17523: On Life—And Lifetime Achievement—In Adland.

MediaPost spotlighted Susan Credle, who the trade publication identified as Interpublic Global Creative Advisor—despite IPG’s erasure after being acquired by Omnicom.

 

Oddly enough, Credle’s LinkedIn profile displays her present experience as Interpublic Global Creative Advisor and Omnicom Creative Advisor.

 

Perhaps Credle is a fractional Planetary Creative Advisor. Or maybe she’s also in limbo, waiting for Omnicom to sort through restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs resulting from the acquisition.

 

Credle came to Cannes to collect the Lion of St. Mark lifetime achievement award.

 

Yet now Credle admits being uncertain about her next work-life stage.

 

That’s life in Adland today.

 

Credle At Cannes: ‘Fast And Cheap’ Equals Ad Pollution

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Ad agency veteran and current Interpublic global creative advisor Susan Credle told a Cannes Lions audience Monday morning that while there’s been much talk lately that consumers care less about brands these days, maybe it’s the industry that needs to care more about them. 

 

Credle, this year’s recipient of the Lion of St. Mark lifetime achievement award, said, “We’re in a slightly weird place right now,” where all the focus on AI and technology has led the industry to focus a bit less on brand building.  

 

“Fast and cheap,” she said, amounts to so much “ad pollution.” Refocusing on brand building, she added, is perhaps the best way to regain consumer trust. 

 

On stage with Paul Kemp, Cannes Lions Chief Content Officer, Credle talked about her formative years and passion for cheerleading and acting in high school. She was declared “biggest flirt” during her high school years, which she interpreted as “enjoying being around people.” Cheerleading, she added, may have been her first copywriting job because it involved writing cheers promoting a team and urging them to win.  

 

In college she learned quickly that journalism—at least the stick-to-facts kind—wasn't a passion of hers. She was steered to the advertising department where she could focus on a blend of “creativity and outcomes.” 

 

In 1985 she headed to New York City “with a suitcase and a dream.” She landed an entry level job at BBDO (filling in for receptionists who were on bathroom breaks), and ended up staying for more than two decades. 

 

At BBDO she landed on the Mars account where she had the audacious idea of killing off the M&M characters because she believed they were boring. That idea didn’t fly and she (and her art director partner Steve Rutter) then proposed developing the characters into a comedic ensemble with distinct and funny personalities. The problem there—no budget to do that for TV, at least at first. Instead the characters were merchandised and their personalities began to blossom via quips on T shirts.  

 

The characters’ popularity took off, and they were developed and integrated into TV campaigns led by Credle and Rutter. At one point NBC wanted to have the characters introduce its Thursday night lineup. It was at that point, Credle realized that the characters had entered the cultural zeitgeist. “Hollywood came calling us,” she noted, not the other way around.  

 

Later this year Credle will be leaving Interpublic for a new chapter. For now, Credle said she’s not sure what’s next. Stay tuned.  

14239: Credle Crapola.

Campaign published a 1200-word pile of bullshit dumped by FCB Global CCO Susan Credle, who shat out her caca commitment to diversity in advertising. According to Credle, “Diversity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies.” Technically, Credle’s editorial excrement was focused on divertsity, as she waited until the final paragraph to briefly mention people of color. Plus, Credle appears to be a fair-weather feminist. That is, in 2012, she declared, “I never got into this business thinking that it’s going to be tough for a woman. … And I actually never felt it was tough for a woman—I thought it was just tough.” Now Credle’s a fiery revisionist revolutionist for the White sisterhood. As for people of color, Credle is suddenly committed to getting more of them on juries at award shows. Hey, why not? After first securing spots for White women, we might as well give minorities the right to vote for trophies too. Sorry, but people like Credle will see to it that racial and ethnic minorities—as her previous agency estimated—are over 60 years away from experiencing equality in adland. Divertsity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies. It’s a fact of life.

Diversity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies

By Susan Credle

It took too long, but the industry has finally realized we need to more actively address the glaring diversity gap in creative agencies, says FCB’s global chief creative officer, Susan Credle.

When I started my career in advertising, I had very few female leaders around me to look up to. My first agency job was intimidating. I’d worked hard to get there, but I still felt like I’d be laughed out of the room (full of men) if I presented my own ideas.

