During the course of 2000, as SHOOT closes in on its 40-year anniversary, we will reflect on significant developments of the past and relate them to prospects for the future as new ad forms and ways of doing business evolve.
Having said that, it’s also often true that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Lessons learned from history frequently bear repeating.
Back in ’88, I interviewed veteran ad executive Jim Helin, who had just been named president of the Western States Advertising Agencies Association (WSAAA). He targeted ethnic and cultural diversity in the agency talent pool as a cause he wanted the WSAAA to champion. Helin observed that "over the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, Bill Bernbach was one of the first to hire exciting creative talent that was not from the traditional ‘Yale Club’ community. As a result, he brought a lot of humanness into advertising. The entire industry benefited. Now we hope to get more individuals from largely untapped minority sources to create that same kind of situation."
The need for diversity remains as imperative today. Last month, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Foundation held its fourth annual event designed to offer opportunities to its selected group of the "25 Most Promising Minority Advertising Students." The students spent two days (2/24-25) in New York, meeting with recruiters and executives from several leading ad agencies, advertisers and media companies for interviews, coaching and guidance.
"This program is one very practical way in which we can help bring about a greater diversity of perspectives within advertising," said AAF president and CEO Wally Snyder. "We have seen corporate participation grow in tandem with the increased awareness of multicultural advertising and diversity issues."
The students come from colleges in 16 states and the District of Columbia. They are: Toby Alaniz and Taylor McCutcheon of Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; Lisa Alexandre of Long Island University, New York; Elizabeth Anderson from Wayne State University, Detroit; Angel Audiffred of the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; Brea Cola from the University of Texas at Austin; R. Bryan S. Elliott and Michelle Humphrey of the University of Georgia, Athens; Carlos Fernandez of the University of Illinois, Urbana/ Champaign; Sandra Florentin from the University of Miami; Carmen Gore of the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond; Shabazz Malik Husser from the University of South Carolina, Columbia; Ebony Madison of Ursuline College, Pepper Pike, Ohio; Prinee Mhoon of Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Sonia Montes of Michigan State University, East Lansing; Janelle Nance of Iowa State University, Ames; Geneva Olivarez of Southern Methodist University, Dallas; Raul Padilla and Hai Vuu from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; David Taga of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu; Keisha Taylor of Hampton University, Hampton, Va.; Quyah Tu Tran from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Judy Tsuei of the University of California, Berkeley; Meilissa Young of Penn State University, University Park; and Matthew Zavala of Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green.
The AAF Foundation program is held every February to coincide with National Black History Month. But the proceedings are more than symbolic. Seventy percent-plus of the "Most Promising Minority Students" chosen in ’97, ’98 and ’99 are now working in the advertising industry for such employers as Nike, Procter & Gamble, The Gap, The Wall Street Journal, Ebony magazine, Univision, DDB Worldwide, BBDO, Leo Burnett Co., and Saatchi & Saatchi.
