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First Things First

October 15, 2020

By Jess Zafarris and Jameson Fleming

Presented By

'What's Happened at The Richards Group Sends a Message to All Agency Executives'

Stan Richards, the founder of The Richards Group, made a comment during an internal meeting about an ad concept being "too black." The client, Motel 6, was not present at the meeting, but word eventually made it back to the client. As a result, Motel 6 and another a client of The Richards Group, Home Depot, have fired the agency. Read the full story on what's happening at The Richards Group here.

Reaction: We spoke with three of the industry's biggest advocates for diversity, equality and inclusion about what the industry can learn from this incident. Read the lessons from Lincoln Stephens, Cindy Gallop and Nate Nichols here.

Another problematic campaign: Also yesterday, DTC scrubs brand Figs came under fire for a video depicting a woman in pink scrubs reading Medical Terminology for Dummies upside down. Critics say the ad is sexist and demeaning to doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs.

Mindshare Fires Global CEO Nick Emery for ‘Clear’ Breach of Company Conduct

Global CEO and founder Nick Emery has been fired from Mindshare due to what parent company GroupM called “inappropriate and offensive behavior” that represented a breach of the company’s code of conduct. GroupM CEO Christian Juhl, who will be stepping into the interim CEO role until a permanent replacement is found, released a statement but didn’t elaborate on exactly what that means.

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Tiffany R. Warren Leaving Omnicom for Role at Sony Music Group

Adcolor founder and Omnicom Group svp and chief diversity officer Tiffany Warren is leaving her Omnicom role to join Sony Music Group. When she first took the job back in 2009, Warren was a pioneering leader in the DEI movement in the advertising industry, and she has remained a prominent voice and force for inclusion since that time. Warren leaves Omnicom with high praise and says that the company is well-positioned to continue its DEI efforts.

A more inclusive world: Warren has worked with Adweek on many of its DEI initiatives as well.

Also in job moves: Lyft vp of brand Jabari Hearn used lyrics from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song to announce the fact that he’s accepted a new role as svp of marketing and entertainment for Westbrook, the media company co-founded by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.

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Canada Goose Gives Employees 1 Hour a Week to Play Outside—and Hopes American Companies Will Follow

In lighter news, Canada Goose is trying to get people to put down the WFH workload and get moving outside more for the sake of their mental health. The company’s new program, HumanNature Pass, gives its workers an additional paid hour off per week—as long as they promise to spend it outside. To get other companies on board, it launched a related marketing effort framed around a three-part film series.

Watch: The film series tells the inspiring stories of three outdoorsy people who have overcome adversity.

More of Today’s Top News & Highlights

In Jack Daniel's New Ad, People Do Things They've Always Wanted to—Like Tossing a Phone in a Lake

Throwing your phone in the lake, ordering one of everything on the menu — a new ad for Jack Daniel's Tennesee Whiskey (created by Energy BBDO) celebrates the satisfaction of doing those things you've always wanted to do.