Advertising news today: Facebook at war, JWT discrimination claim

Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg.
AP

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told a meeting of top executives
in June that he would become a more aggressive CEO because the
company was at “war,” according to the Wall
Street Journal.

The meeting came at a time when users, lawmakers, and investors
were angry over the company’s handling of the Cambridge Analytica
scandal. The 34-year-old CEO reportedly expressed frustrations
that executives weren’t moving quick enough at times this year
and said it was time for executives to “make progress faster.”

The report added that the new approach had caused “unprecedented
turmoil” in Facebook’s most senior ranks, and had led to the
departures of a number of top executives, including the
cofounders of Instagram and WhatsApp.

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In related news:

Facebook’s comms team is reportedly fuming at COO Sheryl Sandberg
after they were thrown under the bus over a smear
campaign. Sandberg’s response to the bombshell
New York Times report last week angered many communications and
policy team members, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Mark Zuckerberg reportedly blamed Sheryl Sandberg for the
Cambridge Analytica fallout, making her worry for her
job. Zuckerberg met with Sandberg in the spring
and said he blamed her for the furor over the giant data breach,
the Journal reports.

Former Facebook head of security Alex Stamos published an op-ed
in The Washington Post confirming that Sheryl Sandberg yelled at
him and felt “blindsided” when he briefed the board on Russian
interference. Stamos was at the center of the
New York Times exposé published last week on how Facebook’s
leadership dealt with Russian election interference.

In other news: 

5 male ad execs are considering a discrimination claim
after their gay female boss said she would ‘obliterate’ her
company’s reputation as a haven for straight, white
men. While the men lost their jobs after asking HR
what she meant, the ad agency JWT denies it has done anything
wrong, and says the layoffs were planned anyway.

Direct-to-consumer brands are demanding accountability
from the ad industry, and it could finally shake up how agencies
and TV networks work. The goal of agencies and
sellers in courting DTC brands is to prove that they can measure
ads with data-backed approaches that the DTC brands
require. 

How an LA upstart is redefining the media world by helping
African-American millennials ‘tell their own story.’
Aaron Samuels is cofounder and chief operating officer of
Blavity, the LA media upstart focused on African-American
millennials.