Campaign Brief takes the concerns raised by the community very seriously, especially regarding gender representation in the ad industry and apologises for our thoughtless ‘all male’ visuals
Campaign Brief would like to unreservedly apologise to the Australian ad industry for our thoughtless representation of our coverage in the latest issue of Campaign Brief Australia.
At Campaign Brief, we take the concerns raised by the community seriously, especially regarding gender representation in the advertising industry. These LinkedIn discussions have sparked important conversations about the lack of women in senior creative leadership roles, and we agree that this highlights a broader issue within the industry.
While the list reflects the current makeup of CCO leadership in creative departments, it is not an endorsement of the imbalance. We recognise the significant contributions of women across all sectors of the industry – whether in management, creative, media, account service, or production – and fully support efforts to increase female representation in creative leadership.
As a media platform, our role is to report on the industry’s reality, but we also recognise our responsibility to amplify conversations about diversity and equity. Moving forward, we will continue to shine a light on the work being done to address these disparities and support initiatives that drive meaningful change. We remain committed to encouraging a more inclusive and equitable industry for all.
The article in Campaign Brief was the result of the ranking of the top ad agencies and production companies specifically in The Work 2024, Campaign Brief’s annual award show. This was not clear to almost all commentators on LinkedIn as the first page was omitted that would have explained the context.
The full article is below (The first two pages above are CB’s Agency ranking article. The right-hand page is CB’s Production Company ranking article).
The CCOs of the 9 top ranking Australian agencies in The Work 2024 and 3 top ranking New Zealand agencies are all male. We 100% agree that using all male photos was an irresponsible mistake and not a good look for us, and not a good look for our industry, and we also apologise to the CCOs featured for any embarrassment or criticism directed at them. It is very careless and disappointing to us that alarm bells did not go off during the production and printing process. This will obviously not happen again going forward.
If this was a list of the best in the industry, several women would be right up at the very top, including The Monkeys’ CCO Tara Ford and ECD Barbara Humphries. After all, The Monkeys are the current 2024 Campaign Brief Australian Agency of the Year.
With Bestads profiles every creative, director and producer who has ever had a credit on Bestads over the last 20 years ~ more than 200,000 ~ gets a FREE profile page, with women represented well (see above). The Bestads profile page is a useful portfolio to send to prospective employers when needed. Here’s an example.
With the global Bestads Rankings, they are simply the automated field credits for work being selected in the Top 6 of the Week over the last two years. Bestads, which started in 2004, is FREE and open to all individuals, agencies and production companies globally to upload their latest work. We don’t stop anyone from uploading their latest campaigns. The credits supplied by each agency are automatically added each week to the various ranking tables. You can view the rankings by various criteria here.
Campaign Brief has long been committed to showcasing and celebrating women in the creative industry, and we’ve featured many in our ‘Spotlight on Women Creatives’ series, as well as in numerous individual articles since our inception in 1987. Additionally, we regularly nominate women and people of colour to judge at global award shows.
With our global Bestads site each week we invite top creatives to judge, with women and POC creatives well represented (as pictured above and available to view here).
In conclusion, we again apologise for the embarrassment and anger caused by this story. This controversy has made us determined to up our game and be more aware of important issues in our industry and make sure we do a better job representing the whole Australian advertising industry going forward.
Michael Lynch
Co Publisher
In the recent month, we’ve heard our community’s feedback, and we want to address concerns openly. While recent criticism suggested a one-sided perspective, we’re proud of the platform we’ve built over the years to celebrate and amplify the voices and accomplishments of women in our industry. From profiles on groundbreaking women creative directors and directors to in-depth features on the creative journeys of emerging talents, our coverage has always reflected a commitment to inclusivity and respect. We have updated this article to include a collection of some of our most inspiring stories, honoring the women who are shaping the future of our industry. We hope these highlight the value we place on showcasing diverse voices.
79 Comments
Everyone makes mistakes. Not everyone admits it and apologises. Well done CB, respect.
Well done Lynchy. Great to see yourself and Campaign Brief acknowledging this.
All you did was highlight an endemic problem, and do so visually as well. It’s a well overdue kick up the butt for the industry IMHO.
And much more relevant than talking about whether or not a pregnant woman should be eating a whopper.
Are you going to stop the slanderous, misogynistic, and hateful comments that get made as well?