In the last 20 years, I’ve been thrilled to see diversity evolve from being a nice thing to do, to being a responsible thing to do, to finally becoming a business imperative. It took too long, but the industry has finally realized we need to more actively address the glaring diversity gap in creative agencies.

In an industry that demands innovation, and consumers that demand representation, homogenous agencies face an existential threat.

Agency leadership has to prioritize and advocate for diversity

Diversity of talent in our offices has progressed in a lot of ways, particularly with women. I’m proud to be part of an agency with female CCOs in India, Brazil, San Francisco, Chicago, and Canada, and to work with an incredible head of talent—Cindy Augustine—who’s constantly pushing us to do more and cast our net wider.

Last year, we played a huge role in Free the Bid, a global initiative started by director Alma Har’el that advocates for ad agencies and brands to ensure at least one bid for every commercial job comes from a woman director. (On average, each project gets three bids, and after years of gender bias, women directors don’t often have the opportunity to build competitive reels.)

If we can guarantee that one of every three bids is from a female director, we’ll see change in a heartbeat. I thought it was a brilliant idea. So I called all my CCOs in North America to see if they agreed (they did), and then I called my CCO friends in other major agencies to ask if they’d be willing to sign on. Within 24 hours, my entire company and just about every agency were on board.

That’s one benefit of being a woman in a position of power: being able to quickly network with other CCOs and advocate for women. As a result of Free the Bid, FCB has significantly increased its outreach to women directors and they’ve been awarded many of the jobs.

It also started an encouraging trend among production companies. They’re funding more young women and helping to build their reels because they know they have a third of a chance of winning a job if they have a talented woman on their roster.

Find and nurture diverse talent

Today’s consumers don’t just want ads to be relevant to their interests and needs; they want them to speak to who they are and where they come from. Thanks to the Internet and social media, today we’re all exposed to different stories, we interact with people who aren’t like us, and we see more of the world.

This is especially true on platforms like YouTube. In part due to its strong creator culture, YouTube has been a home to groups that have been underrepresented in traditional media. Case in point: nearly two-thirds of black millennial viewers say YouTube is a place where black people have a voice. And, in the US, 60 per cent of self-identified LGBT respondents see positive change for LGBT people on YouTube in a way they don’t in traditional media.

It’s clear that consumers want to connect with and get inspired by others who share their background. This holds true for the stories we tell too and it starts with who we hire to tell those stories.

First and foremost, we have to make the industry itself more attractive, particularly to first-generation college graduates. It’s on us to emphasize that the industry is purposeful, respected, financially rewarding, and that we truly believe our efforts at work are worth the time we put in.

Secondly, we should look beyond portfolio schools. Where are the poets? Where are the painters? Where are the photographers that tell amazing visual stories but haven’t thought about advertising?

Third, we need to value diverse voices. We can’t hire diverse people and then ask them to act like everyone else. Remember when women went to work and tried to act like men? That’s not embracing diversity.

A lot of agencies strive to bring in young people with diverse backgrounds and expertise—and that’s a good first step. But research has shown that there needs to be diverse talent representation in an agency for people to feel comfortable speaking up. If you’re the only person of color in the room, it’s that much harder to find your voice. Leadership must commit to making people feel creative, not intimidated. Mentorship is important here—I mentor several people once a month so they know they’re a valued team member and have someone at the top to talk to.

How to stay accountable as we make progress on diversity efforts

The time is now for agencies to make change. Lip service isn’t enough. Here are the three tenets I use to hold myself and my teams accountable.

1) Commit: It can’t be a one-and-done effort. You have to wake up every day committed to making it work and, when it’s not working, ask why. We should be incentivizing organizations to treat diversity as more than just a box to check; it’s vital to the business because it has real economic value.

2) Measure: Support diversity efforts with hard data. If another agency is watching what you’re doing and sees tangible proof that diversity is making a positive difference, how quickly do you think they’ll want to do the same thing? That’s what happened with Free the Bid—when people saw that more great female directors were suddenly being celebrated, more people wanted to commit to the cause.

3) Talk: Keep the conversation going across all levels. Every time I talk to my CCOs, we discuss how they’re approaching diversity, and if we’re hiring people who will push us to the next level creatively. If diversity isn’t part of the hiring conversation, it becomes invisible. It’s one of those things that has to be front and center all the time.

