“This Is Not Our Land”: Why Black Talent Keeps Leaving UK Advertising
The UK Black History Month of October is an occasion to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of Black people to British society. This year’s theme, ‘Saluting our Sisters’, highlights the crucial role Black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change and building communities. In the advertising industry, one of many such trailblazers is Rani Patel.
The managing director and founder of the creative collective CALLING, Rani now works with brands who are seeking a creative partner that reflects the world their audience lives in. CALLING aims to empower those who want to change the advertising industry.
She has also been a long-standing champion for Black talent in the ad industry, from the 2020 project ‘Brand Share the Mic’ through to launching non-gendered brand #FANGIRL empowering self-expression, inspired by Black and LGBTQI+ club culture. She’s worked with Mulberry to deploy an anti-discrimination hair policy to protect Black and Asian employees’ self-expression. She launched ‘#SwimUnited’, a Speedo initiative to get more marginalised children and their parents swimming and finding joy in the pool. And she’s worked with the NHS on its Black donor sickle cell campaign ‘#NotFamilyButBlood’ – an urgent call to the community to give blood as blood supply reached its lowest ever in 2022.
LBB’s Alex Reeves checked in with Rani to hear how she felt about the place of Black talent within the UK ad industry at this moment.
LBB> What's your assessment of where the UK ad industry stands right now with regard to attracting and retaining Black talent?
Rani> I see this really interesting paradigm that currently exists in UK adland for Black talent. It has created a false sense of safety for Black people over the last few years, you know when it became trendy to be ‘diverse and inclusive’. We are greeted with smiles at the door and welcomed to join our industry with great hope, because after all, this is where dreams come true. And as Black people all we do all day long is dream. We dream to escape the raw reality of our daily struggles to help push us through time. This is what Afrofuturism is all about.
The fact is, once we are welcomed into the industry, Black talent are reminded daily how much we are not welcome and don’t belong in adland. I mean this is not our land, we didn’t make it, so why are we here? Black talent eventually leave. The very few that do stay, stay at the cost of their dignity being pulled to tatters.
LBB> When I spoke to you about ‘Brand Share the Mic’ back in 2020, you said of brands that "no one has their house completely in order". What, if anything, has changed since then?
Rani> ‘Brand Share The Mic’ was a special initiative I founded and a moment in my career. It allowed Black talent to lead brands’ content, and be celebrated for it. What's changed? I feel generally Black creators are being seen and are being commissioned inclusively more by brands than before. Ultimately, Black talents are being taken more seriously. But we ain’t there yet. More still needs to change, a lot more.
LBB> What can the broader industry learn from CALLING about Black talent and its value to brands trying to reflect the world their audience lives in?
Rani> CALLING is an ad agency built today for brands and consumers of today. It's necessary our team reflects the people in the world we live in. Our team is 85% female, 60% BPOC, 10% LGBTQI and neurodivergent, we sit at many intersections like the people that make our society. Everyone in our team is different and we celebrate that. There are two pillars that make up CALLING: truth and love. Truth is about being radically honest, being our most authentic selves and identifying truthfully in the work. This value around truth means we will always end up with the most authentic work for the audience because the team have had the safe space to be their most authentic selves while creating it. It also allows for healthy discourse which is what difference brings, and ultimately gets us to the most innovative thinking.
LBB> It's often been said in broader DE&I conversations that retention is often where organisations fall down when trying to improve their workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. What's your feeling on why retention is harder than finding talent in the first place?
Rani> Typically in agencies there is a dominant culture (white, male and middle class) that everyone adapts towards to gain closer proximity to and ultimately acceptance from. What happens is that those furthest away from that culture, always Black talent, have to adapt the most to fit in and survive. With me as one half of the founding team and Josh (white Jewish) as the other, the team sees everyday that difference is accepted between us in how we as a duo collaborate and share equity as leaders. Josh doesn’t automatically become more Black because of my presence and I don’t automatically become more “white” because of his.
In the spectrum of difference that sits between Josh and I, we create a space for many to be held. To solve the retention issue in our industry, agencies have to recognise they have a duty of care to create and hold a safe space for Black talent. Often more than not, where people are held safely, they stay and thrive.
LBB> When powerful groups move too slowly on inclusivity, excluded groups often find ways of reaching their potential independently. What are your thoughts on how legacy agencies need to change to respond to that change?
Rani> The world has moved on, brands have moved on, but legacy agencies haven’t. They have the resources, but they don’t seem to change. They are getting left behind because they are getting in their own way. They are either in fear of radical change, which is what is needed, and/or they don’t care enough about it. It's not the responsibility of the marginalised to tell agencies stuck in time how to fix their own problem.
LBB> Where are you seeing practices, communities and initiatives that give you hope?
Rani> What's giving me hope is what I see happening in the margins creatively; communities, collectives and their way of doing things is generating new and progressive ways around big problems. At CALLING, we believe that in the margins is where the most innovation happens, that's why we sit ourselves in those spaces by inviting them into our business and the work. We also practise communitarian cultures and rituals, because we believe in collective liberation. Together is where the answers lie. Doing things together gives me hope.
