14766: Erin Johnson Discusses Post-Harassment Stress Disorder.

Advertising Age appears to be providing harassment gender equality, balancing the Joe Alexander report with a seemingly unabridged and unfiltered Erin Johnson interview. The piece is titled, “Erin Johnson on Sexual Harassment, J. Walter Thompson and Finding Out Who Her Friends Are.” Okay, the illustrator responsible for the interview image (depicted above) is definitely not a friend, as the rendering ain’t very flattering. One surprising revelation is that TIME’S UP/Advertising has never contacted Johnson. Perfect. What’s next for Ad Age—an insert spotlighting Gustavo Martinez?

Erin Johnson on Sexual Harassment, J. Walter Thompson and Finding Out Who Her Friends Are

In the aftermath of her suit against WPP, exec speaks out

By I-Hsien Sherwood

Eight months before the #MeToo movement began to play out in Hollywood, the global chief communications officer at J. Walter Thompson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the agency and its global CEO. Erin Johnson alleged inappropriate physical contact and racist, sexist and anti-Semitic comments—including jokes about raping female staffers—from Gustavo Martinez.

For the next two years, the suit dragged through the courts. WPP and its then-CEO Martin Sorrell were accused of digging in their heels when most agencies at the time opted to handle such matters quietly. As subsequent harassment scandals erupted at shops including The Martin Agency and Droga5, Johnson was put in a position uncharacteristic of a PR professional—constantly named in headlines, but unable to speak publicly during pending litigation.

Three-and-a-half years after filing her suit and nearly 18 months after reaching an undisclosed settlement with WPP, Johnson is dealing with a very different industry landscape. Sorrell has been ousted from the holding company he founded and now runs S4 Capital. WPP finally parted ways with Martinez two months following the settlement, after some reshuffling to quietly put him in charge of operations in Spain.

As for JWT, once the oldest advertising agency in the world, it’s gone, folded into Wunderman Thompson late in 2018.

Johnson left the industry, too, for a time, spending less than a year as chief communications officer at tech start-up Gifnote, for whom she remains an advisor. She spoke with Ad Age about the personal costs of bringing a harassment lawsuit, the #MeToo movement and what’s next for her. Our conversation has been edited and condensed.

J. Walter Thompson is gone, merging with Wunderman last year. How does that make you feel?

Very sad. Depressed. A little angry. It was such a great brand. I remember we had worked so hard to celebrate the future at the 150th anniversary [in 2014], and I was part of that. I loved the brand. I still love the brand. I’m sad that it’s not there anymore; it’s devastating to me.

For people who haven’t experienced harassment at work, what is it like to be in that kind of environment?

Sadly, I think a lot of people know how it feels because they deal with it every day. I think every woman has stories like mine. It’s like a death of a thousand cuts. And over the course of my career, I’ve experienced all sorts of things—inappropriate comments, inappropriate touching. Women especially have been taught or been told that it’s just the way it is.

How did you come to the decision that your only recourse was to file a lawsuit?

Everybody has a line. And when that line is crossed, it’s kind of like you can’t live with yourself unless you do something about it. This situation in particular with Gustavo began to cross the line of my ability to look myself in the mirror and accept it.

It’s really scary. I know I believe in myself. I know that I’m standing up for myself, but I also know the power of a billion-dollar company. You question and question and question yourself. I remember sitting up at night with my husband, at like 3 in the morning, debating what to do, because at a certain point I knew I had to file or not do anything. I kept saying “This is going to uproot our lives. This is not going to be quick. We could lose the house, we could lose everything [because of legal fees].” And I was terrified about what could happen to me. You go to really dark places. How would I afford mortgage bills? How would I pay for the kids? How would I continue to live? Who would hire me again? Would I be blacklisted forever? And my husband just said, “Babe, nobody treats you like this. We’ll sell the house. It’s just a house. We’ll get an apartment. It’s just about us and the kids.” He said, “You work too hard, and this is not O.K. I got you.” And he took away all my fear that night, because I was so afraid.

In hindsight, there’s a consensus that the holding company handled your case poorly. How should a company respond to allegations like yours?

Handle it immediately. Believe them. Believe them and support them.

The legal filings detail your work conditions during the lawsuit. But what were the effects on other parts of your life?

I have a way of making jokes about it to offset the reality of the fear and the stress about it. But it was exhausting and isolating and lonely. You wake up thinking about it, you go to bed thinking about it. You have nightmares about it. I mean, it was my life for two years, and trying to be a good mom and a good caregiver and a good partner, it’s really hard.

And I think the kids definitely picked up on a lot of my stress. They had a lot of questions because they overheard certain names, so they would ask about “Who’s this? Who’s that?” Or “Why is Mommy crying? Why is Mommy so sad?” I had to explain to them in ways that a young preschooler and kindergartner at the time could understand. How do you explain that to a child?

With all this, did you ever have second thoughts? Did you ever wish you had kept quiet or gotten a different job?

No, never. Never. I would do it all over again if I had to. It was the right thing to do.

You were deep in litigation when the #MeToo movement emerged. What did it feel like watching it unfold but not being able to say anything?

I think that The New Yorker and The New York Times did amazing work, and any woman or any person that comes forward is very brave. I applaud anyone standing up for themselves, but it was a very lonely eight months before then. I was out there alone for a long time.

How do you think your case affected the way #MeToo played out in the advertising industry?

I would like to think that my case did have a multiplier effect. I’ve gotten emails and phone calls from many people in the business who have subsequently stood up for themselves. So I know that it has had a positive impact.

How much support did you receive from people in the industry?

That’s a complicated question, because part of the problem is change happens when the people who are holding the purse strings can implement it. There was a company that in the early days of my suit wrote a wonderful tweet about me and how they supported me. I have a screen grab of it, and it was really nice. And then three days later, the tweet was deleted. That was devastating, but also eye-opening—so that’s how it’s going to be. Someone got their hand slapped for publicly endorsing me. The bottom line is still the bottom line.

Was there more support in private?

There was a lot of private support from people who couldn’t go public because they were too afraid of backlash, which was really sad. To me it was like, “That’s great, but that and $2.75 will get me on the subway.” I’m all about transparency. If you can’t support me publicly, don’t bother calling me privately.

Did that change after the suit was settled?

A lot of people who were not reaching out to me, reached out to me about how much they believed in me and blah, blah, blah. But I don’t talk to anyone who suddenly found their voice after they knew which way the wind was blowing. I really learned who my friends were, and I learned a lot about the character of others.

Have you worked with any groups on #MeToo issues, like Time’s Up Advertising?

I’ve never been contacted by Times Up Advertising. I didn’t even know it was launching.

How do you handle the notoriety?

I do worry that there’s always going to be an asterisk next to my name for companies that would want to hire me. People who are plugged into what happened in the industry recognize my name. In entertainment and tech, not as much. It was kind of a relief, actually, working in tech.

What’s next for you?

I kind of was adjacent to the industry for a year, and now I’m trying to figure out what’s next because I’m someone who loves to work. This summer, I’ve had more time to think about what I want. But I probably was pushing feelings away. I was able to lock up my feelings, like I just wasn’t ready to process them. It’s really been like a death for me, and I’m mourning my life. For so long, your career is part of your identity.

But I’ve had enough time to wait at the beach with my kids and try some new things. I don’t rest well. I’m better busy. So I want to do something that makes me happy. Something that I can believe in.

14556: WPPay Gap Exposes Diversity Delinquency, Dumbness And Deception.

Adweek reported WPP released its U.K. Gender Pay Gap Report 2018, revealing the gender pay gap actually increased within the White holding company. Coupled with the constant lawsuits at JWT, this represents perhaps the most diverse example of gender discrimination of any single organisation—originally erected by Sir Sexist Sorrell. And if WPP can’t even figure out gender equality—at a time when White women are experiencing unprecedented attention—how badly is racial and ethnic diversity being botched?

