Multicultural marketing’s future

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This week’s edition includes ad leaders’ views on multicultural marketing, the raging AI creativity debate, CMO survival tips and much more. —Ad Age Web Editor Mark Fischer

Ad leaders on the state of multicultural marketing

Ad leaders on the state of multicultural marketing

Where are we now? Two decades after “multicultural marketing” was coined at an ANA meeting, ad leaders are debating whether the term is now hindering the industry instead of helping it, Ad Age’s Brian Bonilla reports. Here are some insights from the story, which included interviews with 12 advertising leaders:

Use “Inclusive marketing” instead: “I’ve just always seen multicultural as this separate thing that wasn’t really thought of from inception.” — Robert Vélez , VP of inclusive network sales at Vevo.

Pop culture does not equal inclusivity: “Cultural appropriation in the absence of cultural fluency” is currently taking place in advertising. “If you don’t understand the origins of people and how they self-identify and why and how they create the cultural offerings to society and the reasons behind it, you’re always just going to be chasing trends and calling that culture marketing.” — Joseph Anthony , CEO of Hero Media

The big challenge: “Getting marketers and the advertising industry to value the art and science of marketing to specific cultural segments, using specific cultural insights and getting the budgets to align with the power of these consumer segments.” — Aaron Walton , CEO of Walton Isaacson.

Case in point: While progress has been made, multicultural marketing still represents less than 6% of total ad spending.

The AI creativity fight rages on

Digital knockout: The AI in advertising debate intensified recently when Under Armour released an ad that mixed artificial intelligence with previously shot live-action footage “to create fresh imagery of boxer Anthony Joshua without having to shoot anything new,” Ad Age Creativity Editor Tim Nudd reports.

AI is not a threat: Some industry insiders actually took comfort in the ad because they felt it highlighted AI’s inability to capture the human touch that truly connects with consumers.

Yes, but: These ad leaders know AI will continue to improve, which could in turn lead to job cuts across production sets. “If the sea of change is inevitable, so be it. We’ll make our own island,” said Rhea Scott , founder and president of Little Minx, said. Read the full story here.

?? Tim Nudd also caught up with the director of the AI ad, Wes Walker, who was surprised by the “mob mentality” that took shape immediately after the ad aired. In other AI news, Washington’s Lottery had to halt an AI app after a woman said it generated a topless photo of her.

Marketer’s Brief

Bubbling up Gen Z: Bubble Executive Creative Director Lindsay St. Clair gives Ad Age’s Adrianne Pasquarelli an inside look at how the skincare brand is connecting with young shoppers. Listen here.

?? Creativity Corner

Nike takes celeb cameos to the Max: Air Max Day is always a big deal for Nike. This year, the brand celebrated with a cool spot—made in-house and directed by Petra Collins—telling the story of a kid who oversleeps but still gets to basketball practice on time, thanks to his zippy Nike Air Max Dn sneakers.

It’s nicely shot on 16mm film, but the real story here is the quirky use of celebs, with Drake, Billie Eilish, Erling Haaland and Sha’Carri Richardson all seen admiring our protagonist as he rushes past. The retro-modern vibe is super stylish, and the endorser cameos bring extra zany charm to the piece. Don’t sleep on it, as the kids would say. Watch the full campaign campaign here.

—Ad Age Creativity Editor Tim Nudd

Opinions

Saving CMOs: Ad Age Columnist M.T. Fletcher offers three survival tips for CMOs.

Remote work isn’t the issue: Lazy managers are, according to Incendium Strategies CEO Nathaniel Houghton .

Gen Z Voices: Brands aren’t fooling anyone with their surface-level DE&I investments, says Mediahub Research Strategist Z?a Bailey, PSPO.

Culture shift: The growth of women’s sports extends well beyond the field, writes Lerma/ Brand Strategy Principal sarah walker-hall .

Ad stat of the week

$1.134 billion: Kroger Co.’s sales in fiscal 2023 from its “Other” category, which primarily come from external sales at food production plants, data analytic services and third-party media revenue. “Other” sales jumped $172 million or about 18% in 2023, “primarily due to an increase in data analytic services and third-party media revenue,” Kroger said this week in its annual filing. The supermarket retailer in 2023 scored more revenue from “Other” than it spent on advertising ($1.089 billion).

Want more advertising and marketing stats from Ad Age Datacenter? Get an All Access subscription here.

—Ad Age Director of Analytics Bradley Johnson

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Mark your calendar

Attention all young creatives: Don’t forget to enter the 2024 Ad Age Young Creatives Contest. Ad Age and TikTok are inviting entrants to show us how a community has inspired you and impacted your creativity.

The winner gets a trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and will be the guest of honor at the annual Ad Age Lawn Party.

The contest is free and open to students, full-time agency creatives and freelance creatives who are aged 30 or under on June 17, 2024. Enter here before next week’s deadline.

Hi there, thanks for reading: This newsletter was curated by Ad Age Web Editor Mark Fischer. Have any feedback or tips—or want to talk hockey? His LinkedIn DMs are open. You can also email him at [email protected].