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A special advertising section of
The 2008 AdColor Awards presented by
Arnold Worldwide, CNN, Diageo, Google Inc., Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo!
November 17, 2008
Cover Supplied
By McCann
Awards Journal sponsored by Advertising Age
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We don t know your secret Byron. But your UWG family congratulates you on being recognized as a true legend in advertising.
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF ADVERTISING AGE
RISING UP, REACHING BACK
During a recent discussion about the historic
political climate, a friend recited a quote he
had heard on NPR: “Rosa sat so Martin
could walk; Martin walked so Obama could
run; Obama ran so our children could fly.”
The idea that each step forward creates a
path for those to follow is not a new one. It is
as old as time itself — and time is what it
will take to imbed the idea within the advertising, marketing and media industries that
promoting success creates success.
AdColor and the AdColor Awards were
created for the purpose of sharing and highlighting the stories of those professionals of
color who, despite the obstacles they overcame and the heights they reached, have
always reached back. AdColor is dedicated to honoring the achievements of generations
of men and women, the icebreakers, groundbreakers, game-changers and beneficiaries
better known as Legends, Change Agents, Innovators and Rising Stars.
CELEBRATING OUR HONOREES
The 2008 class of AdColor honorees was chosen from an impressive group of nominees
from more than 80 different advertising agencies, marketing and media companies.
More than 70 percent of the 2008 nominees were African-American, and advertising
was the industry that saw the most nominees. Additionally, AdColor proudly honors its
first Native American recipient, Chad Germann of the Red Circle Agency. What began
last year as an awards show has turned into a movement that embodies the adage “Be
the change you wish to see.”
To continue the momentum the AdColor Awards created, the AdColor Industry
Coalition saw the launch of One Million Strong for AdColor and the AdColor Group on
Facebook and LinkedIn, respectively. The groups, begun by Alysha Cryer of Starcom
MediaVest Group, have attracted more than 900-plus members combined who seek to
be part of a network that promotes and discusses positive solutions to the issue of diversity in advertising, marketing and media. The Web site, adcolor.org, has evolved into a
repository of stories and videos from AdColor alumni, bringing their Ad Age profiles to
life. They provide readers and viewers with an inspiring look into the ways in which
these individuals made it to the upper echelons of their chosen professions.
Our Legends broke the ice so you could stand without falling; our Change Agents
broke ground so you could build your careers; our Innovators changed the game so you
could play in it; and our Rising Stars benefited from the hard work of those who came
before them. Whether you strive to be all of these, or an All-Star or an MVP honoree, I
ask all of you who read the pages of this program book to never forget to reach back as
you continue to rise, because that is the only way we will all be able to fly.
Tiffany R. Warren
Founder, AdColor and The AdColor Awards
VP-Director of Multicultural Programs and
Community Outreach, Arnold Worldwide
ADCOLOR NOVEMBER 17, 2008
INSIDE
4 Forward Momentum
For all the debate about race in this industry, one thing is true: Those
who make it in and tough it out have to reach down and lift up those
below them. That’s where initiatives such as AdColor come in, says
Ken Wheaton, features and blogs editor of Advertising Age.
6 AdColor Thank-You
AdColor thanks the people who have made the AdColor Awards a success for the second year.
8 Our Sponsors
A look at the many companies supporting this year’s AdColor Awards.
10 Signs of Success
Spurred by various factors—not the least of which is the fact that it’s
simply good business—the advertising industry is finally seeing
changes that are not only positive, but also enduring.
12 AdColor Honorees
This year’s AdColor Awards honor 20 individuals and two companies
in six categories: All-Star, MVP, Legend, Change Agent, Innovator and
Rising Star:
Russell Simmons
14) Saatchi & Saatchi,
Professional Partnering Solutions
16) Byron E. Lewis
16) Renetta McCann
18) Rishad Tobaccowala
18) Carol H. Williams
19) Stacy Brown-Philpot
20) Vida Cornelious
20) Chad Germann
22) Tony Hill
22) Donna E. Pedro
24) Howard Buford
24) Devika Bulchandani
26) JD Michaels
26) Danny Robinson
27) Kembo Tom
27) Catherine Auguste
28) Desmonique Bonet
28) Keenan Ellsberry
30) Kunal Muzumdar
30) Angel Suarez
14)
Cover: McCann Erickson
Art Director: John Nguyen
Copywriter: Mikal Cook
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ADCOLOR
THE WINNERS
HONORING EXCELLENCE. PERIOD
By the time you read this, you may be coming down from your
Election Day high. But I doubt it. Barack Obama is president-elect
of the United States, winning the White House with so many votes
that even Florida couldn’t mess it up.
Election 2008 was one for the history books. It was also one for
the marketing books. As I wrote about Barack Obama as part of
Advertising Age’s Marketer of the Year package, he wasn’t simply an
African-American candidate. He was a first-term, Democratic,
African-American senator whose middle name was Hussein!
Vanquishing the Clinton machine alone would have been surprising enough, but to move into front-runner status for the bulk of
the general election was something else entirely.
One thing to keep in mind is that Obama is now our presidentelect because he tried to run what was dubbed a "post-racial" campaign. Thanks to both Democratic and
Republican opponents, as well as remarks from his onetime minister, it didn’t always work out that way.
But all along, he made it clear that he wasn’t running for president of Black America, or Hispanic America,
or Asian America or White America. He was running for president of America. Period.
And those who we are honoring this year at the AdColor Awards would say much the same thing. They
don’t want to be honored for excellent black work, or Hispanic work or Asian work. They want to be honored for excellent work. Period.
Of course, this is the advertising industry, which is still struggling to catch up to the rest of the country
when it comes to diversity. It may be awhile before we get to a post-racial advertising industry. (Actually, it
could be forever if trends keep moving toward more and more fragmented and niche media. Anyone want
to team up with me to start a youth-aimed urban agency focusing on gay African-American men who
hate cats and spend exactly 65.4 percent of their leisure time on the Internet?)
Either way, we’ve still got work to do when it comes to getting talent in the door and getting it to stay.
Interested parties have tried begging and pleading. They’ve tried governmental threats. They’ve tried outreach programs and internship programs. Ultimately, the oft-rumored class-action lawsuit may be what it
takes to kick in the door.
Even so, it’s going to take old-fashioned relationships and recognition to get people to stay. For all the
debate about race in this industry, this is one area where Tiffany R. Warren is absolutely right: Those who
do make it in and tough it out have to reach down and lift up those below them. Just as it was lonely for
early gender pioneers in this industry, it’s lonely being racial pioneers. Those of you who are the only [fill
in the blank] ethnicity in a general-market shop know exactly what I’m talking about.
That’s where events such as the AdColor Awards fit in. And it isn’t just the awards themselves that matter. Sure, it’s great to be honored for what you do. It shows that people out there are watching, that someone other than you and your mom respect the work you do. It’s a little bump in ego that feels almost as
good as a bump in salary (well, almost). It’s validation.
But ultimately, events like the AdColor Awards are as much about building a community as anything
else. Only a few people will walk out of the show tonight with a trophy. But behind every Tiffy winner is a
large group of people—family, teachers and mentors—who made that one little statue possible. And the
winners at this award show know for a fact that they wouldn’t be holding that Tiffy if it weren’t for that
network of people around them.
And more than the winners at other award shows, Tiffy recipients won’t forget. Whether they work in a
general-market agency, an ethnic shop or one of the many independent joints popping up left and right,
they know that the Tiffy comes with something more than accolades and an ego boost. It comes with a
responsibility: to reach back and lift up.
So let’s celebrate another year of excellent work and great mentors.
And let’s look forward to another year of progress.
Jackie Ghedine
Managing Director, Sales
212-210-0725
[email protected]
Angela J. Carola
Director, Sales Strategy
212-210-0407
[email protected]
Karen Egolf
Editorial Director,
Custom Programs
847-577-9032
[email protected]
Nancy Giges
Section Editor
Christine Bunish
Ina B. Chadwick
Sandra Guy
Katy Ingulli
Nancy Colton Webster
Writers
Richard K. Skews
Associate Editor
Barbara Knoll
Copy Editor
Jeanine Dunn
Art Director
Hara Allison
Associate Art Director
Diane Maida
Production Manager
Ken Wheaton is editor-features and blogs of Advertising Age
4
NOVEMBER 17, 2008 ADCOLOR
2:30 PM
Then upside down.
Devika Bulchandani, our Chief Strategy Officer, changes the way we think. The way our clients think. And the way
a whole lot of consumers think. Congrats on this amazing honor, Dev, from all your friends at McCann New York.
10/24/08
She comes at everything sideways.