14524: JWT Commodore Sailing Toward Another Stormy Court Battle.

Campaign reported the JWT London discrimination case—where a group of White, British, privileged, straight men charge they were fired after voicing concerns over JWT London Creative Director Jo Wallace griping about White, British, privileged, straight men—will go to tribunal. Remember when JWT New York CEO Lynn Power argued the internal perception and external perception were very different for the White advertising agency—i.e., she claimed the place did not have the diversity and divertsity dilemmas that the Gustavo Martinez-Erin Johnson lawsuit seemed to symbolize? Bwahahahahaha!

JWT discrimination case to go to tribunal

Group includes Chas Bayfield.

By Jeremy Lee

The straight, white, middle-aged men who claimed they were forced out of J Walter Thompson as part of a diversity drive are taking the agency to an employment tribunal.

The men involved, which include senior creative Chas Bayfield, have engaged law firm Judge Sykes Frixou to fight the case. They are due to serve papers either tomorrow (Friday 15 February) or early next week.

JWT will then have a maximum of 28 days to respond to the claims in writing, giving its side of the case. Once it has replied, the tribunal will decide whether there will be a full hearing to decide on the case. If they can prove that they were discriminated against, there is an unlimited payout.

Campaign broke the story of the allegations in November. It is alleged that they were ousted after raising concerns about the comments of JWT creative director Jo Wallace at a Creative Equals conference in May. Wallace introduced herself as a gay woman and said that she wanted to “obliterate” the reputation that the agency was full of white, privileged straight men after the company announced a gender pay gap of 44.7%. Wallace was speaking in a joint presentation with JWT executive creative director Lucas Peon.

The story attracted considerable media attention and it is believed that the BBC is making a programme about the case. Since the allegations first came to light, WPP is in the process of merging JWT with Wunderman.

Wunderman Thompson declined to comment.

14484: Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index Includes WPP…?!!

The 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index included White holding company WPP on the list of 230 enterprises. This is actually a victory for the WPP PR department churning out patronizing propaganda. After all, has anybody at Bloomberg been following the JWT antics featuring wild discrimination lawsuits and wilder gender pay gaps? Sister agencies aren’t exactly sister-friendly either. Sorry, WPP has hardly been a choirboy to the girls.

WPP CEO Mark Read gushed, “As we continue to build a culture at WPP that is inclusive, collaborative and diverse in our talent and in the work we create, we’re proud to be recognised in the Gender-Equality Index as a leader in our industry.” Hey, IPG also claimed to be recognized as a diversity and inclusion leader. Too bad such advertising agency claims aren’t held to the same legal scrutiny as advertising claims.

14389: Giving Thanks For Significant Settlement…?

AgencySpy posted on former JWT Global Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson, who landed as Chief Communications Officer for Gifnote. AgencySpy stated Johnson received a “significant settlement” from WPP, even though no news sources ever provided a figure, as the agreement terms were confidential. At least Johnson has a fresh headshot to tout her new job. And if she did receive a significant wad of loot, maybe she’ll send the GIF below to Gustavo “I want to be a university professor” Martinez.

Erin Johnson to Lead Communications for Messaging Startup Gifnote

By Patrick Coffee

Erin Johnson, the former head of global communications for JWT, has taken a new role as head of comms for Gifnote, a music messaging startup.

Johnson earned worldwide attention after suing her former employer and CEO Gustavo Martinez for sexual harassment in a case that stretched over two years and ended in a significant settlement for WPP.

In the new position, she will work with Gifnote’s executive team to help oversee marketing communications strategy and execution. The product, which launched earlier this month, allows users to send music clips or Soundbytes in texts and social media messages. The company “works in compliance and partnership with the music industry” to maintain a database and search engine consisting of thousands of samples from popular songs.

Founder Andy Blacker is a former AOL executive who also co-founded ToneMedia, which was acquired by music listings company Bandsintown.

In a statement, he said Johnson “is driven by creative excellence and a sharp understanding of today’s digital media landscape and economy,” adding that “Our mission is to bring our patented and licensed Songbytes into the world’s largest form of communication—texting and social posts.”

Earlier this week, Gifnote announced the hire of Quello founder Richard Johnson as executive advisor.

Johnson spent 13 years with the JWT organization and served as its chief communications officer from 2008 to her departure earlier this year.

Her suit, first filed in 2016, preceded the larger string of cases that attracted headlines starting approximately one year ago. Martinez, who was described by many as a [probable] successor to Martin Sorrell, officially left WPP in June. Johnson responded to the news by sharing a link and a Gifnote image.

14180: Hasta La Vista, Martinez.

Campaign, Adweek and Advertising Age reported former JWT Worldwide Chairman and CEO Gustavo Martinez has left WPP, although likely with a lot less money than former JWT Global Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson and WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell. “It’s time for me to leave WPP to chase other personal projects and passions,” stated Martinez. “I want to go back to the university where I was teaching a long time ago and which I really love.” Those who can, do; those who can’t resist making sexist, racist and rapist remarks—creating hostile work environments—teach.

Former JWT chief Gustavo Martinez exits WPP two years after sexual harassment row

Former JWT global chief executive Gustavo Martinez has departed WPP in a sign that the ad group’s new leadership wants to draw a line under his controversial tenure.

By Gideon Spanier

A WPP spokesman said: “Gustavo Martinez and WPP have agreed it is in the best interests of both parties for him to pursue his career outside the group.”

Martinez used to be based in New York but now lives in Spain.

He said: “I want to go back to the university where I was teaching a long time ago and which I really love.”

It is understood that Martinez has left WPP with immediate effect and will receive no compensation or share awards.

Martinez declined to comment on that.

It is thought the decision to part ways with Martinez was approved at the highest level of WPP by Mark Read and Andrew Scott, the joint chief operating officers, who are keen to send out a message that the ad group is moving on from the Sir Martin Sorrell era.

Martinez controversially stayed on at WPP for more than two years, after stepping down from his JWT role in March 2016 over allegations that he made sexist and racist comments.

Erin Johnson, the chief communications officer of JWT, claimed that Martinez had talked about whether he should “rape” a female member of staff “into submission”, referred to black people as “monkeys” and complained about Jews.

Martinez said at the time that there was “absolutely no truth to these outlandish allegations”.

WPP, under the leadership of Sorrell, the then chief executive, spent two years defending a sexual harassment case brought by Johnson against Martinez in a New York court.

Industry sources say WPP’s decision not to settle with Johnson for so long caused internal anger and upset at some of the highest levels of the ad group.

WPP eventually reached an “amicable settlement agreement” with Johnson in early April 2018.

Martinez has most recently been country representative for WPP Spain, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Sorrell left WPP on 14 April.

14165: Unrepentant Serial Defamers…?

Campaign, Advertising Age and Adweek reported former CP+B CCO Ralph Watson filed a defamation lawsuit against Diet Madison Avenue and two anonymous individuals allegedly helping to run the Instagram account. Watson charges he lost his job because of false and accusatory DMA posts, and he’s seeking $10 million in damages. He intends to sue CP+B too. Within a day of the breaking news, Diet Madison Avenue went dark. The pathetic proceedings inspired a couple of cuckoo comments worth criticizing.

(To reiterate, MultiCultClassics had only made one visit to the anonymous Instagram account, so the following observations are mostly based on reports from trade journals.)

Responding to the lawsuit, the DMA crew stated, “Ultimately we believe [it’s] a freedom of speech issue. … We have not engaged in any criminal activities. We have published [third-party] information as is.” The secret pseudo-crusaders also remarked that if Instagram reveals their identities, “That will mean serious consequences for the millions who use Instagram’s platform.” Wow, the DMA crew is really stupid—and self-absorbed too.