I truly believe the more you show diversity out in the world representing your company, the faster your company will become diversified. At FCB, PR is an important part of that effort. We’re always pushing for diverse representation on panels, award juries, and in the press. For instance, I’m thrilled FCB is sending the first “Working Parent Cannes Correspondent,” Sarah Latz, and her son Henry to cover the Cannes festival for us this year.

The challenge we as an industry have to collectively take up

Advertising is a people business, and it only gets better when we have talented people with different points of view. The changes I’ve seen since joining the industry are amazing and inspiring, but we can always do more.

We’re not going to solve the diversity gap overnight—it’ll take a high level of focus, urgency, and commitment across the industry. But it’s a goal worth fighting for, and an essential one for the future of advertising.

We’ve done a better job representing white women, but I’ve seen very little change with people of color. That’s a high priority for me. On every jury and every panel, every time we put a group together, the team isn’t complete unless it includes people of color. Is that an impossibility within your organization? Then that’s your next brief.

14058: AICP BS.

The AICP’s Call for Entries film is offensive on a host of levels, the least of which is the absolute lameness of the concept and execution. Why is it so difficult to do award-caliber work for award shows? The credits for the video are amazing—did it really require that many people to birth this turd? Honestly, Pete Favat, Keith Cartwright and Susan Credle make Tommy Wiseau look like Martin Scorsese. The diversity feels forced too, although the security guard scene is an accurate illustration of our industry’s inclusiveness. Finally, did anyone secure the rights to depict the artists? It would be hilarious to learn that the AICP failed to cover the legal issues. This is not artistic expression; rather, it’s a promotional advertisement from a sponsor seeking to generate profit for its event. Here’s hoping the estates of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Frida Kahlo file lawsuits pronto.

14057: Frida Anglo.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, FCB Global CCO Susan Credle dons Brownface…? Interestingly enough, the IWD theme for 2018 is #PressForProgress. In the advertising industry, pressing for progress with diversity pales in comparison to divertsity.

13912: Foote, Cannes & Belding…?

AgencySpy posted the following memo from FCB Worldwide CEO Carter Murray:

Earlier this week, the organization that owns Cannes Lions announced extensive changes in an effort to refocus the Festival on its creative roots. Over the last few months, CCOs across IPG — including our own Susan Credle — have worked hard to share with Cannes leadership our pain points and suggestions for Festival improvement. While the changes announced Monday don’t address all our concerns, it signals a strong step in the right direction.

FCB has always believed in this Festival and strongly feels that our presence this year should reflect our commitment to creativity. As such, we are mandating that 75% of our 2018 attendees will be talent who are directly responsible for our creative output (writers, art directors, designers, producers, etc.).

As Susan and I have said before, creativity is the heart of our industry. Each year, Cannes Lions reminds the world of this. We are proud to be long-standing partners with the Festival in this important mission, and we look forward to making 2018 our best Cannes yet.

Best as always,

Carter

Wow. There’s so much to consider after reading that memorandumb.

First, it seems like only yesterday that the White advertising agency showed its belief in Cannes Lions—in perhaps the most notoriously awful way imaginable.

Second, how does the 75% figure measure against percentages from past years? More importantly, what does 75% equal in actual numbers and expenditures? It would be interesting to compare FCB’s Cannes Lions budget to the agency’s diversity budget. It’s a safe bet that the comparison would be crepes to crumbs.

Third, directly related to the previous point, what percentage of the 75% will be creative people of color? From the United States of America?

Fourth, when Murray identifies the “talent who are directly responsible for our creative output,” who is represented by “etc.” in the parentheses? Is he openly admitting the uselessness of account people, planners, media, etc. in the creative process?

Finally, how convenient that the remaining 25% provides ample room for idiots like Murray to attend the exclusive gala.

13756: Prehistoric Thought Leadership.

Campaign published pathetic, prehistoric pap from FCB Global Chief Creative Officer Susan Credle, who whined, “If advertising is going into the content business, who will take care of the brands?” Um, no one associated with FCB sounds like a good answer. Why do old-school advertising executives pontificate on the sacred power of brands while jumping from one generic White advertising agency to the next? Hell, FCB just recently rebranded itself—and you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish the FCB Credle from the Leo Burnett or BBDO versions. Can’t help but think Credle is a dinosaur, desperately struggling to survive in the Land of Digital. It’s not the first time the woman has displayed cluelessness about technology beyond traditional advertising—which she prefers to typeset with a capital A. Like many dinosaurs inhabiting the advertising industry, sadly, Credle is as clueless about digital as she is about diversity, although she’s a Jenny-come-lately on the White women’s bandwagon. Wringing one’s hands over a future that’s already been in place for at least a decade is asinine with a capital A. The question should read, “If advertising is going into the content business, who will take care of the brontosauruses like Credle?”

