Race to Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue in New York City has long been the Mecca of the advertising industry. People often refer to it metonymically (Go ahead, google it. new word of the day!) as they would Wall Street for finance. It is where AMC's Mad Men is set, (Perf's favorite show) and where agency giants Y&R and DDB still remain. But while the agencies have scattered over the years as sign of changing times, it seems as though it's racial politics haven't kept up, according to a new study by the NAACP and Mehri and Skalet.

A new study by the two civil rights organizations suggests that the advertising industry hasn't made the strides that almost every other industry in the United States has made in the effort to provide equal opportunity, equal access, and equal pay to minority groups, especially blacks. Spearheading the Madison Avenue Project as it is called, Cyrus Mehri of Mehri and Skalet has studied the compensation and hiring trends of the $31 billion dollar industry over the last couple decades. Their most recent findings probably won't surprise you (especially if you are in the advertising industry), but they reinforce the idea that severe inequality still exists in this industry. From Ad Age:

* Black college graduates in advertising earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by their white counterparts.

* The total U.S. population is 12.8% African-American. Blacks should represent 9.6% of advertising professionals and managers, according to U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates. But actual representation falls dramatically short of that expectation -- about 55% short.

* Blacks are only 10% as likely as their white counterparts to hold a position that pays $100,000 or more per year.

* Compared with the overall U.S. labor market, the advertising industry fares significantly worse on eight measures of employment for black managers and professionals -- by an average of 36.7%.

According to the NAACP's Ms. Ciccolo, black workers "have a better chance of being struck by lightning" than being employed at some agencies.

This study is "laying the groundwork" for a class-action lawsuit by the NAACP on the industry. While now is probably not the best time to push for increased hiring, it is better late than never. A focused and genuine commitment to minority recruitment and equal pay is a good thing for the industry over the long term. In the short term, if anything, it will definitely shed some light on the issue. In 5-10 years, it may breathe life into a flailing industry.

The 'press release' by Mehri can be found here (VIDEO)


(If you are feeling especially academic this morning, feel free to peruse the full advertising industry report)


**A side note, Perf was totally right about the BCS Championship Game last night. GO GATORS!