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ADCOLOR
THE WINNERS
AN ADCOLOR
THANK-YOU
SEMHAR TESFAY
LISA UNSWORTH
Saatchi & Saatchi
Arnold Worldwide
TONI THOMPSON
CAROL WATSON
McCann Erickson
Event Content & All-Star
Search Committee
SHANTE BACON, CHAIR
135st Agency
MIKE A. SCOTT, CHAIR
I humbly thank the AdColor Industry Coalition, the 2008
MPIRE Management
AdColor Awards Steering and Selection committees, and the BENY ASHBURN
McCann Erickson
remarkable presenting, ambassador, friend and in-kind
JESSE ASKEW
NyceLife Ventures
sponsors for your selflessness, unwavering dedication, time SAPTOSA FOSTER
135st Agency
and financial support.
NALEDI KHABO
Iced Media
Another chapter of the AdColor story has been written. It
reads: The tireless work of 10 founding coalition members;
61 volunteers; nine advertising, marketing and media
companies; 39 sponsors; 98 nominees; and 22 honorees
helped continue a movement already in progress.
Tiffany R. Warren
Chair, AdColor Awards Steering Committee
REGGIE MILLER
Iced Media
KENJI SUMMERS
Mediaedge:cia
Musical Director
AKINTAYO ADEWOLE
Akande Inc.
Nomination & Criteria
Committee
MARK ZANGRILLI, CHAIR
Publicis USA
TARA GARCIA
Arnold Worldwide
AdColor Industry Coalition
LISA UNSWORTH, CHAIR
KRISTEN CHARD
Google Inc.
CMO
Arnold Worldwide
RUDY DUTHIL
CONSTANCE CANNON FRAZIER
2007 ADCOLOR AWARDS RISING STAR
HONOREE
ANTONIO HICKS
Exec VP
AAF Mosaic Center & Education
Services
American Advertising Federation
Zoom Media & Marketing
FELICIA GEIGER
Tangerine-Watson
AdColor.org Web Site
Production Team
MICHELE ARINI, COPYWRITER
Tribal DDB
KINNEY EDWARDS, CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Tribal DDB
CHRIS MONTGOMERY, PROJECT MANAGER
Mr.Youth
VICTOR VELEZ
Arnold Worldwide
2008 AdColor Awards
Selection Committee
ALLISON ARDEN
Publisher
Advertising Age
CONSTANCE CANNON FRAZIER
Exec VP-Mosaic Center &
Education Services
KIPP CHENG
VP-Director of Public Affairs
American Association of
Advertising Agencies
GINA GRILLO
Executive Director
Advertising Club of New York
Deutsch Inc.
NANCY HILL
NICOLE HALL
President-CEO
Arnold Worldwide
RASHANA HOOKS
A&E Television Networks
DAVID PRINCE
DARLA PRICE
Director of Training, Education &
Development
Saatchi & Saatchi
The Estabrook Group
COLLEEN TRAVERS
JIM DATRI
DOUG MELVILLE
EMI Records
President-CEO
Magic Johnson Entertainment
BOB LIODICE
MICHELLE NEWSON
CHRISTINE MANNA
GINA GRILLO
Onederland Events
“Call for Nominations”
PSA
Executive Director
Advertising Club of New York
WARREN OLIVER
WARREN OLIVER, CO-DIRECTOR
Solo Project
Solo Project
NANCY HILL
CHIKE OZAH
CHIKE OZAH, CO-DIRECTOR
President-CEO
American Association of Advertising
Agencies
Solo Project
Solo Project
ERIKA PRIESTLEY
Pepsi-Cola North America
PR & Outreach Committee
MICHELE THORNTON
Citi-Habitat
Senior VP-Director, Creative Services
& Diversity
McCann Erickson Worldwide
SHANTE BACON
ANGELA MEADOWS JOHNSON
135st Agency
Starcom MediaVest Group
Manager, Diversity Programs
SAPTOSA FOSTER
LISA UNSWORTH
BOB LIODICE
President-CEO
Association of National Advertisers
CHRISTINE MANNA
Exec VP-Industry Leadership Initiative/CFO
CNN
ADRIENNE WILLIAMS
Arnold Worldwide
NAVA YESHOALUL
ANGELA MEADOWS JOHNSON
Google Inc.
Manager, Diversity Programs
American Association of Advertising
Agencies
Branding & Collateral
Committee
TIFFANY R. WARREN
SALLIE MARS, CHAIR
VP-Director of Multicultural
Programs & Community Outreach
Arnold Worldwide
JOHN WEBB
Partner
Reed Smith
Steering Committee
JAN PERCIVAL, CHAIR
ALYSHA CRYER
135st Agency
President-CEO
VP-CFO
SALLIE MARS
MEREDITH VELLINES
CMO
Arnold Worldwide
Arnold Worldwide
TIFFANY R. WARREN
McCann Erickson
Sponsorship Committee
MIKAL COOK
MARC STEPHENSON STRACHAN, CHAIR
Diageo NA
VP-Director of Multicultural
Programs & Community Outreach
Arnold Worldwide
ALVIN BOWLES
JOHN WEBB
McCann Erickson
SUSANA MARQUEZ
Arnold Worldwide
JOHN NGUYEN
McCann Erickson
KAREN E. LIST
Partner
Reed Smith
BET Networks
The New York Times Co.
JIM WHELAN
TIFFANY R. WARREN, CHAIR
ERIC TAO
SCAFFORD SIMMONDS JR.
Arnold Worldwide
McCann Erickson
Thomson Reuters
Director, Talent & Agency Relations
Advertising Age
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Never judge a search engine by its interface.
Behind that simple search window is one of the most complex technology
infrastructures in the world. And it’s run by an equally diverse group of
people. At Google, we don’t just accept difference – we thrive on it. We
celebrate it. And we support it, for the benefit of our employees, our products
and our community.
Google proudly supports the AdColor Awards and congratulates all of the
2008 honorees. Your passion and accomplishments inspire us.
www.google.com/diversity
© 2008 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc.
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ADCOLOR
THE
2008
Presenting
Sponsors
Friends
In-Kind
ADCOLOR
AWARDS
Are Brought To You By…
The 2008 AdColor Awards produced by
PitchOne Presentations and Onederland Events
Printing donated by Creative Printing
Services and Media on the Run
Ambassadors
is a proud supporter
of ADCOLOR.
Worldwide
Exclusive trade
media partner
8
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Congratulations, Catherine Auguste + Keenan Ellsberry,
on receiving the 2008 ADCOLOR Rising Star Award and representing more than
1,000 distinct individuals at Team Detroit.
®
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ADCOLOR
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DIVERSITY PROGRESS: LASTING
SPURRED BY VARIOUS FACTORS, THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY IS FINALLY
iversity in the ad
agency business—or
“inclusion,” as many
say they prefer—is
moving out of HR
and into the C-suite.
That’s just one sign
of progress for an
industry that for years has talked the talk about
making the advertising business more diverse,initiating a variety of programs to attract people of
color, particularly at the entry level, but has been
slow to show much lasting progress.
Spurred by various factors—not the least of
which is the fact that it’s simply good business—
the advertising industry is finally seeing changes
that are not only positive but also enduring.
“I used to hear it’s so hard to get upper management to pay attention or put money behind
this or to give their time,” says Sallie Mars, senior
VP-director of creative services and director of
diversity initiatives at McCann Erickson. “I never
hear that anymore. It’s all about management
being more than willing to throw its weight
behind projects or to…take their time, which is
the hardest part, to put their faces and words
behind it.”
Says Bob Liodice, president-CEO of the
Association of National Advertisers, “We are
clearly trying. There are very distinct efforts.
Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of this
issue. Even if we are not succeeding to the levels
that others may want,it’s not because we are looking the other way.”
Tiffany R. Warren, VP-director of multicultural programs and community outreach, Arnold
Worldwide, and the founder of AdColor, a crossindustry initiative serving as a catalyst for diversity programs, agrees. “Agencies are really trying.
Did it take a fire starter to get them started? Yes.
But because of the way the world is changing and
everyone is looking for ways to be more competitive, the best way to do that is through talent. If
you have an environment and culture that allows
people to be 100 percent themselves but also contribute intelligently, and intellectually and cultur-
D
10
year of successful testing in the New York office.
ally, it is a recipe for success.”
Each is asked to meet four goals for the first
Even the head of the New York City Human
Rights Commission, Patricia Gatling, who took year: have all employees complete an online
advertising agencies to task two years ago, is workplace training diversity program, create
sounding upbeat. At a public hearing in active multicultural employee networks, survey
September called to discuss the progress of 16 employees periodically on diversity in the workagencies that two years ago signed a pact to boost place to gauge progress and provide advertising
minority hiring and set individual goals, Ms. messaging diversity training for employees at the
Gatling said she is “cautiously optimistic” that ad VP level and higher.
As an industry, programs through the Four A’s
agencies are bringing more minority executives
go back to 1973, when a multicultural advertising
into their organizations.