If advertising is going into the content business, who will take care of the brands?

By Susan Credle

Advertising with a capital A is about creating opportunities that lead to a healthier economy. Sometimes, it’s an ad. Sometimes, it’s a new product.

Last year in Cannes, I gave a talk titled, “Confession: I Love Advertising.” The speaker following me started his speech with the title, “How to Stop Advertising and Save Our Industry.”

Over the past decade, the advertising industry has somehow managed to demonize the very word that defines what we make.

But is the industry really changing, or are we just changing the words? Branded content. Isn’t that what advertising is—a piece of content that features a brand?

Recently, I read an article that declared, it’s time to take the brand out of branded content. So if we are all going into the content business, who is going to take care of the brands?

Two years ago when discussing branded content on a jury, one person said, “I’ve got it! If we like the work, it’s branded content. If it sucks, it’s advertising.” This person was not in the business of advertising. He was a novelist.

And a month ago, I was in New Orleans at the Collision Conference. A colleague of mine, Winston Binch, said, and I paraphrase, “Susan, it’s fascinating. When I tell people I’m in advertising, they aren’t interested. They don’t think they are ready for an advertising agency, too expensive. But, if I tell them I’m in branding and marketing, they ask for my card.”

I’ve always been proud to be in Advertising with a capital A. When I was growing up, I loved ads. And in turn, I loved brands. In my first job at BBDO, I learned we could make things more famous, more beloved than the content we paid to sit alongside.

We were the masters of short-form communication. And, yet, in a world that is asking for things to be shorter—six seconds, 140 characters, an emoji—we seem to be going in the opposite direction. Our films are getting longer. Instead of a crafted one-second image that we used to call print, we want to create blogs and interactive posts. Anything that doesn’t look like an ad.

Long before we coined the phrase “branded content,” Howard Luck Gossage said, “People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.”

In the general sense of the word, I never thought advertising meant traditional ads. Yes, it includes those powerful media. But for me, advertising was anything that was done in service of a product or business. And the result of great advertising was an emotionally strong brand and a financially strong business.

So perhaps it’s better to separate the business of advertising and ads. Ads are a part of what we do in advertising. But Advertising with a capital A is about solving problems and creating opportunities that lead to a healthier economy.

Sometimes, it’s an ad. Sometimes, it’s a new product. Sometimes, it’s intellectual property. Sometimes, it’s a partnership. Sometimes, it’s an event. Some time in the future, it will be something else.

But every time, when it’s on strategy and in service to a client’s business, it’s Advertising.

If you believe that, too, let’s focus on our real problem, which is not that we work in advertising. It’s that we’ve allowed the word to be co-opted and connected to the intrusive, the disrespectful and the disinteresting.

Let’s take back advertising and define it for what it really is—one of the best economic-drivers, problem-solvers, dream-makers in the world.

Susan Credle is the global chief creative officer at FCB Global.

13570: More FCBullshit.

AgencySpy posted an announcement that FCB Chicago recruited 8 new creatives, and the accompanying photo (depicted above) indicates the hires were predominately diverted diversity additions. When FCB Global CCO Susan Credle was running the creative department at Leo Burnett, her team estimated that true equality won’t happen in the advertising industry until 2079, given the current snail-like pace of progress. Yet the recent hiring moves at FCB will push the ETA to the Promised Land well beyond 3000, ultimately updating No.2.66 to No.2.Triple-Digits. Oh, and IPG ought to revise its diversity PR BS too.

13180: Mad Men Madness.

The New York Times published diverted diversity drivel via a report titled, “For Women in Advertising, It’s Still a ‘Mad Men’ World.” The article ultimately underscored that it’s an even worse ‘Mad Men’ World for minorities, as the only woman of color featured was Publicis Groupe Chief Diversity Officer Sandra Sims-Williams. Meanwhile, FCB Global CCO Susan Credle is suddenly feeling “invisible” and discriminated against, despite once insisting advertising was not tougher for women. Hey, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. Is it still a ‘Mad Men’ World for White women in advertising? Well, whining aside, the Joan Harris and Peggy Olson types have progressed quite nicely. Dawn Chambers and Hollis, on the other hand, remain stuck in segregated and stereotypical roles.