I know you won’t approve of this being posted, and that’s why I have taken a screenshot capturing the above comments as well before sending it to show that you only approve comments that make you look good but are happy to post comments that attack others. Over to you. Talk is cheap.
Is campaign brief and its anonymous comments something we actually want going forward with in this industry? Just something to think about (if this comment actually gets posted)
Furore about the article is justified. Wasn’t a great look. But those kicking off about the Best Ad rankings obviously don’t understand the problem is with the agencies submitting the work. It’s not like CB is picking the Creatives who go to the top of those lists.
Can we have a grown-up conversation about this please?
A well-known woman with no connection to our local industry who says she wants to ‘blow shit up’ saw this and said ‘nÔ ƜòMEŃ ĎÕ ƄéṬţËŘŕṚŕŗ!’
Next minute everyone is calling out Campaign Brief as misogynist when we all know these rankings are purely merit based, for a publication literally called ‘The Work’. Not ‘The Gender’, ‘The work’.
The moment we start conflating who creates the work with the level of awards the work is worthy of, we have completely disappeared up our own behinds. It’s about the work, not the gender of the people who created it, and as we all know, there would have been at least 50% women from the agency, marketing company and production working on every campaign featured in the work.
I think it’s time we grew up and stopped being so ‘boy vs girl’, and being more ‘good vs shit’. It might make the work better.
Sounds like someone was never taught critical thinking at school. Does anyone honestly believe this list is “purely merit-based” and that these men have better ideas than their female counterparts? Highly unlikely. What’s more likely is that this list exposes a widespread industry problem—one that amplifies men’s voices over women’s. The amount of times I’ve seen a beyond-average man take credit for a woman’s idea just because he talked louder…
Sounds like someone can’t accept another viewpoint than their own blinkered prejudice. It is merit-based, as Lynchy pointed out above. Whether or not they had better ideas than their female counterparts, I can’t say. If you believe that the CCOs come up with the ideas, then you’re probably not familiar with how an advertising agency works. I do know there were plenty of women who worked on the work that made the cut. But honestly, which consumer sits at home and says ‘I love this ad because a woman came up with the idea!’. None. We honestly need to pull our collective heads out of our buttholes and focus on good vs shit, rather than male vs female. It’s primary school blue-light-disco level pettiness.
I’m so tired of these simplistic takes. No one I’ve seen is questioning the talent of those on the list. People are simply pointing out that many highly talented women never even make it to CCO, and it’s not due to a lack of good ideas. As many have noted in the comments, it’s part of a larger systemic issue. I agree that reducing this to “boys vs. girls” is unhelpful, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s actually saying that..? It would be more productive to focus on the bigger issue this list has highlighted and remove emotion and ego from the conversation.
I feel bad for CB. They are just holding a mirror up and showing us the ugly reality we don’t want to see. This falls back on agencies at the end of the day, no one else. Hire women, learn how to keep women, what kind of feedback and working style women respond to. Don’t assume we’re losing women to ‘motherhood’ because I’ve seen plenty of women leave the industry without a single kid to their name. But, at the same time, definitely learn how to keep the mothers we do have. Don’t talk about how you have gender pay parity if you’re not prepared to print the numbers, because a lot of agencies talking about it this week can’t back it up. When it’s redundancy time, don’t only let female creatives go. Don’t continue to put men who have a ‘reputation,’ in positions of power over female subordinates. As, even if they don’t do something to those women directly, it hurts the soul of every woman who works for you knowing that’s your stance. Talk about the great women across your organisation, but don’t boost the numbers of your traditional creative department by adding in production, accounts, studio and so on. Ask women to write about their experiences and share them to CB, give them the option to do so anonymously – because there is a fall out, like it or not. Give women the good briefs, the ones that end up in Best Ad entries. Give guys the tampon briefs and women the beer briefs -the worst it can result in is fresh thinking. Don’t only address or feedback via the man in a mixed gender team. Give women the chance to speak in meetings – but know they might want time to formulate a nuanced response. Let women cry at work. Can’t find a woman to fill the role? Why not find the women who have left the industry and bring them back. Stop splashing thousands on useless courses that don’t address the reality of our industry – ask the women in your organisation for their real experiences and build the learning sessions around those. Learn how to actually creative direct – teach and grow women, don’t just come up with and subsequently pick your own idea. Don’t demand male bravado from your female creatives. But mostly, stop shifting the blame – to industry publications, to the numbers of female creatives out there, to recruiters, to HR. Stop and do the work. It will be ugly, messy and uncomfortable, but isn’t that what we’re already seeing and feeling after looking into the mirror being held up to our industry right now?
