African Americans Still Few and Far Between in Advertising

“There’s not a lot of desire by [general market] agencies to become more integrated,” says Don Richards, senior vp-agency diversity at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, in an AdAge article about racial diversity in the ad business. In fact, were it not for pressure on agencies by government authority to fuel diversity, most agencies would be unlikely to take action, according to the article.

Last week at an event sponsored by Black Enterprise magazine, CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. called the advertising industry “one of the most racist” in the country.

In September 2004, under threat of government investigation into hiring practices, the Four A’s launched Operation Success, a diversity initiative program intended to help agency members improve their minority hiring efforts. And Shedon Fischer, CEO of consulting firm GodenKnock/Pipeline International - who is also chairman of the diversity advisory board recruitment subcommittee and an adviser to Operation Success - is quoted as saying blacks “aren’t wanted. Though these agencies are enormous in terms of their global impact, they are small shops politically. They hire from among their own: there is nepotism and politics.”

Clients reportedly aren’t helping the matter. “Absolutely, if a client asked for more African-Americans on their accounts, agencies would respond,” Richards says.

On the other hand, some in the industry claim that the interest from African Americans in the industry is low. There’s a small percentage of African Americans who have graduated from college in advertising. Competition for them is strong and they have options, Richards points out.