12704: Credle’s Crappers.

Adweek reported Susan Credle is abandoning her position of CCO at Leo Burnett to assume the role of Global CCO at FCB. This is the equivalent of moving from a Porta Potty to an outhouse. It’s also another example of White women having no problem advancing in the advertising industry—and Credle has already acknowledged the business is not tough for a woman. Yep, faux diversity is thriving on Madison Avenue. Interestingly enough, the culturally clueless Credle swaps the White agency that cried No.2.66 for the White agency that vowed it would stop using the term “diversity and inclusion” by 2014. To date, both shops continue to perpetuate exclusivity like there’s no tomorrow.

Susan Credle Will Leave Leo Burnett to Help Ignite Creativity at FCB

The next global CCO is known for work on M&M’s, Allstate

By Noreen O’Leary

Susan Credle is the new global chief creative officer at FCB, replacing Jonathan Harries, who’s held the post since 2006 and will now become chairman. The changes take effect on January 1.

Credle will relocate to New York from Chicago, where she’s been CCO at Leo Burnett USA.

After meeting Credle during the interview process, FCB worldwide chief Carter Murray said he thought she was the “obvious candidate” to be his global creative partner. The CCO search began a year ago.

“There was immediate chemistry with Susan. She is very talented and has a strong point of view on business and creativity and has our values and character,” said Murray.

Credle joined the Publicis Groupe agency in 2009, and during her time there, is credited with new-business wins like Marshall’s, Kraft, Esurance, Sprint and Cincinnati-based regional bank Fifth Third. Credle is also associated with the agency’s “Mayhem” campaign for Allstate, and the anti-bullying initiative “Mean Stinks” for Procter & Gamble’s Secret.

“Along with [global CCO] Mark Tutssel, Susan has led the creative renaissance at Leo Burnett,” Murray added.

The former copywriter started her career at BBDO New York after graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985. She moved up the ranks during her 24-year career at BBDO before ultimately being appointed evp and ecd. At BBDO, Credle reinvented M&M’s iconic characters and was involved in award-winning work for clients such as Bank of America, FedEx, Gillette, Lowe’s, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut and Visa.

Credle said she was sold on Murray’s offer to join him in building a creative culture at FCB. She added that the essential elements to do that are people, place and purpose.

“It’s in the DNA of FCB,” she said. “I love legacy brands—and that includes agencies—so my feeling is, ‘Let’s go claim that.’ It’s like at Leo Burnett where we went to find the soul of the company and light it up.”

12643: Cannes Lion Liars.

Adweek reported Cannes named nine jurors for the Glass Lion trophy introduced to salute work that “breaks through unconscious gender bias” and “shatters stereotypical portrayals of men and women.” The jury will include Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle, who once said that she never thought the advertising business would be tough for a woman. However, Credle’s agency does admit that minorities face definite disadvantages in the field. Adweek also wrote, “While the award will initially spotlight gender, festival organizers said it could highlight other cultural issues down the line.” Yep, unconscious gender bias consciously trumps diversity.

Cannes Names Inaugural Glass Lion Jury

Shattering gender bias in advertising

By Kristina Monllos

The Cannes Lions festival has today named the nine jurors responsible for awarding its inaugural Glass Lion, or Lion for Change. Launched with a focus on gender, the new award will celebrate work that “breaks through unconscious gender bias” and “shatters stereotypical portrayals of men and women.”

Cindy Gallop, founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and former chief of Bartle Bogle Hegarty New York, serves as jury president for the new award.

“I want every single creative in every country around the world to desperately want to win the Glass Lion,” said Gallop in a statement. “The work that wins this award represents The New Creativity: the gold standard for creative and socio-cultural change in our industry.”

Gallop is joined by Marcello Serpa, partner and co-president of the board for AlmapBBDO in Brazil; Catherine Emprin, managing director of BETC in France; Tista Sen, national cd and svp of JWT in India; Laura Jordan Bambach, creative partner of Mr. President in the U.K.; Nick Bailey, CEO and ecd of Isobar in the U.K.; Susan Credle, CCO of Leo Burnett in Chicago; Gail Heimann, president of Weber Shandwick in New York; Jennifer Siebel Newsom, founder and CEO of The Representation Project; and Elizabeth Nyamayaro, senior advisor to Under Secretary-General of UN Women and head of the @HeForShe Campaign.