Does freedom of speech permit people to engage in defamation? That looks to be the position that Watson and his lawyer are taking, and it seems like a pretty sound legal course. While the DMA crew claims they “published [third-party] information as is,” didn’t they also label Watson as an “unrepentant serial predator” in posts? Plus, the DMA crew labeled themselves as an outfit dedicated to “Exposing sexual harassment & discrimination in ad agencies since Oct 2017, cuz HR won’t.” In short, the DMA crew has actively and openly injected editorial perspectives into the “information” provided by third parties in order to trigger action (i.e., employment termination). Hell, the mission statement implies that the DMA crew is deliberately attempting to punish alleged perpetrators. Oh, and despite anything they might insist or think, the DMA crew doesn’t know for certain if the “information” they published is true. In the end, Watson and his lawyer may have to show DMA and its accomplices-informants directly injured the ex-CCO. But does the First Amendment protect the DMA crew if they consciously participated in defamation? Doubt it.

Additionally, the DMA crew viewing themselves as potential martyrs representing “the millions who use Instagram’s platform” is silly and sad.

Of course, The 3% Movement Founder Kat Gordon weighed in. “Societal changes take all different types of levers and pressure points—it takes all,” Gordon declared. “Whether or not you agree with what [Diet Madison Avenue] has done, this will be proof of whether what they’re doing is legally sound.” Gordon should just come out and admit she supports DMA. Not sure what Gordon meant with her “societal changes” statement. Is she condoning vigilante tactics? Yes, societal changes are activated in a variety of ways. But should we embrace the change agents promoting negativity and hate? Sorry, the DMA crew is not comprised of heroes and heroines—rather, they’re closer to being trolls. As well as mediocre writers and unoriginal thinkers.

To make a sloppy segue, Diet Madison Avenue symbolizes the key differences between fighting for divertsity versus fighting for diversity. If racial and ethnic minorities launched an anonymous Instagram account to expose everyone on Madison Avenue displaying conscious bias—or blatant racism—the reaction would be quite different. For starters, the number of followers would not exceed double digits, as true diversity doesn’t generate interest in adland. Second, the exclusive majority would roundly condemn the initiative and show universal, compassionate support for anyone accused of cultural cluelessness. Third, the account creators would be hunted down and expelled from the industry, furthering the underrepresentation of non-Whites in the field. In short, revolutionary schemes benefiting racial and ethnic minorities would never be tolerated. But when such maneuvers benefit White women, anything goes—and anything will be inevitably approved.

Ironically, if Watson succeeds in his legal battle and bags $10 million, it will underscore the prevalence of a gender pay gap in adland. After all, it’s highly unlikely that Erin Johnson collected as much in her settlement with JWT and WPP.

14097: Set Off By Settlement.

Adweek presented the obligatory “agency insiders” commentary on the settlement between Erin Johnson and JWT/WPP. At this point, speculation is useless, as the agreement prohibits all involved parties from disclosing details. In other words, JWT/WPP is not admitting to any wrongdoing, and Johnson is not able to claim victimhood or even victory. Of course, that isn’t stopping the always self-promotional Kat Gordon from offering unsolicited critiques. Calling the outcome “a bummer,” Gordon whined, “Once again, the whistle blower is gone and the perpetrator is still employed and it’s all hush hush.” Um, what the hell does she mean with the “once again” remark? The perpetrators are losing their employment status in adland—just ask Joe Alexander and Ted Royer. Like it or not, Gordon is out of line to label Gustavo Martinez a perpetrator, as the confidential settlement makes such a conclusion impossible. Adweek also shared opinions from an anonymous executive who allegedly knows Johnson. So clearly, little progress has resulted from the two-year-old lawsuit if people are unwilling and/or unable to publicly express their viewpoints.

Agency Insiders Debate Whether the Erin Johnson Harassment Settlement Will Inspire Real Change

Some hold out hope while others are unsatisfied

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

The two-year legal battle former J. Walter Thompson global chief communications officer Erin Johnson waged against her employer and its onetime CEO Gustavo Martinez came to an end earlier this week, with the world’s oldest ad agency agreeing to a settlement over sexual harassment and discrimination claims.

But some in the industry are left feeling a bit unsatisfied.

“What made this case unusual was that it was filed in federal court; the entire complaint was public,” said Kat Gordon, founder and CEO of The 3% Conference. “I was hoping for more of a conclusion where the public would know the precise outcome. It’s like watching a movie and not being able to see the last 20 minutes.”

Summing up the public facts—that JWT entered into a “confidential agreement” with Johnson, who stepped down from her position while Martinez continues to work for WPP—Gordon said it’s “a bummer.” (WPP has repeatedly denied claims that Martinez leads its operations in Spain, though he currently describes himself as “country representative.”)

“Once again, the whistle blower is gone and the perpetrator is still employed and it’s all hush hush,” Gordon said. “It’s not progress.”

An industry executive who knows Johnson and spoke on condition of anonymity expressed disappointment over the fact that the matter was “dragged on so long,” and described what Johnson went through as “horrendous.”

“I was sorry to see what happened and I’m glad it’s over,” the person said. “I think Erin is a very skilled communications professional who did something very courageous that put her career and family at risk. I hope that it was a substantial settlement and that a company will give her an opportunity to come back if she wishes to do so because she is very gifted and talented.”

JWT and its parent company WPP were initially supportive of Martinez, who denied the allegations in the suit. But they soon announced his resignation and promoted WPP chief client team officer Tamara Ingram to replace him. After Johnson returned to work, her lawyers claimed she was stripped of her responsibilities and treated as “a pariah” by agency leadership, which had hired Christine O’Donnell to fill the global director of communications role in her absence. (O’Donnell later resigned.)

Both Gordon and the aforementioned executive said they hope Johnson’s case will be the last of its kind and that real change is on the horizon thanks to the rise of the #MeToo and Time’s Up Advertising movements. Ingram herself signed the latter group’s mission statement, released last month.

“I think other agencies who are running into this issue are dealing with it in a much more constructive way in terms of removing the parties creating the problems,” the executive said.

Christine Stack, founder and CEO of talent advisory firm Moral Compass Talent who formerly led human resources at UM and MediaVest, said she too has hope, given the amount of support Johnson has received from people inside and outside the industry.

“I try not to dwell on the negative,” Stack said. “What is important is that people look at this situation and learn from it.” One female agency veteran described Johnson’s “bravery and strength” as “awe inspiring,” adding, “Much respect.”

“Like most women—especially women who run an agency—we immediately recognized the situation and believed Erin Johnson,” wrote Cat Lincoln, CEO and co-founder of influencer marketing agency Clever. “This settlement sends a message to women that they deserve a safe and fair work environment. This will only happen consistently when there are more women in agency leadership positions, and leadership positions in general.”

Stack added: “I’m proud of her for what she endured.”

Describing the first conversation she had with an unnamed reporter after news of the lawsuit went public, Gordon said, “I remember the reporter saying, ‘Who’s ever going to employ Erin Johnson again after this?’ And I said, ‘Why is she the pariah? She’s the hero.’ The first instinct of one journalist two years ago was that this wouldn’t bode well for her. That to me is victim blaming.”

After the settlement went public, Johnson issued a statement thanking the law firm that represented her and expressing gratitude for “those of you in the industry who spoke up and offered support.” Her response ended with the line, “Moving forward, I wish Tam and the JWT team success.”

“My perception is that the culture [at WPP, not necessarily JWT] is a little hostile and defensive and protective of certain people,” said the executive, who noted that Johnson’s comments included “no ill will toward Tamara.”

“Perhaps she viewed her as a change agent,” the person said.

14095: Unsettling Settlement News.