Statistics released last spring found that most intern program was introduced. “We’ve done a
of the 16 ad agencies met or exceeded their 2007 really good job of creating internships, and scholarships and entry-level positions,” says Ms. Hill.
minority hiring goals.
Says Nancy Hill, president-CEO of the “It’s obvious that’s not enough.”
In the last decade, the Four A’s began awarding
American Association of Advertising Agencies,
“Once you have open, honest dialogue, then you scholarships, conducting diversity career fairs
start to move things. Maybe in the past that and supplier diversity trade shows, providing
wasn’t necessarily the case; people were reluctant guidance and best practices to agencies on diverto have conversations either out of fear or some sity. Last spring, the association announced a
other belief. Now that the lid has been taken off, partnership with Howard University, one of the
nation’s most prestigious historically black unithings should move a lot faster.”
Lisa Unsworth, chief marketing officer of versities, aimed at attracting and retaining talent
at middle- and senior-manArnold Worldwide and chairagement levels.
woman of the AdColor Industry
In this latest initiative, the
Coalition, says “socializing” the “We are clearly
Four A’s has promised to proissue among senior people outside trying. ...Nobody
vide the university with industhe human resources department wants to be on
try leadership and $250,000 to
is extremely important. “That is
develop a Center for Excellence
what will ultimately help make the wrong side
in Advertising, which will
a difference.”
of this issue.”
focus on achieving a more
As more top agency execs disinclusive work force at midcuss diversity openly and sponsor
events, it’s “beginning to show that people who dle-to-senior management levels. In addition to
maybe were never at the center of this issue are seed money, the association pledged to assist the
getting involved,” Ms. Unsworth says.“That is one university in raising an additional $750,000 annually to support the center.
of the things that will propel significant change.”
At the American Advertising Federation, the
At McCann Erickson, for example, the chief
diversity officers in each of the agency’s offices are Mosaic Center on multiculturalism develops and
line executives—VPs or higher in creative, implements programs and policies to address
account services, media or strategic planning— diversity. In addition to encouraging more corponot HR or administration. The people dealing rations to endorse its principles and practices, the
with clients and the business of agencies are the center celebrates multicultural marketing and
developers of the programs within each office. diversity efforts through award programs, scholMcCann is currently rolling out a diversity pro- arships and career fairs.
The industry’s newest effort, AdColor, a grassgram to 13 offices across North America after a
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CHANGE IS STARTING TO TAKE ROOT
SEEING CHANGES THAT ARE NOT ONLY POSITIVE BUT ALSO ENDURING
roots collaboration of AAF, the Advertising Club keting for Ciroc vodka, Diageo North America, the company’s first ever multicultural division.
of New York, Arnold Worldwide, ANA and Four “AdColor has helped lead the way in highlight- “Once I presented all of my stats and data on the
ing the leading diverse talent in the advertising multicultural industry, which made an impeneA’s, is credited with raising awareness.
Mr. Liodice says the first AdColor awards a world today. We support events like the trable argument, my once general-market agency
year ago and continued progress within AdColor AdColor awards because as a consumer prod- jumped in the multicultural pool.”
Today, in addition to his experiential markethave been very successful in getting more people ucts company, we understand the need for
engaged, communicating and networking. It’s communications that really speak to our ing responsibilities, Mr. Duthil, 25, also serves as
director of Zoom Forward, the company’s first
“been a grand example of how, when you do put diverse consumer base.”
Typically, says David W. Brown, president, multicultural division, leading a team of eight
the spotlight on what is taking place in the minority community to understand how diversity is BrownPartners, and a 2007 AdColor Innovator that he says has brought new life to the company.
“I’m very excited for what the future holds for
contributing to overall marketplace success, good honoree, one often feels“like you are the only one
in the vineyard trying to change us,” he says. “All it took was some education on
things can happen.”
the complexion of things. Since the multicultural industry, the demonstration of
One company at the forefront “AdColor has
last year, I’ve connected with the importance of participating in multicultural
of “getting it” is Microsoft
other AdColor alums, and we’re initiatives and explanation of the benefits of
Advertising, which jumped at helped lead the
working together on some embracing diversity.”
the opportunity to be a present- way in highexciting things that will lift all
ing sponsor of the AdColor lighting the
boats with the tide.”
awards as a platform for identifyighting such fires is what AdColor and
Mr. Brown says he firmly
ing multicultural prospects and leading diverse
other industry efforts are all about. Yet all
believes that those who have
potential partners. AdColor is as talent in the
agree that their work is not even close to
made it “need to create ‘inten- being finished, and other programs and activities
important as any new technolo- advertising
tional bridges’for people follow- are on the drawing boards. Research to determine
gy or ad format to make sure that
ing us. It can’t be like pledging a just how diverse the industry really is and develall consumers and their needs world today.”
fraternity by saying, ‘I hope you opment of a social networking Web site are high
are greatly celebrated, understood and nurtured, says Mari Kim Novak, direc- make it through,’ and not have people on the on the priority list.
tor of global marketing at Microsoft Advertising. other side to guide you over. Once
The AdColor Industry
Her team’s charter is to make sure that the we’re in the door, we need to keep “Once we’re in
Coalition has identified conMicrosoft brand engages with the industry and is it open and show others how to
ducting research as a core
walk through it and turn the knob, the door, we
aligned and influencing industry growth.
objective, held preliminary
Activities such as participating in AdColor in a different kind of way.”
need to keep it
discussions with research
While networking was far and open and show
are one way she helps her media team meet
companies and expects to
people to connect with those who would advertise away most mentioned by first-year
move forward toward idention MSN Latino (www.latino.msn.com), for award honorees as a major out- others how to
fying research partners and
example, or identify smaller, lesser known compa- come of the honor, many have walk through it.”
approaches in 2009.
already done more.
nies that could be potential partners with MSN.
The social networking site
Inspired by comments of Change Agent hon- is set to be launched under the AdColor banner in
Other sponsors agree that initiatives such as
AdColor help lead to connecting with diverse oree R. Vann Graves, another 2007 recipient, January. A key element is a mentoring section
audiences. “We believe that in addition to hiring Rising Star Rudy Duthil, was spurred into action. where diverse people in the field can give and get
the best talent, having a diversity of perspectives, At the awards ceremony, Mr. Graves challenged help from others.
ideas and cultures leads to the creation of better everyone to themselves be agents of change, so
One of the challenges for diverse people is
products and services. At Google, we aim to serve “10 months ago, I set out to step up to that chal- finding other people like them at senior levels in
the long tail, so it is critical for us to hire a diverse lenge,” Mr. Duthil says.
organizations who can be mentors and provide
Believing his idea a “tad bit out there” for his guidance. Diverse people who stayed in the
work force that can better serve all of our clients,”
says Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Google programs company, Zoom Media & Marketing, a general- industry have said that having a sponsor to help
market agency that is French-Canadian owned, guide them has been instrumental in their
manager, global diversity & talent inclusion.
Echoes Marc Strachan, director-brand mar- Mr. Duthil proposed to his bosses that he create career. ■
L
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ADCOLOR’S 21
The AdColor Industry Coalition is honoring 20 outstanding
professionals at all levels and two companies in marketing,
advertising and media in the second annual AdColor Awards.
The awards recognize outstanding performances in six categories:
All-Star, MVP, Legend, Change Agent, Innovator, Rising Star.
Through hard work and efforts such as those of the AdColor
Industry Coalition, the advertising, marketing and media world
is becoming more inclusive. As demonstrated by the stories
of this year’s AdColor honorees, the move toward a more
diverse workplace is gradual, but it can be satisfying.
Still, there remains a perception gap between being an
excellent professional and being an excellent black (or
Asian-American or Hispanic) professional. Says Legend
honoree Renetta McCann: “I am remarkably proud of my
race and my culture. It is one of my greatest assets.
Granted, it is sometimes a double-edged sword. If nothing
RISING STAR: CATHERINE AUGUSTE
RISING STAR: DESMONIQUE BONET
CHANGE AGENT: STACY BROWN-PHILPOT
INNOVATOR: HOWARD BUFORD
INNOVATOR: DEVIKA BULCHANDANI
CHANGE AGENT: VIDA CORNELIOUS
RISING STAR: KEENAN ELLSBERRY
CHANGE AGENT: CHAD GERMANN
CHANGE AGENT: TONY HILL
LEGEND: BYRON E. LEWIS
LEGEND: RENETTA MCCANN
INNOVATOR: JD MICHAELS
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2008 HONOREES
else, I’m used to walking in rooms and having to prove
myself every day.”
To address disparities in the business, the AdColor
Coalition was formed in 2006 when a group of advertising,
media and marketing executives met to discuss ways to
increase diversity in their fields. The coalition—which consists of leaders from the Advertising Club of New York,
Association of National Advertisers, American Advertising
Federation, American Association of Advertising Agencies,
Arnold Worldwide and Reed Smith—also wanted to establish a forum for honoring individual accomplishments and to
perform industrywide research.