“It’s no secret that one gender and one viewpoint is over-represented in our industry, which means inevitably a certain viewpoint is over-represented,” said Bailey in a statement. “The Glass Lion seeks to redress that by recognizing work that holds a mirror up to the world as it really is, rather than just as a minority of people see it.

“That’s why it’s particularly exciting to see not just a truly international mix in the jury, but also a mix of viewpoints from both within and from outside our industry.”

While the award will initially spotlight gender, festival organizers said it could highlight other cultural issues down the line.

12598: Pathetic Predictions.

Adweek connected with “leaders” in the advertising industry and collected their predictions on topics we’ll be talking about a year from now. Of course, no one offered diversity as a potential discussion point in the near future. Hell, Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle wound up displaying her cluelessness about technology, unwittingly indicating it’ll be over 66 years before her shop becomes inclusive.

Agency Leaders Predict What We’ll Be Talking About a Year From Now

Keeping pace with tech and emphasizing the art of storytelling

By Andrew McMains

When asked today what the ad industry will be talking about a year from now, agency leaders were refreshingly thoughtful and hopeful.

Talking in paragraphs rather than soundbites, a panel of four leaders offered four different visions when Adweek’s Lisa Granatstein posed the question at the 4A’s Transformation Conference in Austin, Texas.

Deutsch North American CEO Mike Sheldon envisions deeper, more multidisciplined relationships between marketers and agencies, in part because he thinks it’s simply better for brands.

“We have lost a lot as an industry by clients having 15 different vendors who don’t know each other, who show up at maybe a meeting once a quarter or once every six months. And the fact that we don’t spend a lot of time sometimes with our media partners on behalf of our clients is criminal,” Sheldon said. “This era of specialization—I get that. We’re all supposed to be specialists. But I think it can all be done under one roof.”

Coupled with that splintering of work across many agencies is the rise of project-based assignments, which are labor intensive but generally don’t pay as much as retainer-based relationships. As such, these projects are difficult to staff, and to Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners’ John Butler, that will be a pressing concern next year.

“It’s going to be the AOR versus the projects and do we turn into production companies,” said Butler, the agency’s executive creative director. “What I mean by that is at a production company, there’s not a real staff, right? They kind of bring them in and then they go, bring them in and then they go.”

What’s more, projects are challenging operationally because, by definition, they don’t supply recurring revenue, Butler said. “And so, how do you staff for that?”

A big challenge that Leo Burnett’s Susan Credle foresees centers around technology and production.

“Technology is moving so quickly that I do worry about bringing all that production and making inside the agency versus go more back to the production model from film, where you understand the creative, the thinking and the idea that you want to make but you go out there and find the best idea makers,” said Credle, the shop’s chief creative officer for North America. “How much can we actually afford to build in-house and not only afford financially but afford because it changes so rapidly?”

Finally, notwithstanding the need to keep pace with tech, Sally Kennedy, CEO of Publicis Hawkeye in Dallas, is optimistic that agencies will stay focused on what they do best.

“I hope that we’re celebrating more storytelling and our craft as an industry because with marketing automation and programmatic buying, so much of the bottom of the funnel is going to be taken care of,” Kennedy said. “I think there’s going to be a renewed emphasis on brilliant storytelling by real practitioners that know what they’re doing—I hope.”

12125: Dearth Of Dames Drivel.

The New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott spotlighted Advertising Week “diversity” discussions that exclusively focused on the industry’s alleged dearth of dames. To be clear, regardless of anything said to the contrary, the talks were really about promoting White women. A panel titled “Women Aren’t Creative?” featured adwomen staging the standard bitch session. Charlotte Beers remarked, “Let’s assume no one’s going to clean up their act,” which Elliott interpreted to mean that the White men in charge shouldn’t be expected to change. But the truth is, Ms. Beers made a safe assumption because industry leaders including Beers have absolutely failed to make good on diversity since at least the 1950s—and there’s no evidence to indicate a revolution will occur anytime soon. Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle presented the increasingly common clueless comment by saying, “Diversity is necessary to stay relevant. [But] not just women: geographic diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity.” Okay, Credle, let us know when your irrelevant agency delivers on any of those categories. Ironically, White women comprise the only group to experience significant success in regards to increased representation and opportunities in the field. Yet adwomen were the sole “minority” group to receive a soapbox during Advertising Week. How pathetic.