Adweek, Advertising Age and Campaign reported the discrimination lawsuit starring Erin Johnson and Gustavo Martinez has ended with a settlement, which means that no more details will be provided or publicized—unless Campaign manages to get extra gossipy rants from insiders. However, it’s a sure bet that Kat Gordon, Cindy Gallop and Diet Madison Avenue will take credit for something, or at least seize the opportunity to deliver unsolicited commentary. Johnson has resigned her position with JWT, although it hasn’t been clear exactly what her position was after returning to the company while the lawsuit was still happening. So technically, the legal affair resulted in resignations for Johnson and Martinez. Wonder if Johnson will resurface as Chief Communications Officer for WPP in Spain. Campaign claimed the settlement had been signed weeks ago. Gee, it would have been nice if the case had concluded during Women’s History Month. Actually, the only semi-news came from a WPP spokesperson, confirming that Martinez is working for the holding company in Spain, but contrary to speculation, he’s not the country lead. Maybe Sir Martin Sorrell will be demoted to country lead in Spain, where he’ll oversee Martinez, Duan Evans and Neil French.

JWT and WPP Reach Settlement in Erin Johnson, Gustavo Martinez Sexual Harassment Suit

Case has riveted the ad industry for 2 years

By Patrick Coffee

The sexual harassment lawsuit pitting J. Walter Thompson global chief communications officer Erin Johnson against her employer and its former CEO Gustavo Martinez has come to an end almost exactly two years after it was filed, with the parties agreeing to settle for an undisclosed sum.

Agency leadership announced the decision today after the legal teams agreed to the terms of the settlement.

The J. Walter Thompson company has “reached an amicable settlement agreement with Erin Johnson, chief communications officer of the J. Walter Thompson company, in the Johnson vs. J. Walter Thompson lawsuit,” an agency spokesperson said. “The terms of the agreement are confidential and will not be disclosed. Additionally, Johnson has resigned from the role of chief communications officer.”

Johnson’s resignation is effective immediately. The spokesperson declined to state whether JWT is actively seeking a replacement.

UPDATE: Erin Johnson provided a personal statement on the news.

“The past few years have been challenging to say the least, and I am grateful for the love and encouragement from family, friends and those of you in the industry who spoke up and offered support. Thank you,” she wrote. “Most importantly, I would like to thank Anne Vladeck, Debra Raskin and Jeremiah Iadevaia at Vladeck, Raskin & Clark—a brilliant legal team and force to be reckoned with. I hope that my personal experience will encourage others to speak up and follow their convictions. Moving forward, I wish Tam and the JWT team success.”

An internal memo obtained by Adweek, sent to all JWT staff by CEO Tamara Ingram, read, “Please join me in offering Erin our best wishes in her future endeavors. I know this has been a challenging time for everyone. We now need to look forward and focus our efforts on reimagining the future for J. Walter Thompson and our clients.”

Adweek has reached out to the law firms representing Martinez and J. Walter Thompson but had not received a response at the time this story went live.

Johnson’s case became the talk of the agency world upon its filing in March 2016, but faded from memory before returning to the spotlight in recent months as the #MeToo movement led to an increased focus on sexual harassment allegations against major industry players.

This news also arrives one day after JWT’s parent company, WPP, acknowledged that its board of directors has launched an investigation into allegations of “personal misconduct” on behalf of CEO Martin Sorrell, who “unreservedly” denied the claims.

“Martinez has made it impossible for [Johnson] to do her job,” read the suit filed by the law firm of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark in the Court of the Southern District of New York on March 10, 2016. He allegedly did so by harassing and undermining Johnson while making racist, sexist and anti-semitic comments in the presence of her and other staff members.

After initially standing by the CEO, who was widely seen as a rising star within the holding group, WPP announced Martinez’s resignation a week after news of the suit went public and promoted WPP chief client team officer Ingram to replace him. Johnson’s legal team later released video of Martinez joking about rape at an agency meeting.

The former CEO retreated to his native Spain, where he remained employed by WPP.

Johnson returned to work eight months after news of the suit broke, but her lawyers almost immediately accused the JWT organization of retaliating against her by treating her as “a pariah” and pressuring her to resign.

Over the next year, the case devolved into a back-and-forth over legal minutiae, including claims that WPP had withheld documents and intentionally failed to make Sorrell available for deposition, after the law firm of Davis & Gilbert unsuccessfully attempted to have the suit dismissed. The most recent filing came in mid-March, when Johnson’s firm introduced as evidence documents supporting rumors that Martinez had been appointed WPP’s country lead for all of Spain.

Their filing read, “This letter is submitted today because the Court stated that a decision was imminent. … These documents reflect defendants’ continuing misrepresentations concerning their decision to reward Martinez with a high-level position despite his unlawful discriminatory conduct.”

Martinez’s employment will not be affected by the settlement, according to a holding group spokesperson.

“He is and continues to be working on assignments for WPP in Spain but is not the country lead,” the representative said.

14091: Acting Like Two-Year-Olds.

Campaign published an update on the infamous lawsuit starring Gustavo Martinez and Erin Johnson—and the piece ultimately reads like the journalistic mutant offspring of an AgencySpy-Diet Madison Avenue-The Onion threesome.

The opening paragraph delivers a sweeping condemnation by declaring, “Men in advertising have always behaved badly.” Really? Surely the statement demands a qualifier versus tainting every male in the industry including John Wanamaker, Albert Lasker, Claude Hopkins, John Caples, Bill Bernbach, David Ogilvy, James Webb Young, Leo Burnett, Jay Chiat, Rosser Reeves, Mike Hughes and Hal Riney. Hell, MultiCultClassics even wants to believe contemporary icons like Lee Clow, Dan Wieden, Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein and Alex Bogusky are men of honor—despite being culturally clueless.

Campaign made extensive use of an unidentified “former staff member at JWT” for biased perspectives on the proceedings. Sorry, but the quotes sound like gossipy rants from an ex-administrative assistant. If the source has legitimate executive experience, Johnson’s legal team should subpoena the insider pronto.

The 3% Movement Mouthpiece Kat Gordon was tapped for her two cents—and she coughed up about $1.50 of ridiculous rhetoric. When discussing “the recent outbreak of accountability at some agencies,” Gordon opined, “I actually think that what happened is more a result of the Instagram account Diet Madison Avenue and their ‘take no prisoners’ approach. I’m not necessarily condoning that. I’m just saying I think that that has been a bigger driver of change.” Hmmm. Diet Madison Avenue has been more effective than entities like The 3% Movement? That’s not hard to believe, although it says more about Gordon’s pep-rally organization than the anonymous Instagram account. Plus, does anyone not believe Gordon is a covert contributor at DMA?

Of course, Divertsity Diva and pseudo-provocateur Cindy Gallop cursed her way into the conversation. “It is absolute madness for WPP to persist with the case,” raged Gallop. “They should have dropped it, settled, begged Erin Johnson to take up the post of global equality/diversity/inclusion officer and paid her a shit-ton of money to completely change the culture of WPP and JWT Worldwide, because she’s been the only person with guts enough to do the right thing.” Huh? First, Gallop’s insane reasoning kinda disses Chief Diversity Officers and Worldwide Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Ethics Officers by arguing Johnson is qualified for the role. Alleged victims don’t instantly transform into professional crusaders. Besides, has Johnson ever expressed an interest in such a career shift? It’s a safe bet that Global Chief Communications Officers (Johnson’s original title) earn bigger paychecks—and receive greater respect—than D&I wonks. Second, to imply that WPP and JWT Worldwide need a total cultural overhaul definitely disses over 200,000 employees, confirming that Gallop is a loose cannon with even looser screws.

In the end, the saddest result of the two-year-old lawsuit is that hacks like Gordon, Gallop and Campaign have assumed expert status. At least in their own minds.

