Okay … Okay … I know what some of you are saying.
I’m over it too.
The commercial was released. We laughed, grunted, side-eyed, debated, and took to the Web to express our indifference, apathy, disappointment or utter disgust.
Burger King initially said the removal was due to a copyright, licensing issue with the jingle, but then went on to indicate the ad was unfinished and that a final version would later be released. Blige finally spoke up late yesterday, according to the Associated Press, stating she understood why fans were upset, that the ad didn’t come across the way it was planned, and that she would never put out an unfinished product.
(Yep, I’m confused too. This snafu seems like a perfect award nominee in the “Best (Branding) Hot Mess” category or a case study for Public Relations 101.)
Now that Blige and Burger King have officially responded, the bigger questions remain: Are the mega star and Burger King keeping it real on what or who’s to blame for the release of this commercial? And further, is a lack of black presence in advertising truly the culprit in these repeat situations of questionable commercials featuring and targeting people of color?
Critics of the commercial expressed a concern about the lack of black professionals in the advertising business as a factor in the recurring side-eye-worthy marketing that has been for decades evident in major fast food, liquor and automobile campaigns. According to the 2010 Census, “majority” minorities — Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans and African-American—make up 35% of the population, and advertisers have taken notice, with major shops creating separate departments to handle accounts targeting the multicultural market, and start-ups popping up that exclusively focus on that market.
The growth in minority population, however, hasn’t matched growth in hiring advertising professionals. According to the 2000 Census, of the 500,000 people employed in advertising and related services, only 6% of those were
African American and 9% Hispanic. Not much has changed in recent years, as seen in research by the Madison Avenue Project, a think tank and advocacy entity formed by the NAACP and law firm Mehri & Skalet, P.L.L.C.Interesting enough, The Impact Study, a recent survey conducted by cross-cultural talent consultancy Tangerine-Watson, reported that 74% of minority employees in the industry agreed with the premise that their “experience as an employee from a multicultural background is different from my colleagues’.”
According to Advertising Age, the responses from participants— 831 ad-industry professionals of various races and across general-market and ethnic agencies— included insights such as: “Simply being aware of the presence (or lack thereof) of racial overtones in our advertising concepts and being turned to as the one to call it out is an unwritten responsibility—and I fear an unwritten liability,” wrote one respondent.
“There’s also the worry of being stigmatized as a complainer, ” writer Ken Wheaton reports. ” ‘Wrote another: ‘I have been treated differently for expressing negative feelings vs. my white colleagues.’ ”
One BlackEnterprise.com reader elaborated on those sentiments: “I work in the ad industry and this is a direct result of the lack of people of color working at agencies. It takes a lot of layers for a [stet] ad to go from concept to a point where its [stet] filmed. To go through that many layers and not have one person raise their hand and ask, “Why are we having the only Black person in our campaign singing about chicken?†tells you a lot. I won’t even go into the fact that every other spot with foot touches on multiple food products (salad AND chicken).”
Does the slap on the hand go to an advertising industry still struggling with diversity and how to position themselves in an ever-growing, multicultural world, or to Blige and her team for agreeing to the chicken wraps concept — from its pitch to execution to the final edit?
I’d have to say that being the Queen, one must have a royal stamp of approval for anything related to her reign. But, even working in journalism, where I’ve been an editor, writer and producer, I can say that there can be many hands in the pot, and the final execution may not necessarily be anything like the initial concept or idea. A myriad of factors can contribute to the decision on what is — or isn’t — finally released to the public
I can’t say one way or the other….at least not until I see the so-called “final” cut. Damage already done, I still hope it doesn’t include any resemblance of what was released. Let’s go back to the drawing board with this one, Mary.