by Herman Manson (@marklives) Over the course of two months, we asked a panel of black agency leaders to discuss progress in how the marketing and advertising industries are transforming. The individual opinions flowing back to us made clear several factors highlighting the limits of the transformation project to date. With the issues spelled out, it’s time for the industry to collectively find the creative solutions to these problems — surely it can’t sell this service when failing to apply it to itself? Range of issues Let’s highlight the range of issues identified by our panellists first. Why do so many black professionals...

by TJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) Yes, this is another article about transformation. No, it’s not a rant. Yes, it’s going to be controversial. Black people might find the awkwardness of ‘white people smiles’ in the office a lot more awkward, and white people might start wondering if young black creatives really are ‘gathering’ to talk about fashion and music, or if they’re plotting the next #ThingThatMustFall. But, ladies and gentlemen of the advertising industry, I put it to you that, while this series of articles is going to be challenging and, at times, as comfortable as a turbulent flight back from the Loeries...

by TJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) Previously, we looked at why the elephant is in the room. Now, we’re going to talk about the challenges of having a pachyderm in an advertising boardroom. Eish, white people, this one is mostly about you people. Not in a bad way, but we need to have some real talk for you to understand some things. Here are a few. 1. It’s not unfair There are a few counter arguments that say that black economic empowerment (BEE) or transformation are just forms of reverse racism. That’s like saying that an economics teacher, who gives more attention to a...

by TJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) In the second column in this trilogy on transformation in the ad industry, I addressed how the white peeps contribute to its stumbling along. We’ve still got a long way to go but at least you’ve got a starting point. My people, I’m just going to go straight into it. Sorry, not sorry. F&$k BLAxellence Yeah, I said it. And, no, it’s not coconut tendencies. But before you run to Black Twitter to have my black status revoked, let me explain. Say you want to go out for dinner. It’s pay day, and to give meaning to the end...