At JWT, the Gustavo Martinez lawsuit passes the two year mark, with no end in sight

By I-Hsien Sherwood

The #MeToo movement is bringing accountability to the ad industry, but it came too late to help Erin Johnson.

At the time, it all seemed so shocking: the charismatic CEO of the world’s oldest ad agency, sued by his own chief communications officer over racial slurs and rape jokes. Of course, the shock came not from the alleged conduct, but from the publicity it generated. Men in advertising have always behaved badly.

But two years later, mentioning Erin Johnson’s sexual harassment suit against J. Walter Thompson and WPP invites incredulous whispers. I can’t believe it’s still going on. What are they doing? What’s taking so long?

“There’s no way that anyone looks at what’s happening at J. Walter Thompson and thinks that’s a successful handling of this issue,” said Kat Gordon, founder of the 3% Conference.

In a post-#MeToo world, we expect a different story. An agency leader faces charges of misconduct levied by a woman (or women) in their employ. He denies any wrongdoing but is eventually fired. The agency issues perfunctory mea culpas, donates some money to Time’s Up and promises to do better next time. Johnson might have had better luck if she had filed her suit two months ago rather than two years ago.

Once Joe Alexander, Ted Royer and Eric Springer were let go, we didn’t hear from them, nor did we need to. But Gustavo Martinez is still working for WPP, and his side of the story is thoroughly detailed in documents entered into the judicial record by the holding company’s lawyers. (Both WPP and JWT declined to comment for this article.) Johnson, meanwhile, still goes into work every day at an agency that is battling her in court. “We did everything wrong,” said a former staff member at JWT who was working in the New York office at the time the suit was filed. “We staunchly defended a man who was likely guilty.”

Taking sides

The agency’s dedication to fighting the suit every step of the way may be rooted in the reasons the company decided to litigate in the first place: their man was a star. “From the very beginning, in New York the feeling was Gustavo was the victim,” said a former executive at JWT New York. By most accounts, he was gregarious and likeable, a leader with a good head for business, who placed more emphasis on people’s ideas than their rank within the agency hierarchy.

Those qualities also endeared him to WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, said the executive. “Gustavo was one of Martin’s prodigies. He was grooming him, maybe even moving him up to be his successor.” So when the suit was filed, the agency naturally stepped up to defend him. Johnson wasn’t as fortunate. “Where is the second part, where we also say we believe Erin? She is entitled to as much of our trust and attention as he is.”

The public backlash, however, was swift and harsh, spreading well outside the industry bubble. Within a week, Martinez was forced to resign and was replaced by WPP’s Chief Client Team Officer Tamara Ingram, and Martinez fell off the radar for a time. The legal team assembled by WPP sought to minimize his transgressions, first denying the allegations of racist and sexist comments, despite witnesses including the editor-in-chief of Campaign US at the time. Then came the moving goalposts. “I distinctly remember reading [the argument] that evidence of some racist remarks and anti-Semitic remarks did not cause a hostile work environment for Erin Johnson because she was neither black nor Jewish, which completely misses the point about toxic work culture,” Gordon said.

After eight months on leave, Johnson returned to the agency as chief comms officer, where, according to court filings, she was seated “in a box” so human resources could monitor her activities. “Tam[ara Ingram] could have said, ‘You know what? This is not my battle. You’re a communications professional, and we’re going to use you,” the executive said. “But she didn’t. Erin sat watching the news on her laptop for a year and a half. I’m sure they gave her enough so they couldn’t be accused of not giving her anything, but she wasn’t part of the day-to-day communications team.”

Instead, “Erin’s seat was directly in front of [JWT Chief Talent Officer] Laura Agostini’s office,” said the staff member. “That’s bizarre, and really unnecessary given the layout of the office. There were plenty of free, open seats.”

For over a year, there were rumors that Martinez was still working on projects for WPP. Last fall, a Spanish trade journal indicated he was in a leadership position in Spain. Three weeks ago, a New York District Court ruled that WPP does not need to provide Johnson’s lawyers with specifics about what kind of work Martinez is doing, but several sources indicate he is head of the holding company’s operations in that country. “The fact that Gustavo is still employed somewhere in the network suggests someone higher up is looking out for him,” Gordon said. “What an unbelievable miscalculation if that is true.”

Johnson, meanwhile, has watched her team dwindle as people have left the agency or been laid off, even as it remains difficult for her to pick up the slack. “There were 10 people across New York and global [comms],” the executive said. “Now it’s Erin and a coordinator. She can’t talk to the press, but she is the contact for the whole agency.” Indeed, Johnson referred questions for this article directly to Ingram, who declined to comment.

Collateral damage

If Johnson is stuck in place, then so is JWT. A month ago, the agency announced a new leadership roster, as NY CEO Lynn Power and Global Chief Creative Officer Matt Eastwood exit and Brent Choi, chief creative officer for New York and Canada returns to Toronto. “Lynn and Brent worked their asses off to try and make it still a great place in the midst of everything. They still made great creative work and tried to maintain as many clients as they possibly could, but ultimately this lawsuit swallowed them,” the staff member said. “It just cripples that entire office.”

But reforms are difficult to enact, since admission of any problem could look like an admission of guilt. “We can’t do anything truly meaningful, because if we did, people would just jump on it,” the executive said. For example, the agency plans to implement salary parity by 2020, but it can’t hire an outside firm to collect data for fear that it could be used in the lawsuit. Those numbers would have been useful earlier this month, when JWT UK revealed it has a pay gap of 45 percent between men and women. (US agencies aren’t required to release that data.)

“We got an email from Tam at 3:03 saying to meet at 3:00 with no prep to the building and no microphone, where people were asked to sit on the floor in front of her to hear her tell us there was no panic and clearly no issue,” said another JWT New York employee who was present for that meeting.

A warning to others

In late 2016, Power said the scandal’s “silver lining” was the conversation it sparked in the industry. But its lasting legacy may be as a primer for what an agency shouldn’t do when confronted with sexual harassment. “It seems like the lawsuit was Exhibit A for not believing the woman, to put her on leave, to keep the guy working,” Gordon said. As for the recent outbreak of accountability at some agencies, “I actually think that what happened is more a result of the Instagram account Diet Madison Avenue and their ‘take no prisoners’ approach. I’m not necessarily condoning that. I’m just saying I think that that has been a bigger driver of change,” she added.

The longer it drags on, though, the worse it looks. “It is absolute madness for WPP to persist with the case,” Cindy Gallop, diversity advocate and former chair of BBH, told Campaign US. “They should have dropped it, settled, begged Erin Johnson to take up the post of global equality/diversity/inclusion officer and paid her a shit-ton of money to completely change the culture of WPP and JWT Worldwide, because she’s been the only person with guts enough to do the right thing.”

So perhaps the scandal serves best not as a lesson, but a warning. Do the right thing: Support your workers, listen to their grievances and weed out toxic personalities, or this could be you. Watching the lawsuit unfold “was kind of ironic, because you were thinking JWT needed a good PR person,” Gordon said. “And that was Erin Johnson.”

14061: Secret Crusading Is A Bitch.

Fast Company, Adweek and Advertising Age reported Diet Madison Avenue was temporarily shut down, but quickly reappeared—probably because it would have been too sad for the divertsity-driven Instagram account to be eliminated during Women’s History Month. However, the anonymous whistleblowers are facing opponents, including a group of female advertising executives publicly stating concerns and critiques. What’s most disturbing is Diet Madison Avenue’s response to anyone questioning the secret crusaders. That is, challengers to the cause are blasted as badly as the alleged sexual harassers. The DMA crew makes Mean Girls look like Mother Teresa. On the one hand, Erin Johnson’s trials and tribulations probably deter most legitimate victims from filing official accusations. At the same time, agencies are increasingly offering anonymous hotlines for employees, which diminishes the need for DMA. So in many respects, Diet Madison Avenue should die. Then again, if the DMA crew is comprised of actual advertising executives, the oh-so-provocative creators are undoubtedly reluctant to miss out on their shot at a Glass Lion.

