and Texas are booming. Also as minorities achieve access to better educations, they have always tended to aspire to tradition professions like medicine and law. In business schools, virtually no newly minted MBA goes to work in an ad agency these days because, frankly, they don't pay nearly as well many other fields. But don't worry. If you read the New York Times a couple days ago, non-Hispanic whites are now, not just a minority in New York City, but in the whole metropolitan area as well as Los Angeles. So it's not hard to envision a day when agency recruiters bemoan the lack of well qualified white applicants!

Samantha T

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:18:34 -0500

Perhaps it's because any minority (or anybody period)who is from a non-affluent background can't afford to live on the piss-poor entry-level salaries these agencies offer.

white ad guy

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:16:08 -0500

I've been in the ad business for about 20 years and all the agencies I've worked at (from 18 employees to 1,800) are lily white. Asians and Jews are what passes for diversity. You'd think the New York (and Chicago, San Francisco and L.A. agencies where I've worked) were in North Dakota. Why is it? I don't think it's a case of blatant discrimination. I've witnessed no overt comments among top managers against races or the sexes (the business is pretty good about hiring women if not promoting them to the top jobs) but I will say that there is a strong tendency to hire from the established 'ad schools' which are almost uniformly expensive and not exactly welcoming to those who need scholarships. My alma mater hands out yearly "minority" scholarships and every year I've checked the winners are Asians or exchange students from Argentina. I used to teach a nightschool class for aspiring creative types in the ad business (copywriters and art directors) and out of the 400 students in my classes over the years only about 5 were African-American. I had even fewer Hispanics. I honestly taught had more South Africans in my classes (all white) than Americans of Mexican or African descent. In other words, it's not so much a race thing as a class thing. This is a terrible upper-middle class bias in the business. Is that illeagal?

simon lok

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:12:35 -0500

I don't think we make "much noise" because we work hard to get into a job, we dont feel we deserve it.

Jen

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:10:49 -0500

I wonder if the American Association of Advertising Agencies will have to be more aggressive in encouraging agencies to seek out diverse applicants - as well as work with schools to do outreach on campus.

hr

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:08:11 -0500

To me, a white guy, it doesn't seem that asians complain like the blacks and hispanics do. If they do, they don't make that much noise about it.

Phil

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 15:49:54 -0500

I worked and hired at major PR firms for nearly 20 years -- often as part of large ad conglomerates. I interviewed dozens, perhaps more than one hundred, people along the way. I hired very few minorities. Know why? Because virtually all of the applicants were white! We hired a lot of highly qualified, ultimately successful minorities at the intern level. But, at the mid or more senior levels, the candidates were almost non-existent. I don't know if that leads to a mass generalization about the general interest-level that blacks, asians and Latinos had in working at our firm, or if it says something about how hospitable -- or not -- our firm was.

Rocknrope

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 15:41:35 -0500

One thing I consistently see is diversity being referenced as involving black and latino populations. Is it the model minority myth that keeps asians from being considered in these "diversity" initiatives?