I’ve never commented before here and I’ll never do it again, but whoever you are who wrote this – amazing. This was so smart, so nuanced. I’ve put my name and agency because whoever you are, I think I’d like you a lot!
If you are really serious about change Mr Lynch, you will ban anonymous comments. This is a professional industry, not an all-boys schoolyard.
Do good work. Get on list. Simple.
I saw this all unfolding on Linkedin and I have to agree that the image on that double page was a terrible mistake, which has now been gracefully admitted by CB. But the issue here, as others have mentioned, is that the rankings are purely on the work submitted and the credits on that work. Take a look at some of the agency leaders who have been vocal about this, and you’ll see that if they had their work submitted and it was ranked highly, their male ECDs would have also been on this list too. The problem is with agencies, not CB. You’re calling out CB as “misogynistic” while producing work with predominantly male creative CD/ECDs. If your work was good enough, you’d be on this list, so we all need to take a look in the mirror here instead of hurling blame on everyone else.
Just wanted to say congrats to everyone crowned on this list. And not all are men. It’s tough to get on there and have your work recognised. Congrats to all, whatever your gender.
Sounds like you want special treatment – not equality.
That’s some bloody wise honesty there ⚡️⚡️⚡️
Anyone remember when this industry was the most fun you could have with your pants on?
Sorry you’ve read it that way, that wasn’t my intention. I just wrote it in a fit of passion as someone who has been stewing on all this for a few days. What particular part feels like special treatment to you?
To those saying CB is only holding up a mirror… I have to ask the question – do you not think that this publication has had some influence on who we now see in all these top jobs? For nearly my entire 30 year career CB only ever featured and championed men (and invited men to their networking lunches). It is only very recently that women have started being invited to judge Best Ads or been featured in any vaguely meaningful way in the pages or on the blog (I would also question how meaningful the dire ‘female issue’ was.) Getting to the top takes hard work and talent sure – but it’s also about exposure, fame and optics, and good PR sure helps there. I believe that CB is very responsible for creating a picture in people’s minds of what a creative leader should look like (male) over many many years of content. Sure agencies need to take some responsibility, but so do you.
Lynchy & Campaign Brief have been dragged over hot coals here. Not their fault.
This situation is testament to the power of visuals to illustrate a point. We talk about representation and diversity, but it’s only when this happens that it’s visible to the naked eye.
Hope this changes the tide; but, after years in advertising, I’m not holding out hope…
How ironic that the people whining about anonymous comments don’t people their name on their posts. If you were serious, you comment again with your names attached.
One of the biggest critics on LinkedIn appointed a male CCO upon arriving at her agency and has a mostly male group of creative directors. There’s little chance for things to change when those calling for it are perpetuating the status quo and increasing the gender imbalance.
It was a shame that list was published. But it’s a true reflection of the industry. Bravo Michael for addressing it and clarifying the details.
I find the Best Ads List commentary from certain people odd. It’s an automated list and if you look at the Spikes Asia or One Show rankings for Australia it’s the exact same names as the Best Ads list.
If you have a problem with Best Ads you have a problem with all award shows that celebrate the people who make the ads. Which I think is a different issue.
What a complete farce that CB has been put in this position. Like others have said, do great work and get the kudos, man, women or beast. So many insecure people in this industry banging the same old tired drum. Hard work, talent and merit should be what gets people jobs and recognition, not quotas and diversity for diversity’s sake.
Well done on the response Campaign Brief. Yes its a light shining on something that needs addressing. This is where it would be great to continue the momentum. As an industry leading publication, you could do more to help guide this from this momentum. The other ugly light that needs shining is the industries fascination with tearing each other apart with comments like we are seeing here. If you truly believe in what you are saying, put your name to it otherwise whats the point.
Sorry,I’m a bit out of the loop.Just wondering who the woman is who wants to ‘blow up shit’.Just curious.
Well said, anonymous commentator.