At Ad Week, a Push to Make Diversity a Reality Beyond Conference Discussions

By Stuart Elliott

AS has been the case during previous iterations of Advertising Week in New York City, there were several panels, presentations and discussions about diversity during this year’s event, which concluded on Thursday. Still, the debate continues as to whether efforts to make the industry’s work force reflective of America’s changing face are truly a priority for executives or rather something to pay lip service to at annual conferences.

“Today, we still do not have enough women” in creative roles, Laura Agostini, worldwide chief talent officer at JWT, said Thursday morning while introducing a panel that carried the provocative title “Women Aren’t Creative?” The panel, sponsored by JWT, part of WPP, and The New York Times, signaled the formal start of a $250,000 scholarship program financed by JWT and named after a pioneering female copywriter at the agency, Helen Lansdowne Resor. The Resor Scholarship program is intended to nurture female advertising students in Canada, China, India, Japan, the Middle East, South Africa and the United States.

“So it’s a start,” Ms. Agostini said, “but it’s not enough.”

A panelist, Charlotte Beers, said, “Let’s assume no one’s going to clean up their act” — in other words, do not wait for the men in charge to mend their ways. Ms. Beers — a former chairwoman of JWT as well as a former chairwoman and chief executive of a sister agency, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide — told the women in the audience to “sign up, say ‘I’ll do it,’ step out in front of your PowerPoints” and “learn how to claim your victories.”

She added: “Keep your own scorecard. Write your own approval sheet.”

Another panelist, Maureen Dowd, an Op-Ed columnist at The Times, began her initial remarks by saying, “I’m going to have to say this softly, because I’m in this building,” referring to The Times Center, where the panel was held. She proceeded to read a list of Times columnists using their given names, among them “Nick,” “Joe” and “Frank” — as in Nicholas Kristof, Joe Nocera and Frank Bruni — before concluding, “And then Gail and me,” referring to Gail Collins.

Ms. Dowd also read the audience something that she described as “the most up-to-date, modern advice for women,” which included a need to “develop skin as tough as a rhinoceros hide.” The punch line came when she attributed the advice to Eleanor Roosevelt in 1936.

A third panelist, Shelley Zalis, chief executive of Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange, was responsible for a vehicle parked outside The Times Center during Advertising Week that was designated as the Ipsos Girls’ Lounge, offering women amenities like makeup touchups. “I don’t want a seat at the table because I’m a woman,” Ms. Zalis said. “I want a seat at the table because I’m the best.”

The panel was one of three that were for or about women on Thursday morning. There were, by one count, four such panels on Wednesday, an Ipsos Girls’ Lounge dinner on Tuesday and a panel on Monday called “Rethinking Marketing to Women” as Advertising Week began. “There’s still real stagnation for women at the top” of the advertising industry, Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, said as she moderated the Monday panel.

Among those taking part in a Thursday panel devoted to creative inspiration was one of the highest-ranking female creative executives in advertising, Susan Credle, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett U.S.A. in Chicago, part of the Leo Burnett division of the Publicis Groupe.

After the panel, Ms. Credle said in an interview that she took the position at Burnett because it was important to have women in senior posts “on the creative side” of agencies.

“Diversity is necessary to stay relevant,” she added, but “not just women: geographic diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity.”

During her panel, Ms. Credle talked about Burnett’s decision last month to join agencies like DDB, FCB and Ogilvy & Mather in a diversity initiative called “No. 2.66,” which refers to the idea that at the rate of hiring as of 2013, “true equality will not be realized in the advertising industry” for another 66 years, according to the initiative’s website.

When recruiting employees, Ms. Credle said, agencies also should seek people from diverse backgrounds with nontraditional types of résumés because “we’re getting the same types of people in advertising” and “we’ll become myopic” if the issue is not addressed.

“It’s why boutiques are doing well,” she added, referring to smaller agencies. “We have to make sure in more traditional shops we have people coming in from different walks of life.” She listed among those poets, artists, actors and designers of skateboards and sneakers.

The interest in women in advertising was not confined this week to those who attended Advertising Week. Adweek.com on Thursday published an article by Nils Leonard, chief creative officer of Grey London, that carried the title “Why the Perfect Modern Creative Is Fierce, Fearless and Female.”

