Omnicom has selected Tiffany R. Warren, who has been VP-director of multicultural programs and community outreach at Arnold Worldwide, as well as an AdAge Big Tent contributor. Warren also headed up Adcolor – a collective of advertising associations working on that interminable diversity problem.
Warren slides into the role just as advertising is set to come under some serious fire. This Thursday, at 11 AM, the law firm of Mehri & Skalet will hold a press conference on the Madison Avenue Project. This is firm and the NAACP’s investigation and possible lawsuit regarding the industry’s “long history of widespread racial discrimination.
Mehri has a strong track record for game changing investigations. In 2003, he took on the NFL along with Johnnie Cochran. After the pair completed their in depth look at minorities in the association, the NFL established the “Rooney Rule,” which requires all NFL teams to interview at least one minority for an open head coach position.
Could Mehri achieve the same thing for the advertising industry? What if the new rule is that for every creative director position, agencies must interview at least one minority candidate? It’s a well known fact that studies have shown “that people with “white-sounding” names are 50 percent more likely to get a response to their resume than are those with “black-sounding” names.” It’s also well known that there is still disbelief in the business that there even are minority creative directors.
I’m curious to see what happens here and you should be, too.
P.S. Tiffany? We’d love to have an interview with you. If you’re game, please contact us at superspyin at gmail dot com.
More: Lawsuit Alert: Advertising Is About To Be Black, White And Bruised All Over