(it’s genuinely mind blowing that you didn’t see the irony of not actually putting your real name to your stance)
Well done Michael and Campaign Brief for the apology but i think it is totally unreasonable for anyone to expect Campaign Brief to change the way Australian males are in Australia.
Well said. Spot on.
Can you write that again, please, but this time using grammar the rest of us can understand. Much appreciated. I thought I’d had a stroke when reading your comment. Oh, and don’t forget to add your name as well, hopefully, you can at least get the grammar correct for that, let’s hope so.
Great point you make, Brendon. But there are a lot of Brendon’s out there – so what would your last name be?
After all, you made the call.
Happy to but my full name. Its Brendon Eastlake. Thanks @Brendon for pointing that out.
These comments are beyond depressing. Are we still, in 2024, talking ‘diversity for diversity’s sake’ and lauding ‘merit’ and ‘hard work’ without acknowledging the systemic barriers holding back women** from attaining the same level of success as their white, cis male counterparts. OF COURSE everyone who ‘made the list’ has worked hard to achieve success in their careers, OF COURSE they are excellent at their jobs but more than one thing can be true. We can (and should) observe the problem, we can (and should) criticise the publication who perpetuates said problem’, we can (and should) call for a level playing field and a systemic and cultural shift without the suggestion that we are diminishing the work of those who have excelled in their roles. In following this story across social media platforms, I have not seen one comment singling out an individual creative or company owner, and would not have agreed if they had.
As for the anonymous comment above “How ironic that the people whining about anonymous comments don’t people {sic} their name on their posts. If you were serious, you comment again with your names attached” – I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest the person who wrote that comment is not a woman** who has attempted to stand up to a man (let alone men) in power.
** the word woman/women is, in this context only, interchangable with any human who does not move about the world in a white, cis, male body.
I read in a linked In article critical of CB that apparently only 5-10% of creative departments are made up of women. One thing that would be really useful is an article highlighting all the female creatives in Aus. Especially those looking for jobs. Because its not easy to fill 50% of all these positions with women as is made out.
I wonder why people comment anonymously – Hey I think I know. Because the LinkedIn Lynch Mob would do everything in their power to get you fired / cancelled for voicing your opinion duh! Just a white CIS Male’s point of view.
Most departments in advertising agencies are over represented by women right?
PR is overwhelmingly run by women.
Media.
Client meetings these days are usually nearly all women.
But not the Creative department.
Why would the Creative department be more sexist than all the other departments?
And judging by the list mentioned here they are obviously are?
But don’t creative types, from a physiological point of view, tend towards being more open minded, less rigid, less conventional, more liberal, usually more left wing?
So what gives?
Okay, so let’s take your point – men have made great work and deserve to be on the list. Great. But have you ever stopped to wonder why only men are making this ‘great’ work? No? I’m going to really over-simplify things for you.
It’s male creatives lazily being given briefs for ‘male’ products/categories – beer, cars, sports teams, DIY stores and so on. All typically big-budget clients with the most potential.
It’s male CDs/CCOs mentioning incoming briefs to guys over a beer on Fridays, while talking about sport, at lunch together, getting a haircut together. So those guys know to ask traffic about that brief, show enthusiasm to be on that particular job and pitch proactively.
It’s male creatives taking credit for female creatives ideas and females knowing they’ll be labelled as ‘difficult’ or iced-out for complaining about it.
It’s male ECDs and CCOs deciding they want to be on the shoot with the hot-shot male director they’re mates with, meaning the actual team doesn’t get to come because of budget/numbers/optics to client. Meaning they get less shoot experience and are less likely to get the next TVC brief or have the trust to be on the next shoot alone.
It’s presenting ideas to a male ECD or CCO who thinks about who he’d like to go on the shoot, wrap lunch, be in edit with.
It’s presenting bro-y type ideas to a male ECO or CCO who chooses the bro-y type idea and doesn’t understand the perspective of his female creative on the brief.
It’s male CCOs asking their male ECD/CCO friends for a recommendation when hiring, and those guys nominating guys they’ve worked with in the past.
It’s male-heavy juries who again don’t understand the perspective of female creatives.
Its that male working-CD team being the ‘team’ for that amazing client and getting the brief year-after-year.
It’s that male CD/ECD/CCO with a history of indiscretions meaning their female creatives feel uncomfortable getting close to them, being alone with, having a beer with them – meaning they’re not top of mind when a good brief comes in.