The article began: “The perfect modern creative is a woman. Because we have enough men, and men like it is the way it is right now.” The article ended with Mr. Leonard’s announcement that he was resigning so that a woman could take his post.

Just kidding.

11095: More Scamming News.

Advertising Age reported Leo Burnett in India is the latest agency to withdraw a scam ad from an awards show. When the Ford Figo scandal happened last month, a handful of agency honchos publicly pontificated on scamming—including Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle. People in glass agencies…

After JWT’s Ford Figo Fiasco, Leo Burnett Pulls Winning Ads From India Awards Show

Questions Raised About Whether Client-Approved Radio Spots For Tata Are Fakes

By Anita Chang Beattie

Ad fakery has another global agency in the hot seat as Leo Burnett pulled two winning Tata radio spots at Goafest after a public back-and-forth between agency, client and festival.

In the latest controversy over scam ads at India’s Goafest Abby ad awards, Leo Burnett asked to withdraw two radio spots for Tata Salt Lite after they each snagged gold and silver awards in the radio and radio craft categories.

According to Goafest official Shashi Sinha, “whispers” about the eligibility of the ads began following the awards ceremony on Saturday. There had been some questions during the auditing process, in which KMPG doublechecks the eligibility of winning work after the judging but before the award show, but a letter from the client had confirmed they were genuine ads, Mr. Sinha said.

But rumors persisted about whether the spots had been been commissioned, paid for by the client and broadcast commercially—or if they were “proactive” work by Leo Burnett, said Mr. Sinha, who is CEO of IPG Mediabrands in India.

Earlier at Goafest, posters by JWT India depicting women bound and gagged in the back of a Ford Figo hatchback drew international condemnation after they were uploaded to the Ads of the World website and entered at Goafest. Consumers mistakenly thought they were real ads, causing JWT and Ford to issue apologies. JWT withdrew the three ads in the middle of the judging process and two senior creatives and a Ford India executive were fired.

In the latest controversy, a statement from Tata Chemicals, a huge multinational conglomerate that is the parent company of the low-sodium Tata Salt Lite brand and one of India’s biggest marketers, fell short of confirming the ads were genuine. In fact, Tata cast the blame entirely on the agency, and appeared to be saying it was unaware of criteria such as the requirement that ads really run in order to be festival-eligible.

“The entire award submission process is one initiated and entirely managed by the agency; our role as a client was limited to approval of the creative. As a client, we were not aware of all the other technical requirements and subsequent process of submission criteria etc,” the company said. “As soon as the inconsistencies were brought to our attention, and upon further enquiry, we concluded that it would be appropriate for the agency to return the award to the organizers.”

Arvind Sharma, Leo Burnett’s chairman and CEO-India and Subcontinent, provided Ad Age with a copy of the email he sent to Mr. Sinha on Monday asking to withdraw the entries. But he did not respond to follow-up questions asking whether he still stood by the eligibility of the ads.

“I know that there was some debate at the (Awards Governing Council) about two Tata Salt Lite radio spots submitted by us,” the message said. “We do not want any unwarranted insinuations about one of our prestigious clients and brands to continue. We request AGC to treat these two spots as withdrawn from our side.”

Awareness of the dispute over the Tata entries was fueled this week by stories posted by India’s MxMindia.

Unlike the Ford Figo poster ads, the Tata Salt radio spots were humorous and their content was never an issue, Mr. Sinha said.

10235: Credle Cannes Cluelessness.

Adweek interviewed Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle at Cannes. The adwoman made a few curious comments worth criticizing. First, she gushed about meeting a telecom executive from Hong Kong who inspired her to think about “What we’ll do with Sprint when we get back to the States.” Um, didn’t Digitas win the AOR role on Sprint? Guess it’s now official who’s really running Team Sprint. Maybe the Cannes cultural encounter will lead to a commercial featuring a stereotypical boss with a heavy Chinese accent—“Ling! Ling! Herro! This is Splint!” Credle also displayed cluelessness about mobile communications, which clearly shows she’s the perfect person to oversee a brand like Sprint…? Finally, the CCO marveled at the growing interest in below-the-line disciplines. Yo, somebody tell the woman that the Chicago headquarters of Leo Burnett is actually billing less than sister enterprise Arc Worldwide.