The AdColor Awards were created as a way to provide role
models for people of diverse backgrounds who want to succeed in advertising, marketing and media. As the following
profiles show, success can come in many ways. Here, this
year’s winners offer their stories of how they got into the business, why they stayed and what advice they have for others.
RISING STAR: KUNAL MUZUMDAR
CHANGE AGENT: DONNA E. PEDRO
INNOVATOR: DANNY ROBINSON
MVP: SAATCHI & SAATCHI,
PROFESSIONAL PARTNERING SOLUTIONS
ALL-STAR: RUSSELL SIMMONS
RISING STAR: ANGEL SUAREZ
LEGEND: RISHAD TOBACCOWALA
INNOVATOR: KEMBO TOM
LEGEND: CAROL H. WILLIAMS
13
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ADCOLOR
ALL-STAR
MVP
SAATCHI & SAATCHI, NY
PROFESSIONAL
PARTNERING
SOLUTIONS, NEW YORK
RUSSELL SIMMONS
CHAIRMAN-CEO, RUSH WORLD SYNERGIES, NEW YORK
For Russell Simmons, the designation “hip-hop pioneer” is just a
beginning. The rap impresario’s marketing brilliance not only moved
hip-hop culture into the American mainstream, but Mr. Simmons parlayed its popularity into a broad-based highly successful entertainment
conglomerate. In so doing, he fulfilled a vision of becoming an influential trendsetter in pop culture.
Today, 34 years after creating Def Jam Recordings, the 51-year-old
Mr. Simmons, whose nickname is Rush, heads RUSH World Synergies.
His empire has not only ventured into movie and TV production, publishing, advertising, fashion and jewelry, but also finance and online
ventures. In recent years, he has begun devoting a great deal of time and
money to helping others.
“My life has largely been about promoting the anger, style, aggression and attitude of urban America to a worldwide audience,” he wrote
in the first of several books he has authored.
Over time, as he realized there was still something missing, Mr.
Simmons made philanthropic and social causes a big piece of his life,
capitalizing on his belief that hip-hop can be an influential agent for
social change.
Mr. Simmons is chairman of Rush Community Affairs, an umbrella
organization for a coalition of non-profit organizations he has formed.
His first major endeavor started with the formation of Rush
Philanthropic Arts Foundation, dedicated to helping young people
pursue their dreams through the arts and creative expression.
Other major initiatives Mr. Simmons is pursuing through the HipHop Summit Action Network he helped form are spearheading
changes to the New York state Rockefeller drug laws, with their mandatory-sentencing policies for drug offenders; orchestrating the restoration of $300 million to the city of New York’s education budget; registering and mobilizing young voters across the country; and conducting
financial empowerment summits. This year, he launched an entrepreneurship competition for those in the fields of fashion, film and music
aimed at inspiring new ideas and the next generation of entrepreneurs.
How does he choose where he puts his time and money? “You’re
given so many resources,” he says. “The trick is to find out how best to
use them to give back. There’s so much ignorance and poverty everywhere. I try not to over-think things and do the work.”
—Nancy Giges
14
Saatchi & Saatchi considers hiring minority-owned vendors as a key
business measure to infuse multicultural insight into its overall marketing strategy to be a top priority. That’s why the agency connected
with Professional Partnering Solutions, a supplier diversity specialist,
to create a formal supplier database for North America.
“Markets like New York, Miami or L.A. are becoming majority
minority populations,” says James Orsini, Saatchi exec VP-director of
finance and operations. “To gain a better understanding and work
harder to connect with those
people, we needed to broaden
our partner supplier base. The
key for us is how we infuse
multicultural market insights
into general market advertising. It becomes so much easier
with diverse suppliers.”
This thinking has been injected into the agency’s DNA. PPS staffers
are housed on site, and Saatchi teams are learning that utilizing this
database is smart business—not simply good intention.
The database is more than a diversity management system, says
Anita Laney, PPS president. It incorporates in formation from all
Saatchi North America vendors. Vendors interested in working with
Saatchi must register and include a description of their businesses and,
in the case of certified minority-owned businesses, register as such.
In addition, PPS staff, with their expertise in working with minority suppliers, can facilitate a relationship with the agency.
“That’s where the bridge is created,” Ms. Laney says. “We have relationships with vendors who have been successful. It is tough to vet
new vendors. We serve as that conduit.”
Support comes right from the top: Saatchi management established a budget to get the job done. “We have the whole agency moving toward the goals we’ve set. And then at the end of the day you’ve
got to spread the word that this is good business, not required protocol,” Mr. Orsini says.
He cites a recent strategic partnership with a Chicago-based
minority-owned production facility, Avenue Edit. Saatchi asked its
two largest clients—Procter & Gamble Co. and General Mills—to
participate. “They supported us on this,” Mr. Orsini says. “We believe
this is historic—groundbreaking. Anita helped broker that for us. We
liked the quality of the work, and the clients embraced this wholeheartedly.”
—Nancy Coltun Webster
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9:13 PM
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ADCOLOR
LEGENDS
BYRON E. LEWIS
RENETTA McCANN
CHAIRMAN-CEO, UNIWORLD GROUP, NEW YORK
FOUNDER, PUBLICIS GROUPE’S VIVAKI PEOPLE PRACTICE
In Byron E. Lewis’ vision of tomorrow’s media environment, no one is
frowning. Mr. Lewis is unusually optimistic about opportunities for
people of color:
“This is the best time for minorities in this business. They’re the
fastest-growing influence on music, sports, fashion, entertainment and
technology, both here and globally.”
Like many pioneers, Mr. Lewis’ repeated exclusions from Madison
Avenue’s white culture in the 1960s motivated him further. He started
his own agency, UniWorld Group, in 1969 and built it into one of the
largest African-American-owned multicultural advertising agencies,
with annual billings of $250 million. Its clients include household
names such as Burger King as well as Ford and Lincoln brand automobiles. Now 49 percent owned by WPP Group, the agency remains 51
percent minority-owned and run. Mr. Lewis also pioneered ethnic
branding in entertainment, beginning with the “Shaft” TV series.
Mr. Lewis, 76, grew up in Far Rockaway, N.Y., where he loved listening
to people’s stories. After a stint in the Army and graduation from Long
Island University where he studied journalism, he quickly deduced that
“writing headlines required brilliance. You’ve got a long story to tell with
so few words.” From that observation, he began to explore how to reach
the black community with pointed, relevant communications.
“Blacks were perceived as uneducated and poor,” Mr. Lewis
recounts. “But the true story of hardworking blacks wasn’t being told.
My mother, a maid, came home from work and told white people’s stories. Why wasn’t she telling her own stories?”
Mr. Lewis filled the black storytelling deficit by creating the first successful black soap opera, “Sounds of the City,” 15 minutes long, syndicated on black radio stations in the early 1970s and sponsored by
Quaker. Though the sponsor’s products were a staple in black households, the company had to be convinced to sign on and pay money.
Proud of his agency’s contributions to multicultural success stories,
Mr. Lewis gives back, serving on the board of the Apollo Theater
Foundation, the Jackie Robinson Educational Foundation and a host
of other important ethnic organizations.
“Eccentricity,” he says, “is a good quality to have in this business, but
reading comes first. Read. Finish school. For blacks, that’s doubly true.”
—Ina B. Chadwick
16
Renetta McCann’s rise to the very top of the media agency world over
30 years is notable in many contexts: as an executive, as a woman, as an
African-American.
She takes great pride in her commitment to remain in the industry
and create a path of firsts for others to follow—all the way up to first
African-American CEO at Starcom MediaVest Group. Last June, she
stepped down as global CEO to form and lead the people practice of
VivaKi, a new Publicis Groupe umbrella organization for Starcom
MediaVest, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia.
She says her decision to put more focus on other aspects of her life—
she plans a yearlong sabbatical starting in January—represents another
first.
“I hope it serves to inspire others who might want to take unexpected journeys,” she says.
Ms. McCann, 51, has two pieces of advice for those starting out. The
first is to learn how to manage paradox and the second is to build
resilience.
She notes her own personal paradox: The balance between what it
means to be a business leader and what it means to be a black business
leader.
“I am remarkably proud of my race and my culture. It is one of my
greatest assets,” Ms. McCann says. “Granted, it is sometimes a doubleedged sword. If nothing else, I’m used to walking in rooms and having
to prove myself every day. The people in that room may have a negative
[perception] of me, or they may expect less than I can give. But because
I’ve had to walk into that room and prove myself every day, I know my
own value. Having fought for it so hard, for so long, it is now second
nature. I own it.”
She says resilience is powered by coping mechanisms and conflict resolution techniques.