14053: JWT Sails On.

AgencySpy posted a lengthy look at the latest lawyer lollygagging in the JWT lawsuit starring Gustavo Martinez and Erin Johnson. Given the apparent trend of internal investigations and/or social media crusaders yielding quick decisions, it’s baffling how the case drags on. At this rate, Johnson might retire from JWT—and Martinez from WPP—before the rendering of a legal conclusion. Just as the disintegration of legal actions like the Madison Avenue Project send subliminal messages that fighting discrimination is a pointless endeavor, it will be interesting to see how the Martinez-Johnson affair ultimately affects the divertsity movement.

Erin Johnson’s Lawyers Accuse WPP of Withholding Documents in Latest JWT, Gustavo Martinez Case Filings

JWT announced some big changes today, most prominent among them the hiring of mcgarrybowen’s Simon Pearce as its new North American CEO and the departure of his predecessor Lynn Power, who is leaving “to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity.”

A little further downtown at the Southern District Court of New York, last week saw the latest set of filings in the ongoing lawsuit filed by the agency’s still-current global chief communications officer, Erin Johnson.

In short, Johnson’s lawyers have accused the WPP team of stalling by refusing to release documents related to the resignation of another top JWT PR executive, director of global comms Christine O’Donnell—as well as the attempted cultural training of former global CEO Gustavo Martinez, the man she sued for harassment and discrimination.

Last Wednesday, the law firm of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark requested a meeting with Judge Robert Lehrburger to discuss why the parties have “reached an impasse” in their efforts to resolve “certain discovery disputes.”

Repeated claims of “pariah” treatment

The letter recalls 2016 claims that agency leadership began retaliating against Johnson as soon as she returned to work after filing suit against the holding company, the agency and now-former CEO Martinez by subjecting her to “humiliating treatment,” pressuring her to resign and turning her into a “pariah” by assigning most of her previous duties to O’Donnell. The latter employee joined the agency several months after news of the suit went live.

According to the latest filing, O’Donnell told CEO Tamara Ingraham and others last November that she planned to resign … but they withheld that information from Johnson.

WPP has in turn refused to share related documents, arguing that “they are not obligated to produce information” beyond a cutoff date that Johnson’s lawyers say is irrelevant to this particular set of communications.

The legal team says it’s only interested in “documents concerning a single recent development: O’Donnell’s departure and defendants’ efforts to find someone to perform some or all of her duties.” Why? Because “such materials could reflect further retaliation; documents may show that defendants failed to consider plaintiff to assume what previously had been her duties.”

The letter goes on to claim that, in December 2017, Johnson received a “handbook” outlining JWT’s communications department and its responsibilities. She had reportedly never seen this book at the time even though it was more than a year old—and while it listed O’Donnell as head of communications, it did not include Johnson’s name or position.

“The failure to identify plaintiff is evidence that defendants retaliated by removing her from her job,” the letter reads. JWT has claimed that it never produced any such memo because no draft can be located in its electronic records. But Johnson’s lawyers argue that this is simply a delay tactic, writing, “Defendants’ production obligations, however, are not limited to electronic searches.”

Additionally, Johnson’s lawyers demand notes from sessions that resulted from WPP hiring lawyer Merrick Rossein to provide Gustavo Martinez with “equal employment training” after the lawsuit was filed. While they’ve provided Rossein’s conclusions, they argue the notes themselves are privileged.

“That argument is nonsensical,” the letter reads, asserting that these training sessions were largely intended to bolster WPP’s argument that Martinez cannot be held accountable for his own confirmed or alleged harassment and discriminatory behavior due to “purported language problems and cultural differences.” Their argument holds that the defendants must, as such, be required to produce all relevant notes.

Seeking more info on Martinez’s role

Finally, the lawyers state that WPP is trying to minimize the fact that Martinez still works for the company in an executive role by “improperly refus[ing] to run searches using approximately 11 terms intended to locate documents regarding Martinez’s current work for WPP.” WPP claims that this information is irrelevant to the case at hand.

“Documents concerning Martinez’s current work for WPP may show that corporate defendants treated Martinez more favorably even though he harassed plaintiff,” the letter reads in countering their position. “Indeed, corporate defendants may have appointed Martinez head of Spain for WPP.”

It is undeniably true that the holding group has repeatedly refused to discuss Martinez’s current role.

Last October, he made a public appearance at a Barcelona WPP-sponsored event and stated that he would be managing efforts to reorganize the company’s presence in Spain. At the time, this news seemed to contradict his lawyers’ claims that he had only been working for WPP on an “ad hoc” basis thanks to a deal negotiated with Martin Sorrell when the lawsuit was first filed.

The letter written last week notes that Martinez “has received and/or sent 47,000 emails since moving to WPP around the Fall 2016” and that “there have been several articles reporting that Martinez is Country Head of Spain.”

Sounds like a pretty sweet gig.

14044: Divertsity Diet.

Advertising Age reported on Diet Madison Avenue, an anonymous Instagram account attacking men in advertising who allegedly engage in sexual harassment. It appears to be another example of the power of divertsity, showing how the gender equality movement in adland has gone from revolutionary to radical. The White women’s bandwagon is now a stealth bomber. Why, even Ad Age relaxed its journalistic standards—which used to oppose anonymity from sources—by “interviewing” Diet Madison Avenue creators and accepting anonymous comments from industry executives. Plus, while advertising citizens vehemently protested entities like the original AgencySpy, the critiques for Diet Madison Avenue are posed more as concerns versus complaints. The always self-promotional Kat Gordon declared, “One of two things is happening. Either Diet Madison Avenue knows who the offenders are before agencies do, suggesting a culture-of-fear problem, or agencies know before Diet Madison Avenue and do nothing.” Such black-and-white thinking displays ignorance about sexual harassment and discrimination. After all, the JWT lawsuit starring Gustavo Martinez and Erin Johnson proves it ain’t easy to prove bad behavior has occurred. Playing judge, jury and executioner via social media can be fun and entertaining, but knowing it’s coming from advertising wonks that probably have plenty of skeletons in their own culturally-clueless closets is disturbing.

Inside ‘Diet Madison Avenue’: The Anonymous Instagrammers Who Get Nasty in the Fight Against Alleged Predators

By Lindsay Stein

“Next up…”

With those words, the anonymous Instagram account that’s been taking deadly aim at prominent men in the ad industry announces its next intended target. Since January, the account, “Diet Madison Avenue,” has been naming and shaming industry execs it says have engaged in sexual harassment. In the past month, it’s become a twisted parlor game within the industry: Who’s next?

Well, we know who was last: Droga5 chief creative officer Ted Royer, who was let go Thursday, and who was one of three executives named in the account who became the subjects of internal investigations within those agencies, and have since left their jobs.

The others: Martin Agency Chief Creative Officer Joe Alexander and former Wieden & Kennedy London chief strategy officer Paul Colman.

Diet Madison Avenue’s tactics can come off as threatening and crude: It uses graphic language (calling some people “pricks”) and even addressed the wife of one target directly. But the people behind the site, who communicated with Ad Age via Instagram Messenger to keep their anonymity, point out the page is private. And they have posted several times in Stories that it’s not a gossip page—it researches everything it publishes with multiple sources, they say. They also say they collaborate with lawyers, PhD students and professors.

As for the tone of the account, “advertising is snarky and not always palatable” and “plenty of snark and cursing goes on at work,” the people behind it said by Messenger. “We understand that some support us and some don’t. We have always understood that we are one small spoke in a larger wheel of this broader movement.”

