Queen Latifah Shares How Her Queen Collective Creates Growth In Hollywood Through Inclusivity
Queen Latifah shares how her Queen Collective initiative creates lasting opportunities for emerging directors from diverse backgrounds.
In the six years since Queen Latifah launched her Queen Collective initiative with Procter & Gamble, the program has provided over 300 jobs to emerging directors, more than 60% of whom are people of color.
On Friday, Nov. 14, the award-winning multihyphenate participated in an in-depth discussion at the 2024 ADCOLOR Conference, moderated by Jeroslyn JoVonn of Black Enterprise. She was joined by Eric Austin, VP of Marketing & Media Innovation at P&G, and Angelica Matthews, Brand Vice President at P&G, to talk about how the Queen Collective is fostering opportunities, visibility, and economic empowerment for diverse emerging directors.
Launched in 2018, the Queen Collective was created to increase the gender and racial equality of film directors in entertainment and advertising. The platform’s ability to reflect diverse audiences and authentic stories allows brands to reach and resonate with all consumer groups.
“Directors are decision-makers who build crews and talent rosters,” Queen Latifah explained during the panel. “And by widening opportunities for Black directors with programs like Queen Collective we will open the door to a generation of diverse creators.”
As part of its commitment to inclusivity in the entertainment industry, P&G launched the Widen The Screen initiative. With support from the Queen Collective talent pool, the initiative aims to expand the multicultural media ecosystem, enabling more effective engagement with diverse audiences. The program was developed to address significant gaps in Black creator representation–on-screen and behind the camera.
Less than 6% of writers, directors, and producers in American-made films are Black. P&G discovered that two-thirds of Black individuals feel their culture and identities are not accurately or authentically represented on screen. Furthermore, Black-owned media previously accounted for less than 2% of all U.S. media spending.
Yiva Erevall for AdColor 2024, California, Inclusivity, JW Marriott, Los Angeles, Main Stage, P&G
“That’s why in 2021 we’ve created “Widen the Screen” –-an expansive content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity with an accurate portrayal of the Black Experience,” Austin said.
“It also enables the increased representation of diverse creators across the advertising, film, and media industry. It expands the multicultural media ecosystem so that we can reach diverse consumers with greater effectiveness. If we do this right, it represents a $10B opportunity for our business.”
Austin continued, “As we Widen The Screen, we Widen Our View and our reach by broadening the spectrum of the images we see, the voices we hear, the stories we tell, and the consumers we need to understand fully. “
He emphasized the success of Old Spice’s ad campaign featuring comedian Deon Cole, which significantly boosted the brand’s awareness and relatability among a broad audience, extending beyond the Black community. This achievement was driven by a Black female director—an opportunity that might not have existed without her presence in the creative process.
“The Queen Collective, as our signature program, is such a shining example of this as the initiative provides access and creates mentorship for Black and women of color to share their gifts and expand their creative footprints,” Austin said.
Queen Latifah shared her passion for being hands-on with Queen Collective directors, allowing them access on the set of her hit show The Equalizer, taking them to award shows like the NAACP Image Awards, and even to film festivals like Sundance and Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.
“I do this because I see the talent and you also never know when one of these directors becomes my boss one day,” she shared.
Steven Matthews for AdColor 2024, California, Inclusivity, JW Marriott, Los Angeles, Main Stage, P&G
P&G’s amplification of the Queen Collective goes even further, with leaders like Matthews creating a mentorship program that transitions Queen Collective directors into the advertising industry, placing them as directors of record for major agencies. In its second year, the program expanded to provide “Shadowship” opportunities to HBCU students.
“Similar to the Director Shadowship program, this is aimed to give HBCU students an opportunity to learn about developing content to support large brand activations,” Matthews said.
As the country sees the drawback of many DEI efforts launched in the aftermath of 2020, Queen Latifah, Austin, and Matthews are hopeful that their work with the Queen Collective at P&G can serve as a changemaker for more major brands to see the value in hiring diverse talent.
“I’ve been in this industry for a long time and have been lucky enough to be a part of a lot of film and TV projects,” Queen Latifah said. “So I can tell you that when a director or writer or showrunner authentically knows the communities they’re trying to reach – it changes everything.”