“It can be the ability to keep performing with excellence even though
you have been passed over for a VP title. It might be deciding to stay in
a company or an industry where there are precious few role models or
mentors. It is finding a way to blow off as much steam as we need to in
the most productive manner possible and then go back to work.”
10/27/08
12:18 PM
Page 1
Inform
Involve
Empower
CNN Heroes airs in weekly segments across all CNN Networks and
Platforms—a reach of 117 million people on-air and online monthly.
The CNN audience doesn’t just receive news and information,
it responds. In 2007, more than 7,000 audience nominations
came in for Heroes in 93 countries.
Selflessness has a powerful effect on people. CNN Heroes
inspired viewers to take action themselves—donating time,
resources, and money to many Heroes and their causes.
“CNN Heroes” honoree Peter Kithene of Seattle,
Washington founded a clinic in his native
Kenya that has provided services
to more than 18,000 patients.
Unheard and unrecognized – until now.
CNN Heroes honors extraordinary contributions to the world. CNN solicits its global audience to nominate these selfless individuals,
and utilizes its international resources to tell their stories. And in the process, CNN gives advertisers not only the opportunity to
reach an informed, involved, and empowered audience—but to also be part of something bigger.
CNN.com/Heroes
Source: During February ’08, the CNN brand reached more people (117 million P2+) with its TV networks and websites than any other cable news organization.
Sources: TV - Nielsen NPower (February ’08), Web - Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel (February ’08).
© 2008 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Project6
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LEGENDS
CAROL H. WILLIAMS
PRESIDENT-CEO & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
CAROL H. WILLIAMS ADVERTISING, OAKLAND, CALIF.
RISHAD TOBACCOWALA
CEO, DENUO, AND CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER,
PUBLICIS GROUPE MEDIA, CHICAGO
In an industry in the fast lane, few can claim to have been out in front for
decades. Rishad Tobaccowala, 49, CEO of Denuo, a Publicis futures company that brings new media and marketing technologies to clients, is still
a leader of the pack.
At the same time he serves as chief innovation officer of Publicis
Groupe Media, a board that oversees media specialists Starcom
MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. His successes include founding
and developing SMG Next, which spawned a variety of innovative media
practices to leverage video games, word-of-mouth, mobile marketing,
search applications and consumer engagement with video marketing.
He came to the U.S. from his native India in 1980 to study for an
M.B.A. at the University of Chicago. As a student who knew little about
American culture, he realized he needed to learn fast. His drive was later
fed by “a fantastic boss,” who told him soon after he joined the media
department at Leo Burnett Co. in 1982 that he was not going to be evaluated on his work. “You do your work better than anyone. You live in
America and don’t know how to talk about sports. [You need to] get to
one sporting event every two weeks. You need to understand American
male culture.”
In an environment where acceptable small talk included the weather
or sports, Mr. Tobaccowala understood that his boss “meant white male
culture. I recognize in 2008 human resources would tell him he couldn’t
say anything like that—and yet that was the best advice he ever gave me.”
He says today the world is much more multicultural, and young people are “living in a world where it is easier to advance.” He advises those
starting out to avoid building walls, “celebrate who you are—but don’t
be overly sensitive to people who are critical.
“Successful people, in addition to having opportunity and drive, are
very passionate about what they do. They find something that aligns
with who they are. Define yourself by who you are. You are not defined
by where you come from and what you look like.”
18
Carol H. Williams thought she had retired from advertising in 1986
after creating highly memorable campaigns for major brands and
racking up many “firsts” at Leo Burnett Co. in Chicago and Foote,
Cone & Belding in San Francisco: the first female and first AfricanAmerican creative director and VP. But the phone kept ringing, and it
was former clients on the other end of the line.
When the work started taking up most of her time and bedroom,
“my husband lovingly kicked me and my papers out,” and Carol H.
Williams Advertising has since grown to rank as the country’s largest
African-American agency. “I [realized I] had a particular talent for
helping Fortune 500 companies successfully connect to AfricanAmerican and urban audiences,” she says.
It was fate that got her into advertising in the first place. While she
was a pre-med student at Northwestern University, an advertising
executive took note of a play she wrote and offered her a summer
internship. “I … was hooked and have been in the advertising business ever since,” she says.
Ms. Williams, 59, says her father’s philosophy influenced her life:
“You can’t make the basket if you don’t take the shot,” he told her. And
when she saw a player thrown out at a Chicago Cubs game, he said
that it didn’t matter if the player was right or wrong. “I can’t win if I’m
not in the game,” she recalls.
Mentors at Leo Burnett helped her gain her own confidence:
Charles Blakemore, her creative director when she created the campaign, “Strong Enough for a Man, But Made for a Woman” for Secret
deodorant; Rudy Perz, copywriter and creator of the Pillsbury
Doughboy; and Bill Haljun, a 30-year-veteran until his retirement in
1995.
To help others, Ms. Williams is active in philanthropic efforts on
behalf of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Congressional Black Caucus,
NAACP, U.S. Dream Academy and National Newspaper Publishers
Association.
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CHANGE AGENTS
STACY BROWN-PHILPOT
DIRECTOR-CONSUMER OPERATIONS
GOOGLE INC., MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF.
Growing up in Detroit, the daughter of a single mother, Stacy BrownPhilpot worked hard to get good grades and become the first person in
her immediate family to attend college. When she was 19 and ending
her second summer as an intern in accounts payable at General Motors
Corp., the program leader told her that while everyone loved her work,
nobody knew who she was as a person.
“ ‘You’re not focusing on the relationship,’ he told me, and he was
right. I never had to interact with people who weren’t black before. It
forced me to realize that as important as what you do are the relationships you create over time.”
Thus it’s no surprise that relationships are at the heart of Ms.
Brown-Philpot’s diversity efforts at Google, which she joined in 2003
as a senior financial analyst before moving up to her current position,
in which she leads a team of more than 200 responsible for the sales
and operational support of more than 30 consumer products.
Along the way, she served as the director of finance for Google’s
Online Sales & Operations, managing the incoming revenue from
Google’s multibillion-dollar online advertising business.
Recognizing that “we’d been so busy growing a sustainable business
that we had to start thinking how to diversify inside the company,” she
founded the Black Googler Network, an employee resource group that
helps attract, recruit and retain African-Americans.
Her involvement in the network and collaboration with executive
councils have fueled Google’s diversity initiatives and drawn attention
to a dire need to expand diversity within the technology industry.
Ms. Brown-Philpot, 33, landed in the communications industry by
a circuitous route. After earning a B.S. in economics and graduating
magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania, then earning an M.B.A. in business from Stanford
University, she worked in various positions in finance, operations and
business development at such companies as PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Goldman Sachs and SAP.
—Christine Bunish
hunt
smarter.
find the best jobs. recruit the top talent.
adage.com/talentworks
For advertising information contact Greg Altieri at 212•210•0752 or via email at [email protected]
Ready. Aim. Hire.
19
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ADCOLOR
CHANGE AGENTS
VIDA CORNELIOUS
CHAD GERMANN
VP-CREATIVE DIRECTOR, DDB WORLDWIDE, CHICAGO
PRESIDENT-CEO, RED CIRCLE AGENCY, MINNEAPOLIS
Even before Vida Cornelious found a career in advertising, she agreed
with the principle set forth by Eldridge Cleaver: “If you’re not part of
the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
But when she entered advertising, those words took on special resonance. “I am a strong proponent of being a team player,” she says.
“Collaborative problem solving, both at the agency and client, is germane for establishing trust and the cooperation needed to achieve
your goals.”
As an undergraduate at Hampton University studying graphic
design, Ms. Cornelious, 37, had her eyes opened to advertising as an
option for emerging artists. She pursued ad studies in graduate school
at the University of Illinois; landed an internship at UniWorld Group,
New York; and went on to become a senior art director with Burrell
Communications Group in Chicago.
She considers herself lucky to have “cut [her] teeth” with two minority agencies. “At both UniWorld and Burrell, I felt a sense of camaraderie that provided a level of support, thus allowing me to concentrate on learning the business and doing good work. There was never
a feeling of isolation that I know so many other minorities in less
diversified environments have felt.”
Since joining DDB Chicago eight years ago, Ms. Cornelious has contributed to highly celebrated wins and global clients, with notable ad
campaigns for McDonald’s Corp. and Dell Inc. Most recently, she led
the creative launch of Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light Lime, one of the
most successful product launches in the beer/wine/spirits category.
She serves on DDB’s Bill Bernbach Scholarship Award Committee
and as liaison to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter,
where she fosters students’ career development.
Despite numerous successes, Ms. Cornelious believes that “there are
times when, through disappointment, you learn how to get stronger,
how to use your cognitive skills to focus yourself and look beyond any
external forces working against you. I’ve had plenty of those moments
as a person of color.”
