Bare Breasts Don't Offend Brazilians; American Cachaca Does

Also: Sometimes It's OK to Use Sex to Sell Booze

Posted by Laura Martinez on 05.12.08 @ 10:48 AM

When it comes to marketing and advertising, Brazil has long been associated with either soccer or perfectly shaped women. So it would come as no surprise that an upcoming summer campaign positioning Cabana Cachaça as an "authentically Brasilian" drink would feature a naked woman with perfect proportions wearing nothing more than a pair of sexy pumps. Right?

Trying to Make Green the New Black

Bringing Environmental Activism to a New Audience

Posted by Karl Carter on 05.09.08 @ 01:42 PM

Karl Carter

Sometimes you have to live a little life to give voice to the journey. I've been gone a while, going through life's adventures -- some professional, some personal, some good, some hard. All in all its been a mixed bag but never dull. An experience I had in Memphis at the Dream Reborn conference really inspired me to write about people of color's role in the emerging green movement.

An Open Letter to Nancy Hill...

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.08.08 @ 01:22 PM

HighJive at MultiCultiClassics has a pretty good take on the recently announced Howard University/4A's initiative. The whole thing is worth reading, but here's my favorite bit of advice for Nancy Hill: "Take our simple advice: Seize the position of 4As Chief Diversity Officer. Resist the temptation to pass the buck, dodge the drama or delegate the authority to a friendly minority. Immerse yourself in the complex, emotional, maddening mess our industry has allowed to fester for generations—and strive to solve it."

Fiesta May Rhyme With Siesta ...

But Does Event Marketing Need to Be Such a Bore?

Posted by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco on 05.06.08 @ 12:08 PM

Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

First off, congratulations to Peter Bellas and the folks at All Access Media for pulling off the 19th annual Fiesta Broadway, L.A.'s (and perhaps the nation's) largest Latino-focused street festival. For almost two decades, they have organized an event that attracts hundreds of thousands of consumers, spans 36 blocks, and has sponsorship and support from a veritable who's who of corporate clients and their agency partners.

4A's and Howard University Team Up

Partnership Brings More Focus, Resources to Diversity Issue

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.05.08 @ 11:32 AM

Lost amid the news last week that the American Association of Advertising Agencies conducted a Leadership Conference that embraced digital and was actually informational and provocative was the announcement from Howard University and the 4A's that they were partnering up to tackle the advertising industry's diversity problems.

According to the press releases (Howard's is here; 4A's is here), the 4A's "has pledged to provide industry leadership and financial support in developing the Center for Excellence in Advertising at Howard University for curriculum, research and programming and assisting the university in raising an additional $750,000 annually to support the Center." That on top of the $250,000 kicked in by the association will mean $1 million will be devoted to the program. Some critics (you know who you are!) will undoubtedly point out that $1 million is chump change compared to the amount of money that changes hands every day in the ad industry. But it's $1 million more than currently being devoted to the program. And, more important, it brings the weight of Howard University to the situation.

Different but Not Deficient

What Wright Can Teach Marketers

Posted by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco on 04.29.08 @ 12:30 PM

Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

A funny thing happened to me on my way home from Fiesta Broadway. For those of you who don't know Fiesta Broadway, it is billed as the nation's largest Latino Festival and attracts about 500,000 people to downtown Los Angeles (although this year's draw was significantly less -- it may have been the heat). Perhaps I'll blog more about it shortly. In fact, I had intended to go on somewhat of a rant about the over use of spin-the-wheels at community events targeting Latino consumers, but instead I was inspired by a message I heard on my ride home. A message about change. A message whose basic premise was that different is different. Not deficient.

Here's a Thought: How About We Create Content That Matters?

The New-Media Age Gives Us Power -- and Responsibilities

Posted by Moses Foster on 04.28.08 @ 03:54 PM

Moses Foster

Greetings to everyone out there under the Big Tent! This is my inaugural blog for Ad Age, and I'm ready to have some fun. I was pleased to see my man Karl Carter is blogging it up in here as well -- now I know why it's so hot under the tent!

Hey, NYC Agencies! Looking for Some Diversity?

DIA Job Fair in New York Tomorrow

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 04.23.08 @ 10:42 AM

Your clients want better multicultural creative and the New York City Commission on Human Rights is breathing down your back. So you'll probably want to go to the Diversity in Advertising/PR Career Day in New York tomorrow. Just a suggestion. Admission is free to jobseekers. Employer interviews will be from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The seminars begin at 10:00 am. Drop by the New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas.

U.S. Marketers Aren't Prepared for More Globalized World

Even Fewer Know Anything About Asians and Asian-Pacific Americans

Posted by Bill Imada on 04.22.08 @ 01:44 PM

Bill Imada

As I travel around the country speaking to students from the smallest liberal arts campuses to some of the largest universities, one thing is abundantly clear: College students considering careers in advertising aren't prepared to face an increasingly globalized world. Countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (often referred to as BRIC economies) are quickly reshaping the global economic landscape as more and more companies (and advertisers) see opportunities to build market share by targeting their consumers. But most students seem indifferent to these changes.

Hitting the Niche Within the Niche

Hispanic Market Is Not One Big Homogenous Culture

Posted by Tommy Thompson on 04.22.08 @ 11:25 AM

Tommy Thompson

I think Tru Pettigrew brought up a good point last Monday when he wrote about the need in corporate boardrooms to define the African-American consumer and the appropriate ways to connect with them. The same rings true in defining the Hispanic consumer. What I would like to add though is the need to go deeper into this definition rather than just stopping at the statement "we need to connect with Hispanics" or "our target is Hispanic adults 18-49." The reality is that the Hispanic consumer is not a homogenous group and therefore these types of broad statements won't work for most brands in today's changing environment. In order to effectively connect with today's Hispanic consumer, we must understand that there are sub-segments united by common interests that make the whole. Let's say there are niches within the niche.