It’s putting women on the warm, emotive briefs and then assuming that, and that alone, is their ‘tone’ when they deliver on brief. So you never give them something serious, funny and ironic.
It’s not giving a mother a brief for a demanding job because you assume she won’t work out of hours and/or you don’t have the confidence to ask your client for reasonable timelines.
It’s men getting home to dinner made, kids fed and so on (getting a bit 1950s here – but sure it happens) meaning they can eat and get back to that brief or get much needed sleep to attack it fresh.
It’s the end of flexible working meaning if a woman has period pains, endo or morning sickness she calls off sick instead of working from home, and isn’t there when that great brief gets assigned.
It’s male directors or designers feeling they don’t need to listen to female creatives to the same extent and producing something off-brief, shit or which misses a crucial part of the ad. So what could have been submitted to best ads, ends up in the bin.
Obviously, these issues can go both ways and don’t only impact women – male directors can ignore male creatives, male teams can get bumped off the shoot for the ECD. However, for the sake of today’s argument and systemic gender imbalance let’s assume this is happening to female creatives more regularly.
I could go on, but i’m tired.
And worried that, even after this week, you could have such poor critical thinking skills.
Our business (Big Red and BRX) don’t tend to engage with industry press and we don’t enter industry awards, which means i have no vested interest in ranking tables and it gives us lots of time back to simply deliver great results for clients.
I think those that called this out were right to do so. I think Campaign Brief’s response is thoughtful and responsible. A problem well defined is one that can be solved. The industry as a whole is not aligned on the problem to solve, but progress is not linear and requires debate like this.
This industry is, on average, in decline, making it harder to provide opportunity for anyone, which I believe is an important part of this debate. But when you shake off the old measures of the industry (awards), people like us also find there is a great commercial creative business to have on the other side when you judge yourself by other measures (clients’ commercial success).
While we have good diversity in our business, our creative leadership does tend to look a bit more like that criticised photo spread than not, so thanks to all who have shone a light on this so I can do my bit to address it.
Posting without anonymity intentionally.
Regarding creative opportunities for women and diverse creatives, I have some ideas based on my experience in my earlier, award-focussed days. I helped champion and drive many briefs that went on to win creative awards (with plenty of support). To ensure the best briefs reach creatives from all backgrounds, here are some key points to consider:
Strategic Training and Opportunity Identification
Brilliant strategic planners (shoutout to PRJ and Hristos) played a crucial role in teaching account people like me to spot great creative opportunities and link them to business and brand objectives. Many of these briefs emerged from a deep understanding of the client’s business, rather than just responding to the brief. While I wasn’t fully aware of how to leverage this at the time, it could have been used to get more proactive briefs into diverse hands. Training people to find these opportunities and “sell them through to dispatch” (thanks to Nitsa for showing me how) can benefit the entire industry, including under-represented groups.
Making Ideas Happen Takes a Team
Selling great ideas is a collective effort, not just a creative one. I can point to at least one award-winning idea that nearly didn’t happen. It only saw the light of day because account, production, data, and creative teams worked tirelessly to convince the client it could be commercially successful, produced on time and within budget, with clear success metrics. You can find those brilliant discarded ideas and form a coalition to bring them to life. Even the most dismissive ECD will take notice if you do.
Leveraging AI for Production
The cost of production is no longer a barrier if you embrace AI. You don’t need ECD approval to get an illustrator, concept artist, or other creative resources. AI can help you build a proof of concept by visualising, animating, and even making the economic argument for your idea. If you can bring it to life internally in a way it can be packaged and sold, I don’t think many people will stand in your way.
Understanding who submits the creative awards
Mostly agencies submit their Cannes etc. awards in a panic. I found often an EA or jnr producer would be frantically asking me who to credit on awards. Work out how these decisions get made, it may actually be easier to influence getting your names on things than you think. In my experience a lot of junior people just filled in the names that were obvious to them, rather than all of the names they could have. I wouldn’t advise you do this deceptively, but doing it proactively with a degree of permission may help.
There were some good points there, some I hadn’t thought of… thanks for elaborating.
