Plus, will The Richards Group situation change the industry for the better?
| | | | | | | | | | First Things First | | | | October 21, 2020 | | By Jess Zafarris |
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| | | The DOJ Filed an Antitrust Case Against Google. Here’s What Advertisers Need to Know About It | |
| | | | After a months-long probe into Google, the Department of Justice hit the tech giant with an antitrust lawsuit that called it “the gatekeeper to the internet.” However, the lawsuit doesn’t focus as heavily on the company’s ads business as many experts had anticipated, instead targeting Google’s search dominance, which has allowed Google to build an anticompetitive search advertising empire. Attorney General William Barr, one of the major players in the investigation, said that it “strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist.” What’s the solution? The DOJ doesn’t specify next steps for Google, but suggests “structural relief,” such as a breakup or divestiture. All of Big Tech under scrutiny: This lawsuit follows an extensive report by the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee that explores how Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon are all “gatekeepers” and have engaged in monopolistic behavior. | | | | | |
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| | | The Richards Group Incident Is Advertising's Diversity Déjà Vu | |
Diversity, equity and inclusion have been foremost in the minds of brands and consumers this year. In light of Motel 6 and other clients firing The Richards Group over the agency founder’s racist comment, professor Christopher Boulton points out the times that such a movement has happened before—without yielding actual increases in diversity at major brands and agencies. And although he calls their efforts “laudable,” he says that diversity nonprofits aren’t enough “to meet the overwhelming quantitative scale of the disease.” So what will? Boulton argues that it will require a class action race discrimination lawsuit like the one Coca-Cola faced in the early 2000s, one of the rare times when quantifiable change was made. A history of discrimination: Explore how 2020s corporate BLM movement has happened before—and brand promises proved to be hollow. Catch up on the latest updates surrounding The Richards Group situation: Home Depot, H-E-B, Keurig Dr Pepper and the Salvation Army all followed suit and dropped the agency after Stan Richards called a Motel 6 ad concept “too Black.” Here’s what’s next for these brands.“What’s happened at The Richards Group sends a message to all agency executives,” says Cindy Gallop. Adweek talked to her and two other DEI advocates about the core of that message and what it means for the industry.A few years ago, Campbell Ewald had a similar crisis to what The Richards Group is going through now: A white staffer sent an email inviting colleagues to participate in a “Ghetto Day.” This experience, and response, has lessons for agencies navigating similar moments. | | |
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