Looking ahead, she says she strives to “continue to do great work
that gets us awards, raise the level of creativity and reach out to young
people who want guidance and assistance,” just as a professor once
helped her find the path to advertising.
—Christine Bunish
20
Chad Germann, a Native American, grew up just 15 miles outside the
local Native American reservation in Sandstone, Minn., and experienced both worlds.
Mr. Germann, who credits his family’s work ethic with giving him
the tools he now uses to ensure that Indian casinos make the most of
their resources, said his maternal grandparents played a powerful role
in his life. He has benefited from their beliefs that their children and
grandchildren must succeed in the “white” world while remaining
rooted in their culture.
While Mr. Germann, 36, attended St. Cloud State University,
Minnesota’s second largest university, he interned every summer with
the Minneapolis-based advertising office of his hometown casinos,
owned by the federally recognized American Indian tribe of Mille Lacs
Band of Ojibwe.
After finishing graduate school in language and literature at the
University of North Florida, he worked in advertising and marketing
at the Grand Casino in Hinckley and rose to advertising director,
where he was responsible for a $4 million budget, overseeing media
buying, marketing planning, media and creative strategy. When his
tribe identified Mr. Germann as a leader and asked his goal, he told
them he wanted to run his own ad agency. He believed there was a
need for an ad agency that understood Indian culture and respected
the decisions of tribal councils.
Thus in 2001, Mr. Germann started Red Circle Agency as a shop to
work exclusively with Indian gaming casinos and tribal councils.
“Our goal and our mission is to help these tribes grow their casino
businesses to make them the most effective and efficient businesses,”
he says. In one case, Red Circle reduced a casino’s media spending by
33 percent while increasing its reach.
This is important because the casino revenues pay for basic needs
such as clinics, schools and elder housing, he says.
Most recently, Mr. Germann started Howl Fire Agency in partnership with the Forest County Potawatomi in 2007 because he realized
that Native Americans could create unique marketing and supplier
diversity partnerships with Fortune 1000 companies.
—Sandra Guy
AA008746
10/29/08
5:07 PM
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PIONEERING
AUDIENCEOLOGY
audienceology
pronunciation:
- noun
1. a synergy of media and technology
2. the science of connecting with your
target audience across multiple
digital touchpoints
3. at the heart of Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising is
proud to return as an
ADCOLOR Presenter!
www.advertising.microsoft.com
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ADCOLOR
CHANGE AGENTS
DONNA E. PEDRO
SENIOR PARTNER-CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER
OGILVY NEW YORK
TONY HILL
VP-ADVERTISING, USA TODAY, McLEAN, VA.
At Tony Hill’s metaphoric dinner table where he invites all the “new kids”
to sit down and work together, he’s happy to share his lucky charm—his
talisman for success. It’s not magical: It’s the willingness to let luck coexist
with “busting your hump and understanding the job that you’re doing.”
He’s humbled by the fact that five of his direct reports have received the
prestigious Sales Executive of the Year award at USA Today, “all because
they pulled their weight, together—not thinking as minorities.”
At USA Today, where he started in 1985 as a circulation representative
and was named VP-advertising in 2002, he recollects how founder Al
Neuharth nurtured people of color. “When there were seven or eight
white guys sitting at the table, Neuharth would look at the newspaper and
if there were no minorities ‘above the fold,’ the issue wouldn’t fly,” says Mr.
Hill, 54.
Growing up in a black neighborhood in Washington, D.C., with his
grandmother and mother, a bank teller, Mr. Hill admired lawyers because
“they dressed nice, spoke nice and acted nice.” He planned to become one.
However, after graduating from Holy Cross University, he joined Xerox’s
sales training program. One of his accounts was the USA Today startup.
He jumped on board.
His "Aha!" moment came after a particularly grueling sales pitch he
made with his team. After winning the account, they developed a team
slogan: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Mr. Hill is completely committed to bringing more young people into
today’s digitally transforming newspaper industry. “Kids coming to work
here are very smart—smarter than me. But I tell them, ‘No matter how
smart you are, you’ve got to lose your sense of entitlement. Get someone
a sandwich if they ask, and drop the attitude.’ ”
He encourages them to take risks. “Ask, ‘Can we try it this way?’
Challenge the status quo.”
Despite economic pressure, Mr. Hill says that“loving your work makes
financial sense. Love what you do, and the money will follow.”
He sees his future in his current position. “So much to wrap my head
around—digital, vertical products. It seems like second nature to the kids,
but I’m in there learning with them. I’m expanding.”
—Ina B. Chadwick
22
When Donna Pedro began her career in human resources 25 years ago,
“diversity as a practice did not exist,” she says. But as it came into its
own at major corporations, she saw the opportunity to specialize in
diversity and inclusion.
After 13 years as corporate head of diversity and staffing at Sony
Music Entertainment, Ms. Pedro joined a consulting firm specializing
in diversity and inclusion, The FutureWork Institute, and was introduced to Ogilvy New York as part of the organization’s executive-onloan program in 2006.
“No one at Ogilvy was dedicated to doing diversity and inclusion
work,” she recalls, and she was given the job of finding a head of diversity. During that process, Ogilvy’s top executives and Ms. Pedro herself
came to realize that she was the best match for the job, and she joined
the agency in 2007.
With Ogilvy’s goal to be the “employer of choice” for all groups in
advertising, Ms. Pedro has established an active employee advisory
council and professional networks; established a highly rated diversity
and inclusion “sitelet” on the ogilvy.com Web site; hosted frank, informal diversity dialogues between senior leaders and employees; and
grown numerous diversity training programs.
She has also expanded Ogilvy’s college pipeline and recruiting
efforts at historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving
institutions and among student-led affinity groups on general cam-
puses. This year half of the 28 hires for Ogilvy’s 12-month rotational
entry-level program are people of color. In October, Ogilvy received an
American Advertising Federation Mosaic Award in recognition of the
achievements of Ms. Pedro and her team.
While she has undoubtedly been extremely influential in her nearly
two years at Ogilvy, Ms. Pedro hopes the person she has the greatest
influence on is her 17-year-old daughter. “I think I’ve been able to
show my daughter that she can do whatever she wants—advertising,
law, environmental science. She has choices and options; she has a lot
of opportunities today.”
—Christine Bunish
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11/4/08
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creativity magazine and creativity-online.com
put a ring on it.
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ADCOLOR
INNOVATORS
HOWARD BUFORD
CEO-FOUNDER, PRIME ACCESS, NEW YORK
When Howard Buford saw the 1990 U.S. Census figures showing people
of color to be a growing audience in the U.S. marketplace, he knew the
time was right to create a multicultural marketing agency.
He was also encouraged by the inclusive policies of the Clinton
administration that served as a role model for corporate America.
“People take their cues from the top,” he says.
With one client and a high-tech answering machine, he opened Prime
Access in 1990, offering advertising and marketing communications
services that target African-American, Hispanic and gay consumers.
Mr. Buford, 49, draws on the expertise he developed working in brand
management at Procter & Gamble Co. and in account services at Young
& Rubicam, New York, and Uniworld Group and also credits his education—a B.A. in linguistics, psychology and social relations from Harvard
College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School—for his success.
“Overall, I had great experiences and great assignments,” he says. “I
think that’s unusual for people in advertising in general. Ultimately, I was
fascinated with the psychology of advertising and the art of persuading
people.”
In the early days of Prime Access, Mr. Buford relied on his relationships to turn business. But that all changed in 1994, when the agency created a direct-mail piece for AT&T that was clearly targeted at the gay and
lesbian market. A first for a Fortune 500 company, the piece got media
coverage around the world. “We got so much PR … it really put our
agency on the map,” he says.
But the AT&T piece was challenging to create.“A lot of [casting] agencies wouldn’t send their people over. So a lot of casting we did off the
street,” he says.“Of course, now we get models from every agency in town
with no problem.”
Mr. Buford has been recognized not only for his work, but also for
extensive community service for African-American and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender causes. In 2005, he was recognized by the Southern
Poverty Law Center for outstanding dedication and commitment to
human rights and equal justice, and he has served as a member of the executive board of GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
24
DEVIKA BULCHANDANI
EXEC VP-CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
MCCANN ERICKSON, NEW YORK
Studying for her master’s degree in communications at the University
of Southern California, Devika Bulchandani was sure of one thing: “I
would never sell my soul by going into advertising.” Her plan was to go
into social marketing and “make a difference in the world.”
And for a while she did just that, working on a Ford Foundationfunded project for her native India.
But Ms. Bulchandani, 39, found it “really depressing” because “I
couldn’t wait forever for results. I’m more of an instant gratification
kind of person and need to see results.”
So she moved to New York and did exactly what she said she
wouldn’t. She joined McCann Erickson in 1997 and has been moving
up the ladder ever since. She says she never really thought much about
her ethnicity in the workplace.