Some numbers for perspective
Creative Directors F 34% M 66%
Copywriters F 50% M 50%
Art Directors F 40% M 60
Account Managers F 58% M 42%
Planners F 49% M 51%
Execs F 34% M 66%
Sales F 53% M 47%
Social Media Managers F 63% M 37%
PR F 72% M 28%
Designers F 48% M 52%
Producers F 60% M 40%
The reality is that the big problem is actually very small. If 6 of the men who have held CCO jobs in the industry for decades were replaced by women, things would look a lot different. that’s what we’re debating here. 6 dudes. Who are not even slightly incentivised to step aside. Because they have nowhere else to go. Our industry isn’t a limitless world of opportunity.
Source?
Here are some more numbers on Creative Leadership roles from the ACA (2023).
CCO/ECD – 20% females (up from 10% in 2022)
😫
ACD/Creative Group Head – 19% females (relatively static)
😳
Head of Copy – 33% female (up from 20% in 2022)
😏
Head of Design/Design Director – 32% (up from 26% in 2022)
😐
Why are we not criticising the diversity of production departments? Show me photos of the top 10 senior agency producers and I’ll guarantee you they’re all female. Why is there not conversation about the fact that the top 10 agency HR leaders are female? Agencies have been integrating PR into their offerings over the past 5 years, guess what sex the top 10 PR leads are in Australian agencies?
Imagine if those denying there is a gender issue in this industry put the same amount of energy into trying to fix it.
Instead of lazily saying: ‘do good work, get on list’
Try: ‘why are these lists are perpetually filled with men? There are so many brilliant women in this industry. This doesn’t add up. What can I do to help?’
Y’all are creative.
Think creatively about how to fix this.
Like any problem, or brief, it starts with understanding why.
Dear men, please think outside the box. Think outside of your personal experience and about the world around you.
Get women to do everything? Take over every department? That’s cool, just don’t expect your husband to be earning much.
This argument assumes women even want these roles. They may not.
All of the comments about this list seem to be from creative leaders who aren’t posting work or entering awards shows because they are making digital banners, aisle fins & influencer content. No creative ideas…..
Quote:
All of the comments about this list seem to be from creative leaders who aren’t posting work or entering awards shows because they are making digital banners, aisle fins & influencer content. No creative ideas…..
Dear BC,
I suggest you get acquainted with digital banners, aisle fins, influencer content, AI, automation and prepare yourself for life without that big TV production dept., if you want to have a job in advertising job in 5 years. Just a suggestion. And if you choose not to take it, then I’d start budgeting for a life on half what you’re earning now.
Reporting the news should not be made to be an attack on the journalist.
The news is: We still work in a widely male dominated industry.
The next story should be. This is old news, how are we changing it?
Michael and Campaign Brief have supported me always in my career as a young producer and now 20 something years in… they still do.
A well meaning post, but but an unnecessary one.
The outrage and the blame is not here.
Its at a conversation that has long gone stale, and those pictures a stark, and brutal reminder.
We should be thanking campaign brief for laying the disgrace bare and sparking the conversation yet again.
What the hell is wrong here? How do we fix it? I feel like all my career I’ve been talking about it. And thats not to lay blame the men of our industry either. I’ve been supported by some truly wonderful men, that have helped champion change in our industry for women….
But at this rate… When will we see a real systemic change? There has to be real change.
Aborah Buick. Producer. Woman. Lover and supporter of our beautiful industry, and so many people in it.
Putting my name to it, because we all should.
Wrap lunches? Beer and cars being good briefs (not these days) Haircuts and Friday beers? Absent fathers who don’t come home for kid dinner, book and bed? Feels a bit out of touch with the reality I see…
Modern adland is scrappy, frugal, desperate and bloody exhausting (for everyone). To the point where I think any good CD/ECD worth their salt couldn’t give a hoot about the gender of who develops the work as long as the idea is good and can make it to the next meeting.
We need more female talent, no doubt, especially at the top. But they’re coming through. And I hope/reckon we’ll see better balance soon.
So true Abs, I remember my first story in Campaign Brief as a young producer 10+ years ago. They were the only ones who covered it. There must be 100s of people like me as every week I read so many new appointment stories on Campaign Brief. I always remember at a legendary lunch I met the head of a production company who said they had read my story and he gave me great advice. I was so happy and it made me determined to succeed. I now work for them. Thank you Campaign Brief and sorry this is anonymous.