The account isn’t afraid to get rough: It called Alexander an “asshole”; it has tweeted at senior leaders asking why they are hiring and promoting sexual predators; it wrote “GTFO” when Colman was let go and tacked on hashtags including #fired #serialpredator. It address agencies by name with “we’re watching you”; it posts emails by victims detailing alleged harassment with names blanked out.

The group is run by a “collective” of 17 men and women who all have various day jobs in advertising, with additional assistance from 42 people on content creation, copy-writing design strategy and website and community management, according to the account. It now has 7,500 followers and counting, they say.

It has also generated a great deal of conflicting emotions in the industry, with many critical of its tactics but appreciative of its mission. If nothing else, it has everybody talking.

Many of those outside of Diet Madison Avenue interviewed for this story asked not to be identified for one of two reasons: They don’t want their words to be taken out of context, or they fear retaliation from the group, which regularly updates its Instagram stories and names not only alleged sexual harassers but people they believe to be complicit, such as HR professionals and other agency executives.

“It’s hard to ignore, but it’s also been hard to embrace,” says one female agency executive of the site. “It’s true that Diet Madison Avenue is creating important dialog around putting an end to sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace. But unfortunately many of us have felt that its tone doesn’t match the sobriety of this topic.”

The group says it gets its information from women who have been harassed in the industry and that the stories it publishes have been “diligently” vetted. They told Ad Age that they make sure to “corroborate and verify the stories of individuals coming forward.”

And they argue that they must operate covertly to protect informants: “Many of them have shared their story with us because we are anonymous and they are trusting us, and we are safeguarding them and their story.”

Attackers anonymous

It’s that anonymity that some feel is doing more harm than good, keeping the accused from confronting their accusers. And then there are those who say their biggest fear is seeing the name of a colleague, friend, boss or mentor pop up in one of the posts for alleged inappropriate behavior.

One agency CEO told Ad Age that the “mere existence of Diet Madison Avenue speaks to the very real issue of sexual harassment. But anonymous attacks with unknown evidence can yield stray bullets that hit innocent people. And once an accusation is launched, no matter what a court may or may not find, it’s game over for that person’s reputation.”

“One of two things is happening,” says Kat Gordon, CEO of The 3% Movement, which aims to bring more diversity to the creativity ranks. “Either Diet Madison Avenue knows who the offenders are before agencies do, suggesting a culture-of-fear problem, or agencies know before Diet Madison Avenue and do nothing.”

All of the agencies the organization has surveyed in its benchmarking survey, says Gordon, had zero-tolerance sexual harassment policies. Clearly, safe reporting and clear consequences are lacking in the industry, she says, and the bigger culture problem needs to be fixed.

“It’s getting people to talk and I think that’s great,” a consultant who wished to remain anonymous tells Ad Age. “They’ve obviously put a lot of pressure on the industry. I don’t think the situation at Droga would’ve happened without them.”

Badger & Winters Chief Creative Officer Madonna Badger, who launched the #WomenNotObjects initiative in 2016, says she believes Diet Madison Avenue is harnessing the power of social media to create change.

“Transparency and candor are crucial pillars of a free and equal world, so no one who is innocent has anything to fear,” she says. “The people who are harassing women and men must be called out in a public forum. Otherwise, how will this behavior end?”

However, Badger does question the lack of transparency on Diet Madison Avenue: “They provide no link to their process. I would like to know their standards.”

Another industry leader who, asking without irony to also remain anonymous, says “the kitschy branding, heavy reliance on anonymous sources, and of course its medium of choice, Instagram Stories, makes this effort feel a lot more In Touch than Washington Post. [There’s] an integrity and a code of ethics lacking that people need in the news now more than ever.”

Another female agency leader called Diet Madison Avenue a “slippery slope,” saying just because someone’s name turns up on the list doesn’t automatically mean they’re guilty. “There’s the risk of witch-hunting,” she says.

Diet Madison Avenue resists that narrative, saying it doesn’t see itself as any different than anonymous advertising networking app Fishbowl, or Twitter or YouTube, where people write comments without using their names.

“When we push against that status quo, we recognize that the status quo will push back,” they said, adding that the industry should make it so that the need for Diet Madison Avenue is irrelevant.

“Create better industry standards, get every agency to sign on to it, put money into it and enforce it.”

Jesse Brody, a partner at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips in the advertising, marketing and media practice, tells Ad Age that it’s not easy for someone to sue for defamation, libel or slander, especially if he or she is a limited-issue public figure such as a known name in advertising. However, Brody says a defamation suit could still be filed against the account if the facts turn out not to be true.

Representatives from Instagram were not immediately available for comment about whether the account is breaking any of its rules.

In the meantime, the account runs on. One female agency exec who has been leery of the site says she doesn’t think anyone wants the account to be shut down, and says she knows people are rooting for it to find its way.

“That just might mean hitting reset, focusing and being even more clear about its methods and intentions,” she says.

Controversy aside, says the group, “disagree with us, be annoyed with us, but talk to each other. … The awareness it’s bringing to this issue is the most important [part].”

13990: WPPervert.

AgencySpy posted about the WPP decision to end its annual sponsorship of the Presidents Club Charity Dinner after the Financial Times reported the event featured male power players groping and sexually harassing the hostesses. The White holding company released a statement reading, “WPP has traditionally sponsored a table at the Presidents Club dinner to support its fundraising for children’s charities. Neither the company nor our attendees were aware of the alleged incidents until informed of them by the Financial Times. WPP takes these reports very seriously and, while we will continue to support relevant charities, in light of the allegations we are ending our association with the event.” Hey, why not—it’s more convenient for WPP employees to engage in such behavior at places like JWT anyway. Given the revelation spotlighted in the previous post, it’s clear that WPP represents perhaps the most perverse example of perversity of any single organisation.

13926: Time’s Adperson Of The Year…?

Time magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year honor went to “The Silence Breakers”—represented by a predominately female group—to salute people who spoke out against sexual harassment and assault. JWT Global Communications Officer Erin Johnson wasn’t featured among the assembly, though she technically qualifies. Of course, expect Kat Gordon and Cindy Gallop to barge into the conversation.

13918: Pervert Island & Adland.

Advertising Age published a truly bizarre rant by Simon Dumenco and David Hall titled, “Escape From Pervert Island,” featuring an amateurish video discussing the rash of alleged sexual harassment and predatory behavior from prominent figures. Slow news day, boys? The rant includes, “And the truly maddening thing is that, so far there hasn’t actually been any closure to any of these individual cases.” Um, Dumenco and Hall ought to pay attention to their publication’s trade focus, where such cases are routinely dragged out ad infinitum.

Rant of the Week: Escape From Pervert Island

By Simon Dumenco and David Hall

We now live in a media monoculture in which all the news, all the time, is about awful men who can’t seem to keep it in their pants.

It’s gotten to that point that it’s refreshing when there’s news that’s NOT about sexual misconduct. Nuclear Armageddon, anyone?

This is obviously going to be never-ending. And the truly maddening thing is that, so far there hasn’t actually been any closure to any of these individual cases.

13890: Comeuppance Not Coming.

Advertising Age published diverted diversity delirium from Texas Christian University Professor and Chair of Strategic Communication Jacqueline Lambiase, who wondered why the advertising industry is not experiencing a Sexual Harassers Exposure and Expulsion like what’s currently happening in Hollywood. Oddly enough, Lambiase inadvertently answered her own question. For starters, the alleged victims are reluctant to call out the perpetrators by name. Anyone who wants to see the potential rewards of harassment whistleblowing need only view the trials and tribulations of JWT Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson for clarity. Indeed, when Lambiase shared her personal experiences, detailing a confrontation with an advertising agency that allegedly harassed student interns under Lambiase’s charge, the professor opted not to openly identify the culprits. While Lambiase is “asking that you raise your voice” to put an end to sexual harassment, she fails to do so herself—even though she’s technically an outsider with less to lose than women working in the field.

