All Articles Tagged "african american advertising"
Christina Norman Generating Much Success for BlackVoices
Christina Norman’s stock went up when she was first hired by Oprah Winfrey to head her cable network OWN. Soon thereafter, however, Norman’s name became even more popular in industry circles when news broke that she was asked to leave OWN in the face of dismal ratings.
Norman followed up her CEO gig with a surprising position: that of executive editor of Huffington Post’s Black Voices. For many, it seemed like a step down for the woman who was once the president of MTV and credited with turning VH1 around. But she has proved to be a secret weapon for HuffPo and its monstrous momentum as a top content site. “At the heart of it, I’m a content person. I just needed to wrap my head around content for an online audience,” Norman told AdWeek.
Since joining the team in October, BlackVoices has registered some strong numbers according to AdWeek. “Daily visitors have surged by 73 percent to 318,000, while monthly pagesviews have spiked by 19 percent. And much like the mothership, BlackVoices has embraced being a social publisher, with referrals from social networks climbing by 42 percent.”
Since BlackVoices is such a stronghold in the online Black news sphere, it is primed to grab up the dollars dedicated to African-American marketing and advertising. And that’s where Norman’s impact is most felt.
Black Men Not Civilized Enough for Nivea
(CNN) — Cutting edge or just cutting? Skin care company Nivea has offered a mea culpa for an ad that became quite the trending sensation on Twitter Wednesday. The advert for Nivea for Men appeared in the September issue of Esquire magazine and featured a clean-cut, African-American male holding what appeared to be a mask of a black man with an Afro hair style and a beard. The copy accompanying the ad read, “Look Like You Give a Damn. Re-civilize Yourself.”
10 Blacks With Serious Brand Appeal
(Rolling Out) — Monster’s collaboration with legendary producer Dr. Dre on Beats by Dre headphones was pretty much axiomatic, a no-brainer if there ever was one. Much like when Dr. Dre torpedoed his way into mainstream America in the ’80s and ’90s — first through the seminal rap group NWA, then with his Death Row “inmates” with Snoop Dogg via the classic, The Chronic — he has produced another product that has bled into suburbia in a significant way.
Toyota Goes Black to See Green
(New York Times) — Toyota will introduce a new ad campaign next week, promoting its RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle to the African-American market. Created by Burrell Communications, the campaign will be the first time Toyota has marketed this vehicle to African-Americans, though it has previously advertised many of its cars, including the Camry, Corolla, Avalon, Prius, Yaris, Matrix and Venza, to these consumers. “The African-American market is looking for a vehicle that combines the utility of an S.U.V. with a more carlike ride,” features the RAV4 offers, said Bob Zeinstra, national manager for advertising and strategic planning for Toyota Motor Sales USA.
Steve Stoute Plots Bigger Share of Ad Market
(AdAge) — Translation, the agency launched by marketing mogul Steve Stoute, is negotiating a buyback from parent Interpublic Group of Cos., Mr. Stoute told Advertising Age, as the shop moves away from its identity as a multicultural agency and seeks to rival bigger, general market firms. The desire to recapture its independence comes as Translation is increasingly being tapped by blue-chip marketers for work outside of solely African-American marketing duties. Mr. Stoute said Translation is McDonald’s agency of record for sports and entertainment marketing; is engaged on product development and packaging for Wrigley; and handles national advertising campaigns for State Farm, Estee Lauder, DSW and Target. It’s also recently won assignments from Coca-Cola and Nokia as well, he said, though he declined to elaborate.
America's Not Post-Racial But Marketers Think So
(Huffington Post) — The current economic slump many African-American niche industries face is evident as Black-on-Black Love, Black Pride, Black History Month, and Black media — all traditions, slogans, feel good celebrations, and niche industries in the African-American community, are gradually going the way of affirmative action — to the bone yard. But why? Post-race progress, where race is not considered a factor in our buying habits, business pursuits, or self-identity, is wreaking havoc on the Black niche industry and the Black community, a panel of experts argued during the 40th Annual Rainbow Push Convention. Some argue that the Black consumer market is not as distinctive as before; to wit, in many markets Black radio has become the more diversified, urban radio, and race is not considered at all.