This is going to be a bit depressing, but I’m afraid it might be true.
We’re all debating gender power imbalance in creative leadership positions and representation in industry press while the industry we want to work in is dying before our very eyes.
Deck chairs on sinking ships, fiddling while Rome burns. Pick your metaphor.
I wish our industry had fixed this particular problem 20 years ago so that today we could address more seismic issues that affect its very existence.
Our industry is shrinking. Sinking. Dying. There are fewer jobs, less opportunities, less money, less time, less space than ever before, and it’s only going to get worse.
I truly wish gender imbalance in creative leadership was the answer to our problems. Because it’s actually easy to fix.
But alas, we left it too late.
Well said.
Although at this point maybe a more diverse makeup of who’s left may be the only way the industry will have a chance of existing in some form in the future.
You missed one (no doubt on purpose) via ACA:
CCO/ECD – 20% females
And that’s the issue – the proportion of CREATIVE LEADERS is woefully small.
And please commenters like @Ben stop trotting out the tired out argument that production and PR etc are female dominated… creative departments are the issue here. You know? The people who come up with the ideas, put them into the world, shape culture, influence opinions and often the mental health of other women (please read the endless research on this via WHV etc if it still hasn’t sunk in, that yes, sexist advertising hurts the mental health of women).
Saying that there are plenty of women in other departments is like saying there are plenty of women who are nurses, so who cares if they’re not doctors.
AI doesn’t have a gender.
I hear you, and while it can feel like we’re watching the industry shrink, I think it’s important to look deeper. Yes, network agencies are struggling, but indy agencies are far from dying. Thinkerbell just acquired HH, and Special has grown fast—both are thriving examples here in the region. The model is changing, not disappearing. Networks are weighed down by layers they can’t afford, which is why cuts are happening. The industry isn’t sinking; it’s shifting. If I were at a network agency, I’d be taking a hard look around and asking some tough questions about the future of my position.
@Too little:
Sure, the industry is dying.
Good.
Let it die. Advertising won’t.
Advertising’s been around for millennia. If the Romans were advertising their wares, then there’s a good chance it’ll stick around.
Why would this industry last? Why would we want it to?
We create fake awards to champion our creativity, knowing full well it does little-to-nothing for our clients, but hoping we get the nod from our real clients: the juries.
We work bright, talented youngsters into 80/90-hour weeks – often at the cost of their mental health – yet give them no tools to develop their professional side beyond the creative, and then fire them when they’re too old.
We measure our ability not by commercial objectives, or the expertise and skill we possess, but the number of hours we supposedly work on a client for. (And then undercut that later.)
Then you add this swirling undercurrent of what’s going on here.
Why should our industry survive?
What are we giving the next generation to inherit?
How can our clients expect us to sell their products, if we can’t sell ourselves well enough to garner enough respect for a seat at the table?
…
Enough about the “industry”.
Let it burn.
Now that is award winning copy!
Amazing how when anonymity comes into it how incredibly misogynistic the comment have been. Where was this energy on LinkedIn? The best part is all of these comments have proven how bad the issue really is. Nice own goal fellas.
Most of the comments here are trying to have a genuine discussion. Just because someone doesn’t 100% agree with you doesn’t make them misogynistic. I would guess 99%.9% of men in advertising agree with the basic point there are not enough women in creative. They just don’t all think that the only possible explanation is sexism. Maybe it’s more complex than that. But I’d probably be cancelled for even suggesting that – hence no one is saying it on linked in.
The number of “not all men” type comments in here are a total self-own.
Gee I wonder why people can’t say what they feel on LinkedIn or CB with their real name? Use you brain. In this age of cancelling and getting people fired over tweets – you CAN’T say what you feel. You can see in this comment thread just how many would love nothing more than to take down a “CIS WHITE MALE” REEEEEEEEEEEEEE – who god forbid has an unpopular opinion.
Equality of outcome is the best way forward for every industry – not just this one. Otherwise your box ticking will exclude deserving talent. Which in my opinion matters more than Boy / Girl metrics. Being placed in roles due to your gender not your talent can’t feel good either.
Well done. I agree with most people that this isnt CB’s fault. It’s where the industry is. Quite a few people like CD Leisa Ilander, offered balanced views on where things are, including that DPS. You and the CB team shouldn’t be blamed for that it’s just where it’s at. Is it right, NO, is it your fault NO.
