• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, February 8, 2021

A group of independent advertising agencies have joined together to form a new internship program designed for Black students seeking careers in Adland. 

Building Leaders and Creators, or BLAC, was developed as part of a commitment by participating agency leaders to build more racially diverse and inclusive workplaces. In part it has been designed to appeal to creative talent who may not have previously considered careers in advertising. 

With the participation of agencies from across the country, students will be exposed to different types of agencies and a wide range of agency jobs. 

The curriculum and management of the program will be overseen by managing directors Sue Gillan and Kimberly Michelle Vaughn. The program is based on “Camp OKRP,” an internship program created by independent agency O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul in 2017.  

BLAC is being sponsored in its first year by Procter & Gamble.  The inaugural class will work on P&G brands and advertising assignments. Participating agencies for the first year include barrettSF (San Francisco), Cornett (Lexington, KY). DNA (Seattle), the above-referenced OKRP (Chicago), Walrus (New York) and others.  

“Every link in the creative and media supply chain should be 40% multicultural, equal to the U.S. population, and we have a long way to go,” stated Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, P&G. “Efforts to identify, nurture and grow talent starting with interns is an important contributor toward this outcome.” 

Applications can be sent to submission@blacinternship.com through Feb. 26.