Madison Avenue will probably avoid publicly addressing sexual harassment in the same way that the industry avoids addressing its diversity problems. Hell, the discrimination directed at people of color far exceeds the harassment aimed at women—and the industry has managed to deny it for over 60 years. Before spotlighting adland’s sexual harassers, the exposé should begin by tagging the individuals consciously and unconsciously obstructing diversity. This group would be comprised of White men and White women, outnumbering the harassment offenders by a very wide margin. Lambiase should confront the diversity resistors and pose her “Where were you?” question, requesting an explanation for executing hiring practices that extend exclusivity, despite having full awareness of the need and obligation to diversify. She could see how the ruling majority has been silent and complicit in the prevention of progress. And it would ultimately reveal that the sexual harassment dilemma pales in comparison.

Where Is Advertising’s Comeuppance on Sexual Harassment?

By Jacqueline Lambiase

Crickets.

For the ad industry, near silence has followed weeks of sensational revelations about Hollywood’s long-standing sexual harassment and rape culture.

While those Hollywood allegations have filled this publication’s pages, a short roll call of of advertising industry giants has not occurred. This is despite Cindy Gallop’s call for action in mid-October for an industry reckoning.

But what exactly does this silence represent? Does it mean ad agencies and others in the business are quietly attending to these issues and purging their ranks of perpetrators?

That interpretation is too good to be true.

What if the ad business isn’t going to have visible actions and symbolic reactions to rid itself of sexual harassers still in its ranks? Then it must gain more visibility in questioning itself and its historical treatment of women to build a better future for all practitioners.

I know sexual harassment exists because this has been the testimony of some of my students. Sexism and harassment can be especially acute for female interns.

A few years ago, my campus refused to carry job postings from a local agency after women reported they had been sexually harassed and used as sex objects at agency events. With two other employees on my campus, I confronted the agency leadership.

When agency principals tried to sidestep their own responsibility, saying the main perpetrator was no longer an employee, I asked them this question: “Where were you?” The two men representing the agency had no good answers. They had attended the sexualized events and were aware of the harassment. But they had been silent, complicit.

One year ago, we asked them to write a report about how conditions at their agency had changed. We are still waiting on that report.

Other negative behaviors often accompany harassment at agencies like this one, according to our students. This includes alcohol consumption and underage drinking on the premises during business hours, and insane working hours for interns.

It is my job to speak up on behalf of young professionals, both women and men, and to ask these questions of the industry now: Where are the voices of those who have been sexually harassed in the ad business? Who should be driven from this industry? Why the silence?

In addition to coverage of Gallop’s call to action, at least a few voices have sounded off on the prevalence of sexual harassment in these pages.

In August 2016, Ad Age published results from a 4A’s study, showing that “half of women in advertising have experienced sexual harassment at least once.” The same study found that one-third of the women respondents believed they had not received promotions or the best projects at work because of discrimination.

Earlier that same year, 4A’s President Nancy Hill urged the industry both to acknowledge its problems and to create healthier working cultures within it.

Working from another vantage point, many academic scholars, including myself, have conducted research on sexist images produced by the ad industry. These images fit the narratives now coming from Hollywood women: women as sex objects and decorations; men as powerful and violent.

These images may also serve as mirrors for some in the ad industry itself.

As a professional woman who has encountered sexism and sexual harassment in my own working life, and who has observed it across nearly three decades of research, I will not be silent.

By standing up for my students, I’ve tackled this issue recently in my own community. That is where I have power to speak truth, to confront, to refuse to do business with those who are complicit in harassment, and to counsel young women who have experienced it.

Countless surveys of women, workplace policies, and gender-equality and gender-equity initiatives have not made enough difference. This national moment should not be dismissed as disconnected from our industry.

I’m asking that you raise your voice, in your own large or small professional spaces. That’s where you have power to identify and stop harassers and harassment. It’s the only way that this will ever end.

Jacqueline Lambiase, Ph.D., is professor and chair of strategic communication at Texas Christian University. With Tom Reichert, she has edited and authored two books on the use of sexuality in advertising.

13867: Gustavo Gusto.

Adweek reported ex-JWT Worldwide Chairman and CEO Gustavo Martinez is serving as country manager for WPP Spain. Meanwhile, Erin Johnson is sitting in a cubicle outside of the HR Director’s office. So now who’s getting raped—and not in a nice way?

Former JWT CEO Gustavo Martinez Is Leading WPP’s Operations in Spain as Sexual Harassment Case Against Him Proceeds

Ousted leader is overseeing a country-wide reorganization

By Patrick Coffee

This week, Gustavo Martinez made his first public appearance as the leader of WPP’s operations in Spain more than 18 months after stepping down from his role as global CEO and chairman of J. Walter Thompson amid a sexual harassment and discrimination suit filed by that agency’s global head of public relations, Erin Johnson.

According to a report published in the Spanish trade journal Dircomfidencial, Martinez spoke Wednesday on behalf of the holding group at Orbit, an event organized by the Barcelona offices of WPP-owned firms Hill+Knowlton and SCPF.

Martinez spoke about newfound competition from international consultancies like Deloitte and Accenture. A translation of his comments reads, “When I started in this sector, PwC, Arthur Andersen and Accenture were auditors; today they are my competitors. Before, people like Google were providers; today, my boss Sir Martin Sorrell calls them ‘frenemies.’ But I think they are less friends and more enemies.”

The report also states that Martinez has served as country manager of WPP Spain since being promoted in January.

The report may conflict with claims made last week by Martinez’s law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, which stated in a Manhattan federal court filing that Martinez has been working for WPP on an “ad hoc” basis in an unspecified role since leaving JWT in March 2016 “following his discussions with Sir Martin Sorrell when [Johnson’s] litigation was filed.”

During Wednesday’s event, Martinez also revealed that he is overseeing a reorganization of WPP’s operations in Spain. “We are re-creating the company itself,” he said, adding, “We can no longer do silos or separate business units.”

WPP and Sorrell have largely stood behind Martinez in the wake of a suit that accused him of “an unending stream of racist and sexist comments” that allegedly made Johnson’s job running global communications for JWT “virtually impossible.” He and his lawyers have denied each of the specific claims in the suit filed by the law firm of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark with two exceptions. In April, Johnson’s team submitted a video of the former CEO joking about being “raped … and not in the nice way” at a 2015 company meeting in Miami. The previous month, former Campaign editor in chief Douglas Quenqua confirmed that Martinez had said he and his wife moved out of New York’s Westchester County because it had “too many Jews.”

Johnson’s lawyers have repeatedly requested that Martinez return to New York for continued depositions and provide more information about his current compensation as a WPP employee. They have also implied that, by continuing to employ Martinez, the holding group is effectively condoning the behavior of which he’s been accused. The Martinez team countered those claims last week. “[Johnson’s] argument that Defendant Martinez’s continued compensation evidences [WPP’s] failure to remediate or prevent sexual harassment is baseless,” its filing read, because he “ended his employment with JWT … and left the country.”

The document also stated that his current compensation is irrelevant since he no longer receives bonuses and other benefits that he earned as CEO and chairman of JWT, even though he is “paid the same base rate” by WPP.

In a filing last Friday, the Johnson team argued that the law firm of Davis & Clark, which represents the larger WPP organization, has attempted to slow the case to a near-standstill by declining to make Sorrell available for the requisite seven hours of depositions, stating that he is “too important and too busy” and “refus[ing] to produce him” even after Sorrell himself “agreed without hesitation to continue at a later date.”

They also pointed to last week’s scheduled deposition with JWT chief talent officer Laura Agostini, which was canceled with “virtually no notice” after the team’s own legal counsel “decided to take the day off.”

A WPP spokesperson has not yet responded to requests for comment today.