Change will happen, for the better, which is good for everyone, and it’s what needs to be done. And everyone not least men, have a major part to play.
What I don’t like is the vitriolic tone of many of the posters on Linked In. Taking it out on all men, who have only done their job. That does not help the situation, and it certainly won’t fix it.
What’s interesting is many of those posters have made a living putting men in those roles, and making a profit doing so. They know who they are, and maybe need to take some responsibility for what they’ve helped do.
Just seen big agencies now cancelling their subscriptions to Bestads and CB. That’s your solution? Just straight up cancel culture? CB apologised. The majority industry agrees that we need more women. Let’s get on with making it better now, together. Cancelling a subscription does nothing to help and only serves to create more divide. Super ironic that it’s coming from agencies with all male creative leadership too. Unsubscribe from yourselves first, you hypocrites.
The irony is a lot of the work awarded was championing diversity and inclusion. Correct the internet, Bundy mixer… You can’t win. Well you can win, but if you do win, you shouldn’t have won, you sexist bastard…
Our industry is supposedly founded on “curiosity”. It’s not just our ideas that must be curious, but our leaders.
If masses of people from other groups are expressing that things are difficult for them, it’s a leader’s job to be curious. Ask questions. Research numbers. Empathise with other people’s emotions. It’s literally your job to help people tell stories. All these qualities aren’t just what we need from leaders, they’re what we need from humanity.
Curiosity is not something to only be practised where it benefits ourselves or our clients. If you choose to stop asking questions when it doesn’t benefit you, you are not leading a group of people.
If you truly believe this world and our industry currently function only on merit, it doesn’t sound like you’re asking any questions.
“Keep pushing”, as creative leaders say. You’ll get to something better.
That was needed to be had. If things change out of this, everybody wins.
Agencies cancelling subscriptions to CB after they sincerely and honestly apologised, and then took steps to mitigate the concerns, just goes to show that this worthwhile cause for equity and equality gets hijacked by people who only want revenge. No apology is ever sorry enough for them, no grovelling will be low enough. That is really sad and stands to hurt many more people. Why ask for an apology and a roadmap forward to better if you’re just going to tell people it’s not good enough? I feel everybody in this, I really do.
Is there anything more frightening in the digital world than a pile-on? It’s a good damn trade rag and a good one. How on earth do you dedicate your anger to CB? It’s the fault of the CEO’s FFS.
@Bridge too far, as many people have said, it’s unfair for CB to cop this. CB has been a relentless promoter of creativity and The Work while other publications focus more on the business of advertising and marketing. We should not forget this. We should not forget what has happened here either and continue to ensure the gender balance in the creative section of our business is nurtured.
@Observer, I agree there is a bit of biting the hand that feeds…
Yes!!!
CB has been an ally to this industry for decades. They mistakenly ran an article – amongst loads of articles posted daily – that highlighted a problem within agencies. And the agencies, which are where the problem actually exists, are now cancelling CB? I’m astounded. Weak.
Agree and thank you!
Campaign Brief has always supported Western Sydney Ad School and our search for a more diverse creative department in agencies. Michael has also given free Best Ads subscriptions to every student for the last 5 years. He has always encouraged me to submit articles so more people are more aware of what we offer.
I am no longer working in the industry, but I still stand by decency and fairness. Shocked by the misinformation spread on LinkedIn by those with their own agendas. Where are the industry leaders who have benefited from Campaign Brief’s support for creatives in advertising? I thought we were tougher than this.
I am proud to say I am a friend of Michael’s. I’ve been there since the start of CB when it brought a breath of fresh air to the industry, even though I was a suit!
Let’s take a step back for a moment and consider that we are talking about real people with real feelings who have dedicated 30 years of their lives to this industry. Isn’t there a sense of balance needed here?
To all the writers, art directors, creative directors, casting agents, production companies, agencies and clients who have been part of Campaign Brief’s journey for over 30 years – let’s show some solidarity. Speak up!
Thank you, Michael Lynch and Campaign Brief, for everything you have done and will continue to do for the advertising industry.
Maybe this was deliberate, to highlight the 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards dance routine this industry seems to follow.
I’m going to believe the conspiracy – that this was an attempt by CB to get the conversation happening. Thanks CB.