“I was and am pretty much color blind when it comes to my career,”
Ms. Bulchandani says. But she did realize that walking into a room and
not speaking like everybody else is “a huge advantage because they listen to you.” She and colleague Eric Keshin, regional director of
McCann Erickson North America and chief operating officer of
McCann Worldgroup, have a running joke. As she tells it, he teases her
that he has all the good ideas, but when she articulates them “with my
accent, they sound better.”
“One of the things I’ve always done at McCann is wear all kinds of
strange Indian things to work. It’s not that I consciously think, ‘Let me
be different.’ It’s who I am, and I think that attitude of being comfortable with who I am makes everybody else comfortable and allows them
to embrace you.” She says if she has any advice to those of different ethnicities, it would be, “Don’t try to be somebody else.”
Ms. Bulchandani says she believes the advertising industry is ideally
suited to people who are different because it’s an “idea business, and in
an idea business people who are off-center work as long as they are
confidently off-center. This is a business where you are looking for
things to come out of a different angle, a fresh perspective.”
—Nancy Giges
Project7
10/20/08
2:12 PM
Page 1
ADCOLOR
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INNOVATORS
JD MICHAELS
DANNY ROBINSON
VP-DIRECTOR, PRESS, BBDO NEW YORK
SENIOR VP-CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MARTIN AGENCY, RICHMOND, VA.
“My mother still says that it’s not a question of if you can do something, but a matter of how you’re able to get it done.”
That principle serves Jd Michaels well in his role as head of BBDO’s
rebranded print department, whose acronym, PRESS, stands for
“Producing Relatively Everything Somebody Suggests,” he says.
“For just one job, I called NASA, the special-effects director from the
Pink Floyd tour and members of Cirque du Soleil. BBDO always wants
our ideas to be the first, best and most incredible.”
To that end, PRESS used innovative photoluminescent paper for
Vegas-like animated signage for Pepsi; crafted 12-foot Havaianas sandals filled with tropical flowers for an art installation; and used a transformation drawing technique to create a five-story image of an international news event seemingly constructed from coaxial cable for “BBC
World News.” “My job is rendering the creatives’ imagination, like an
in-house Industrial Light & Magic [visual effects company],” Mr.
Michaels, 42, explains. “I call it ‘possibility engineering.’ ”
A graduate of Yale University with a degree in literature and an artist
who has written symphonies, taught vocal jazz and studied with Los
Angeles’ Groundling Theater, Mr. Michaels never intended to get into
advertising. A temporary secretarial job at JWT led to an entry-level
position in that agency’s print department and a series of hard-todefine creative posts (with escalating responsibilities) at FCB in New
York and San Francisco.
Mr. Michaels remembers the “slight gasps” from people meeting him
for the first time in business situations. “The words ‘Kansas City native’
and ‘Yale graduate’ give people certain mental pictures, none of which
really describes the way I look,” he says. “But now I’m proud to meet
more and more clients from all sorts of backgrounds and ethnicities.”
A member of BBDO’s Diversity Council, Mr. Michaels recently brokered a partnership with the council, BBDO’s clients and Marvel
Comics, creating original co-branded works that address diversity and
inclusion. “This initiative takes our clients’ passion for diversity and
matches it with our own powers of nationwide communication,” he
says. “It made my mother realize that all those comics she’s been storing actually paid off.”
—Christine Bunish
26
Danny Robinson was introduced to advertising as an assistant product
manager at General Foods Corp.“The times I got most excited was when
we had meetings with our agencies,” he recalls. “Frankly, I was better at
creative thinking than I was at crunching numbers.”
He landed his first agency job at Guild Group, a small sales promotion
agency, where he ran the copywriting department. It was the right move
to build a solid foundation before co-founding groundbreaking Vigilante
Advertising, a joint venture with Leo Burnett Co.
Vigilante was positioned as an urban market agency. “A lot of people
dubbed‘urban’ a euphemism for‘black,’” Mr. Robinson says.“We defined
urban as a psychographic, not a demographic. It’s about consumers of all
things urban regardless of race. It’s a sizable and influential group.”
At Vigilante he oversaw the ad and event business for Johnnie Walker
Black Label and Sprint, expanded the audience for Major League
Baseball and launched the Pontiac G6 with “The Oprah Winfrey Show’s”
car giveaway.
The chance to join the Martin Agency as creative director came as Mr.
Robinson, 48, was reconsidering the pace of building a business and
weighing the opportunities at an agency he had long admired.“I thought
there would be a chance at Martin to do a different kind of work.”
So he moved to Richmond and focused primarily on new business,
winning significant accounts, including AOL, Sirius Satellite Radio,
Hoover and Wal-Mart Stores. Recently he added the title of creative
director of BrandFirst Entertainment, the agency’s new branded-content
division, to his responsibilities.
Mr. Robinson continues to draw on his experiences at Vigilante.
“When I [came here], I promised to do more than win accounts and do
great work,” he says. “Part of my commitment was to find and hire people of color, help mentor them and make the agency a more diverse place.
At Vigilante, I had an opportunity to hire people who often wouldn’t
have gone into the business. Some of them are now marketing managers
at corporations and creatives at traditional agencies. I would love to have
that kind of impact while at Martin. There is so much more work to do
to make our industry look more like the range of consumers to which we
advertise.”
—Christine Bunish
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Page 27
INNOVATORS
RISING STARS
KEMBO TOM
CATHERINE AUGUSTE
VP-IDEAS AND INNOVATION, GTM INC., ATLANTA
DIGITAL MEDIA PLANNER
MINDSHARE-TEAM DETROIT, DEARBORN, MICH.
Kembo Tom is a man powered by the love of sound.
At the age of 18, he came to the U.S. mainland from St. Thomas.
Drawn to the nightlife of Orlando, Fla., he was “blown away” by rave
and house music, and found his niche in the event promotion industry.
He moved to Atlanta, where he produced some of city’s hottest music
and entertainment events throughout the 1990s.
In 1999, he drew on his multifaceted talents working with the City of
Atlanta’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs. While at the bureau, Mr. Tom handled all aspects of marketing and production for Atlanta’s annual
Montreux Jazz Festival. His insight into emerging cultures inspired him
to establish Elevation Inc., described as the Apollo Theater of Atlanta
and voted Atlanta’s No. 1 venue for seeing the best up-and-coming talent. Over the course of its seven-year run, Elevation was host to such
performers as Erykah Badu, Outkast, India Arie and George Benson.
Mr. Tom likens the “magical” experience of Elevation to a primitive
version of Youtube.com and myspace.com, where people congregate to
hear and be heard.
In 2000, he cofounded GTM Inc., a strategic lifestyle marketing company with expertise in trendsetting global, urban and popular culture.
He develops creative marketing and advertising programs for such
clients as Current TV, Nissan, Procter & Gamble Co.’s Tag body spray
and Verizon.
“There’s no industry quite like marketing if you want to create a creative message,” he says. “At GTM we want to dispel the myth that it’s
about race-based marketing. It’s about culture vs. race. That requires us
to keep an open lens on diversity.”
As a globe-trotting DJ, Mr. Tom furthered his cultural understanding
by seeking out differences and similarities in people from Iceland to Italy
to Egypt to Thailand.
Mr. Tom lives by the message he gives to people of different ethnic
backgrounds just starting out: “Bring [your] heritage to the table. Most
people assimilate and in that we lose crucial insight related to a culture
of people. Bring it into play so you are truly valued. That’s what makes
a person unique.”
—Katy Ingulli
Catherine Auguste has shown at age 23 a maturity and ability to initiate
projects that prompted her bosses to offer her a permanent position
seven months into a one-year internship. In fact, she skipped the entrylevel assistant planner role at Mindshare-Team Detroit to become a digital media planner and buyer.
“She knows how to apply the digital world to real-world problems
and achieve client objectives,” says Lynn Mroz, the agency’s senior VPgroup director, digital communications.
Ms. Auguste had planned to become an engineer when she entered
Michigan State University, but the creativity that comes with an advertising career so attracted her that she switched majors and instead graduated with a B.A. in advertising.
“I consider myself lucky to have been given the opportunity, working
in digital, the hot spot of the industry right now,” she says.
She has impressed her employer with her initiative and creativity.
Soon after she developed an internal presentation explaining why auto
dealers should try to reach African-American customers online, Ms.
Mroz said she got similar feedback from a groundswell of dealers
saying that people of color should be included in online marketing—
essentially echoing what Ms. Auguste had already figured out.
A Detroit native, Ms. Auguste sees a lack of diversity around her as a
challenge to become a role model. She is optimistic that inclusion is a
priority because she has seen Mindshare’s efforts increase for Latino,
African-American and Asian recruitment and advertising.
