Ma(Duh!)son Avenue.

O.K. its Advertising Week in New York. The time for self-aggrandizing and smug egocentric behavior all around. Advertising Icons from back when mnemonic devices defined state of the art. Landmark campaigns committed to concrete on the Walk of Fame. And endless press conferences and photo ops.

Last year's event spectrum was somewhat marred by the City of New York's Human Rights Commission handing out subpoenas to the CEOs of the top 15 agencies for biased hiring policies and an eleventh hour spin blitz to deflect the obvious embarrassment to people who are in the business of image-making.

First there was two million bucks from BBDO to fund an Advertising Curriculum in a Brooklyn College. Then, signed pledges from the subpoenaed agencies to meet certain diversity benchmarks (quotas) in all areas from mailroom to executive suite within three years. Finally, a "diversity" job fair. Followed by the obligatory story in USA Today touting BBDO's Doug Alligood and creative new hire Jimmy Smith. And then they deflated the giant Ad Icon balloons, swept the street and it was back to business as usual. Blacks and Hispanics need not apply.

So now it's one year later. I'm looking through Ad Age for the big feature story on how well the industry did over the past year. I'm looking for the chart with the telltale headcount figures on how many folks got hired at the entry level, the mid-manager level and how many at the $200k+ level. I was looking for the statement from the American Association of Advertising Agencies congratulating their member agencies for their rising to the occasion and surpassing expectations. I was searching for the interviews from Black Creative Directors and Hispanic Management Supervisors on how exciting their first opportunities to play in the majors had been after making the shift from technology or entertainment firms into an industry starved for new blood and fresh ideas. Flip. Flip. Flip. Click. Click. Click. Hmmmmm. What's this?

It seems we had a twenty minute photo op in Brooklyn in front of a hastily tossed up Ad Week back drop with Euro RSCG Worldwide CEO Ron Berger, Interpublic Group of Cos. Chairman-CEO Michael Roth and a bunch of kids and politicos bussed in for the occasion. The occasion. Oh, why of course. " Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz this morning sketched out plans for a new high school that would center around advertising and media. Markowitz, speaking at a press conference outside Brooklyn Borough Hall that drew ad executives such as Interpublic Group CEO Michael Roth as well as Advertising Week executive director Matt Scheckner, put forth the idea for such a school 18 months ago and wants to locate it in central Brooklyn. Markowitz hopes the school will open by next fall. Organizers, however, are still drafting a proposal that will go before the New York City Department of Education, which has to identify a site and approve the plan. Markowitz has committed $2 million in capital funds from his office's budget toward the project," was how the press played it. Hmmmmm. $2million.?

$2 million? Wasn't that what BBDO put up last year for a program we never heard any more about at a Brooklyn College?

Let me get this straight. A new High School in a predominantly black and Hispanic area to teach kids about an industry that has demonstrated for the past 30 years (since the government first rattled their cage) it wants nothing to do with blacks or Hispanics. Now that makes a lot of sense. But wait. It gets better.

"The advertising and media school proposal is backed by a partnership that includes the American Association of Advertising Agencies, IPG, Virtual Enterprises, Microsoft and VCU AdCenter director Rick Boyko, who will lead an advisory board charged with developing a curriculum." They must be kidding.

VCU AdCenter in Richmond. A traditional school who lists as part of its "technology" resources a bunch of Macs and states proudly that their "Software includes Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro and iLife (iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iTunes and GarageBand), Macromedia Flash, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Adobe Font Folio (with more than 2700 fonts)" These guys are going to prepare black and Hispanic students for a career in an industry being over-taken by technology that the average agency is clueless to keep up with. Hell, from what I saw on their website VCU AdCenter needs to look to its own student outcomes, before venturing into Brooklyn.

Pitiful. I promised myself that I would stay away from the entire diversity issue in this column, because it is senseless to rant about a condition that will certainly never change in my lifetime. But this was just too ridiculous to let slip past. I'll go back to sleep now. Wake me in another 30.

Stay strong.

Comments:

"I think that it is very telling that there is so much denial going on in the advertising industry right now. It is indicative of the fear that has gripped both agency and client alike that our gravy train may just be running out of track. F.Y. Buffalo, N.Y.

I work at a very large agency here in Chicago and I asked around to get a copy of the Forrester Report. Nobody had even heard of it. Many had not even heard of Forrester. Suddenly what you have been saying for all these months hit home. S.G. Chicago

I just wanted to let you know that I was at a client meeting today and the client asked what we thought of the Forrester Report and the idea of an Engagement Metric. I was the only one on the agency side who had the foggiest idea of what she was talking about. For the rest of the meeting, I was the star on the agency side. Thanks. D.R. R NYC