Op-Ed

Diversity in the Age of ‘Total Market’ Advertising

Published

10 years ago

February 16, 2015

By Valerie Graves
NNPA Columnist

As I joined fellow advocates of advertising diversity in ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ exchange recently, I couldn’t help thinking that our industry, a trendsetter in so many areas, is bringing up the rear when it comes to diversity.

Sure, there are terrific initiatives such as I’mPART (to Promote, Attract, Retain and Train diverse employees in advertising) from The Advertising Club of New York, and the industry coalition, ADCOLOR, have made valuable strides by providing support to educational diversity programs and creating a vibrant community where advertising and marketing communications professionals of color can see others like themselves succeeding.

There have also been longtime efforts like The Multicultural Advertising Intern Program from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) have been churning out quality entry-level candidates for decades.

Yet, after many years and some committed efforts, the participation of African Americans and Hispanics at the professional level in the industry hovers around 6 percent, woefully short of reflecting America’s changing demographics or our importance as consumers. As the Census Bureau reported, “All in all, minorities, now 37 percent of the U.S. population, are projected to comprise 57 percent of the population in 2060… The total minority population would more than double, from 116.2 million to 241.3 million over the period.”

The hottest topic in the ad industry is something called Total Market Advertising, which is intended to broaden a brand’s communications to include the country’s growing minority populations. This often takes the form of inclusive-looking ads and commercials, cast with a racial rainbow that does indeed look more like the real America than the euphemistic “general market” advertising of the past.

But let’s be totally honest about Total Market Advertising as it currently exists. Perhaps it should be renamed “Total Budget Advertising,” an attempt by powerful agencies to maintain financial control as the country heads toward becoming majority minority. It is a brazen move to re-capture the meager budgets allotted to multicultural agencies by claiming that they are now unnecessary.

Consequently, traditional African American agencies, in particular, are struggling to find their role in this new landscape. In the brave new world of Total Budget, er, Total Market Advertising, ethnic insights are taken into consideration from the start of the process, planners and creatives are equipped with the tools they need to create inclusive, effective advertising, and all is right with the world.

The trouble is that this approach is a lot like describing an elephant to someone who has never seen one, then asking them to draw a picture. Some things have to be experienced to be totally understood, and I maintain that culture is one of them. To speak to Black and Hispanic people most effectively, the advertising industry needs a wealth of Black and Hispanic advertising professionals, something that is still sorely lacking.

Over the course of a long career spent working in both “general” and multicultural agencies, I have occasionally been asked, “Haven’t we gotten to the point where people are just people?” Too often, I suspect the questioner was really hoping we had gotten to the point where people are just White people. The undeniable answer is that people are certainly just people, but culture is still culture. African American culture is different from White American culture. Culture is not taught; it is experienced, felt and known.

No one understands African American culture like an African American. Or Hispanic culture like a Hispanic American. The closest thing to an exception is that African Americans have spent centuries living in a culture where understanding how White Americans think and feel often held the key to our survival. We lived in their homes, raised their children, cooked their food and anticipated their needs and desires in a way that society never required them to reciprocate.

So-called “Total Market” advertising messages too often originate in creative departments dominated by tattoo-ed hipster White guys and female Lena Dunham wannabes. There is a lot of research to prove that they are not as effective as targeted communications largely created by people of color and/or culture.

Even when ads include us, it is important to know the nuances of how people of color see ourselves and how we wish to be seen, and who knows that better than a person of color? When the object is to affect our buying behavior by making a genuine cultural connection, we are even more essential.

As I rang that bell to open the NASDAQ exchange, I glanced around at my ad industry colleagues. In a group of 21, there were five African Americans, a vast improvement over the years when I almost always found mine to be the only Black face in the crowd. Still, there is also vast room for improvement, and the increase in our presence in the general industry should not come at the expense of multicultural agencies.

Valerie Graves is a nationally recognized, award-winning advertising executive with more than 25 years of experience developing campaigns for African American, urban, female and general market consumers. She is president of Valerie Graves Creative.

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Related Topics:Advertising diversity diversity in advertising Valerie Graves

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Activism

Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces

It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.

As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.

At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.

Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.

Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.

Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.

This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.

Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.

Oakland Post

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Activism

OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark

Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook. Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.

Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.

Our community is hurting. Things have to change.

The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.

Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.

I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.

SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.

For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.

This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.

Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.

Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.

About the Author

Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development

I am most proud of our ability to fund these critical city services without the use of one-time fixes. We are still suffering the consequences of last year’s budget, where a majority of the Council, myself not included, chose to incorporate anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Coliseum to fund essential services. Since the sale has still not yet been completed, the lack of funds led to drastic cuts in city services, including the temporary closure of fire stations, staff layoffs, and the cancellations of many service contracts.

Published

4 weeks ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Photo courtesy City of Oakland.

By Janani Ramachandran, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember

On Wednesday, June 11, City Council took a bold step to prioritize investing in essential city services to get our beautiful Town back on track. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am proud to have led a collaborative process, alongside Councilmembers Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, and Charlene Wang, to develop a set of amendments to the proposed FY 2025-2027 budget which passed successfully with a vote of 6 – 1. Despite facing a $265 million structural budget deficit, we were able to restore funding to ensure that all 25 fire stations remain open, fund 5 police academies, invest millions of dollars to combat illegal dumping and sideshow prevention, improve our permitting processes, fund a “business incentives” program to revitalize our commercial corridors, improve upon our homelessness prevention work, amplify the city’s anti-trafficking programs, re-instate our tree services division, staff up our Auditor’s office – all while preventing any layoffs of city staff, keeping our senior centers and after-school programs open, and crisis services like MACRO funded.

Our budget comes in response to the widespread and consistent calls from across Oakland’s diverse communities asking us to prioritize funding solutions to the issues that have most directly impacted our residents’ safety and quality of life. Our priorities are also inspired by our belief that Oakland is on the way not only to financial recovery, but also to global recognition. Oakland can attract and preserve businesses of all sizes with safer, cleaner streets. We can and will have more large-scale festivals that celebrate our culture, concerts that uplift our incredible local musicians, conferences that attract patrons from across the world, and award-winning restaurants that top national charts. We are on our way to rebuilding a thriving economy and having a cultural renaissance will create more jobs for Oaklanders while also generating more revenue for the City through sales and business taxes.

I am grateful for the close partnership with our new Mayor Barbara Lee, and know that she shares our values of ensuring we are prioritizing keeping Oakland’s residents safe, our streets clean, and our businesses prosperous in an open and fiscally responsible manner. I am also thankful to our City Administrator, Jestin Johnson, and former Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins’ efforts to produce the initial proposal that our Council budget team used as a starting point for our amendments, and for their shared commitment to transparency and ethical government. I am especially grateful for every resident that took the time to make their voice heard throughout this rigorous budget process. I have no doubt that we are on the verge of true change, and that together we will bring Oakland back to being the world-class city I know it can be.