Her parents, natives of Haiti who never attended college, have been a
great influence in supporting her education, and she is now preparing
to start studying for a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications while working full time. Ms. Auguste has not forgotten her
heritage. She has served as a translator on seven medical mission trips to
Mirebalais, Haiti, and is treasurer of a nonprofit organization that aims
to increase Haitian cultural awareness.
She advises other people of color to stay up to date on industry news
and to make connections.
“Be proactive, take notes and listen carefully—and network as much
as you can,” she says.
—Sandra Guy
27
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Page 28
ADCOLOR
RISING STARS
DESMONIQUE BONET
KEENAN ELLSBERRY
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXEC, GOOGLE INC., NEW YORK
VP-HEAD OF INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS
OGILVY-TEAM DETROIT, DEARBORN, MICH.
As the leader of a team asked to work on many aspects of a clandestine digital project—strategy, e-commerce, information architecture
and functional templates—Keenan Ellsberry realized the value of different skills.
To develop those skills himself, Mr. Ellsberry, 33, followed a circuitous route. Interested in technology, he started working with computers in high school. He graduated from Eastern Michigan
University, then developed database-driven Web applications in a
computer lab.
After a number of jobs in Web technology, network management
and computer training, Mr. Ellsberry caught the advertising bug
when he was hired four years ago as client service manager at ePrize,
an interactive promotion agency, handling clients such as Amtrak,
Boeing Corp., Columbia House, NASCAR and Tyson Foods.
“I thrive on challenges,” he says. “When I’m given objectives, I ask,
‘What can we do with technology to meet these brand awareness or
advertising objectives?’ ”
Mr. Ellsberry, who returned to school to work for advanced
degrees, took advantage of an unexpected offer in 2006 from OgilvyThe best birthday gift Desmonique Bonet ever received was not your typical present. It was on her 30th birthday in 2001, when she attended her
first sales meeting at Radio One, the nation’s largest urban radio broadcast company, that she knew she had found her calling.
She left the meeting captivated by the exchange of brainstorming for
sales ideas sparked by her boss, Cathy Hughes, Radio One founder and
chairwoman, the first African-American woman with a company to go
public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ms. Bonet was interested in the power of communities and the ways
people organize them to achieve personal, political and social change.
Since this interest was backed up with a Ph.D. in political science, she
jumped at the chance when Ms. Hughes asked her to learn the radio
business as her assistant.
Within two years, she was ready to move on and joined Interep
National Radio Sales as director of marketing, overseeing radio campaigns for such diverse clients as rapper Eminem’s Shady Ltd. Clothing
line, Tiffany & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline. In 2006, she joined Google as
senior account exec, part of a team responsible for applying emerging
digital technologies to radio.
She feels a responsibility to help others and spends a considerable
amount of her time mentoring young people. “As a person of color, you
do think about diversity,” she says.
At Google, Ms. Bonet has founded the Hispanic Googler Network, is
part of Google’s Mentor Marketplace, regularly volunteers at Google
diversity recruiting events and is a member of the Google Culture Club.
She also mentors students through the International Radio & Television
Society Foundation.
Her advice to young people of different ethnic backgrounds who want
to venture into the advertising world: “Have a real passion for it … and be
a constant learner. Always think big, not just in terms of advertising but in
your life as well. You never know where the future is going to take you.”
—Katy Ingulli
28
Team Detroit. Ogilvy identified him as a rising star after seeing his
involvement in contributing to success for its clients: the first accessories e-commerce solution in the auto category for Ford Motor Co.
and its Custom Accessories brand; another e-commerce first solution
for Ford Wholesale Parts; the pro bono development of a new Web
site for child and family services nonprofit Starfish Family Services;
and strategic digital insights for a campaign drive for the United Way
for Southeastern Michigan.
Mr. Ellsberry says he’s never let racial stereotypes deter him. “I tell
others to set your goals; challenge yourself with real-world applications; surround yourself with people doing what you want to do or
better; and follow the best until you’re in a position to lead, then follow the best again,” he says. “If you ever fail to meet your goals, don’t
consider yourself a failure. Learn from it and turn the experience into
opportunity.”
—Sandra Guy
Project3
10/24/08
2:30 PM
Page 1
THE BIG STORY. THE BIG
SECRET. THE BIG LIE. THE
BIG CHALLENGE. THE BIG
THREAT. THE BIG MESS.
THE BIG OPPORTUNITY.
THE BIG QUESTION. THE
BIG FAUX-PAS. THE BIG
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
THE BIG COP-OUT. THE BIG
WHOA. THE BIG PICTURE.
CULTURAL, CROSS-CULTURAL AND MULTI-CULTURAL BUSINES INSIGHTS. AN ADVERTISING AGE BLOG
WWW.ADAGE.COM/BIGTENT
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ADCOLOR
RISING STARS
KUNAL MUZUMDAR
ACCOUNT PLANNER, RAZORFISH, SEATTLE
Kunal Muzumdar planned to be an engineer, but he changed those
plans during the first advertising course he took in college. There, he
thought of advertising as having a kind of “Hollywoodish, cool sort of
vibe.” His infatuation—along with the realization that engineering
didn’t give him enough interaction with people—put him on a different path.
Mr. Muzumdar, 25, never looked back. After graduating from the
University of Texas at San Antonio with a B.B.A. in marketing, he
worked at several agencies, including Campbell-Ewald Advertising
and Young & Rubicam Advertising in Detroit, and in September
joined Avenue A|Razorfish, now Razorfish, in Seattle.
He said he has been encouraged by people he has worked with. He
takes special pride when he recalls top executives at Campbell-Ewald
praising him soon after he joined in 2007 for his role on a pitch, a lesson that encouraged him to speak up.
“This is an idea-driven industry. Too often, minorities seem like
they are walking on eggshells,” he says. “I say, ‘You cannot be afraid to
have an opinion, and you cannot be afraid to stand up for it.’ ”
He also learned the value of a strong mentor who allowed a newcomer to take on responsibility quickly. Indeed, he was promoted to
his mentor’s former job as manager of account planning after his
mentor moved on.
Mr. Muzumdar has received kudos for pushing himself to uncover
the best insights in consumer culture to improve business for his
clients. As both a member and student of the Millennial Generation,
he provides an inside view of today’s consumer world and offers a
valuable perspective on the changing landscape, particularly as it is
affected by the digital age. His work has covered the apparel, automotive, beverage, finance and food industries, as well as government. At
Razorfish, he works on Best Buy, Coors Brewing Co. and Nike.
Mr. Muzumdar says he hopes one day to run his own business and
see people awarded for their own work, making the need for minority achievement awards obsolete.
—Sandra Guy
30
ANGEL SUAREZ
BRAND MANAGER, DISNEY ESPN MEDIA NETWORKS, NEW YORK
Angel Suarez is used to being first: the first-born of four children, the
first in his family to attend a major university and the first to work at
a large corporation.
The child of U.S. Air Force parents, Mr. Suarez lived in eight states
while growing up. “Moving so often made me grow up fast,” he says.
He completed high school in three years and at 17 began studying creative writing at Florida State University, where he started an entertainment publication, Speed Magazine, distributed to universities
throughout the Southeast.
After graduation Mr. Suarez joined Zimmerman & Partners
Advertising, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he managed 25 to 30 automotive retail accounts, including some of the largest franchises in the
country. But Mr. Suarez’s aspiration was to be at the “center of the
marketing world and give New York a shot. ... I was very picky and
only wanted to work at a big agency.” He was so thrilled to accept an
account management position at Arnold Worldwide in 2006 that he
commuted four hours a day from his parents’ house in South Jersey
until he moved to Manhattan a year later.
At Arnold, Mr. Suarez excelled: A GlaxoSmithKline campaign he
worked on won an Effie, and he was elected co-chairman of Arnold’s
Multicultural Employee Network. His own diverse ethnic heritage
includes German, Irish, Filipino and Puerto Rican. “Diversity isn’t
about color, but about celebrating our differences,” he says.
Recognizing its importance, Mr. Suarez says, “I don’t let stereotypes
let me feel restricted. The important thing is to keep your eye on the
prize, work hard, treat everyone with respect and you’ll be recognized
for your achievements.”
He has lived his own advice. This year he was recruited by Disney
ESPN Media Networks to become affiliate marketing manager, managing brands such as Disney Channel, ESPN and ABC Family
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. And he is upward bound already,
named in June as brand manager of ESPN360.com, a priority broadband product for the company.
“Usually impatient,” Mr. Suarez says he is now content. “It’s been a
roller-coaster ride, but it’s only going up and up and up.”
—Katy Ingulli
Project6
11/4/08
12:49 PM
Page 1
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LYRICS FOR THE HEART AND SOUL OF BUSINESS
AA008748
10/30/08
12:22 PM
Page 1

Cover Supplied By McCann - Branded Content

Transcription

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