Naomi Campbell Calls Out Cadbury on Chocolate Ad
by R. Asmerom
Chocolate and vanilla are two adjectives and nouns that are frequently used to describe Black folks and White people in everyday conversation. But what kind of reaction does it solicit when a corporate conglomerate utilizes such a casual racial description in an advertising campaign?
The candy maker Cadbury recently found out after supermodel Naomi Campbell announced that she would be suing the company for using her identity to promote their new Bliss bar, which contain the tagline: “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town”
Campbell had reportedly asked that Cadbury, which is owned by Kraft, to not release the campaign but the company went along with it anyways; although, after the backlash, it has ended the campaign. The fiery beauty called the campaign racist. “I am shocked,” she said in a statement. “It’s upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women and black people. I do no”t find any humour in this. It is insulting and hurtful.”
But is it hurtful? On first impression, I may have thought that Campbell would be flattered. After all, I more often associate chocolate with a complimentary adjective associated with beauty, outside of the food context. But for Campbell, who was raised in London, the connotation was different. An article written by a UK news site, Digital Spy, reveals the connotation that terms possesses in the UK. Simon Wooley of Operation Black Vote, an organization dedicated to African British and Asian British politics, told the Digital Spy that “[the] only recourse black people have is not to buy its chocolate… Racism in the playground starts with black children being called ‘chocolate bar’.
Campaign group Operation Black Vote has already given its backing to Campbell and urged for a boycott of Cadbury products.
Simon Wooley of the OBV said: “[The] only recourse black people have is not to buy its chocolate… Racism in the playground starts with black children being called ‘chocolate bar’.
Dove Ad Highlights Advertising's Race Problem
(Huffington Post) — As Copyranter, the blog that caused an stir on the Internet earlier this week by posting the ad, noted, it’s as though the ad is pitching a product that “turns Black Women into Latino Women into White Women.” The blog Styleite reached a similar conclusion, writing, “Visually, it communicates that if you have dark skin before you use VisibleCare, you’ll have pale skin afterward.” Noting another salient difference between the black model and white one, Styleite added, “You’ll also be thinner.” In a press statement, Unilever, the company that makes Dove products, said that all three women were “intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit” and added, “We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.” What’s most significant about the ad — and most embarrassing to Unilever — is that no one at the company seems to have anticipated that people would find it offensive. And that speaks to a larger issue, one that the activist and former magazine editor Michaela Angela Davis framed like this: “When it comes to advertising, it’s not enough to just have a black woman in the room. She has to be in the boardroom — she can’t just be in the changing room.”
GlobalHue Ranked No. 1 Among African-American Advertising Agencies by Advertising Age Magazine
(Press Release) –In its Agency Report 2011, published on April 25, Advertising Age ranks multicultural advertising agency GlobalHue as the No. 1 African-American agency and the No. 2 Hispanic agency for 2010.
While this is the third consecutive year that GlobalHue has placed first on the African-American list, the agency’s second place on the Hispanic list is new, up from third place in 2009.
“We are honored to have achieved this position of industry leadership and wish to extend our thanks to our clients and staff for making it possible,” says Donald A. Coleman, founder and CEO of GlobalHue. “With large African-American and Hispanic segments, GlobalHue is the largest U.S. multicultural agency overall.”
Comcast Announces Burrell Communications as African-American Agency of Record
(Press Release) — Comcast today announced it has selected Burrell Communications as its agency of record for its African-American consumer market advertising. The Chicago-based agency will provide advertising and media services to help Comcast reach African-American consumers, and also support Comcast’s digital and social media efforts.
“Burrell has a strong track record of creating award-winning campaigns that produce results which made them very attractive to us during our agency search,” said Dave Watson, Chief Operating Officer, Comcast Cable. “We are excited to be working with Burrell on our outreach to African-American consumers and on communicating our innovative products and services to this very important audience.”
“As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we are thrilled to be joining the Comcast team,” said Fay Ferguson, co-CEO of Burrell Communications. “We look forward to a long and productive partnership, which strengthens the Comcast brand and builds business among our consumers.”
Since its inception nearly 50 years ago, Comcast has had a longstanding commitment to diversity and focuses its efforts on four key areas: attracting and retaining a multicultural workforce; developing a diverse supplier group; pledging significant community investments; and offering a wide selection of multicultural programming.
