Eddie Murphy's Long-Term Effect on Ad Agency Diversity

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- How is Eddie Murphy playing a role in a new push to diversify ad agencies? Former agency account exec Lincoln Stephens is both an example and an evangelist of the "Boomerang" effect. A year ago Stephens abruptly quit his Chicago agency job, moved back to his hometown of Dallas and, on a shoestring budget, launched a program to recruit, train and motivate talented young African Americans for advertising agency jobs. Execs at The Richards Group, Imaginuity, Tracy Locke and other Dallas organizations volunteered to mentor participants in his first boot camp sessions.