Nasty Women of the Ad World

Along with many industries, the advertising industry is no different in its unfortunate lack of female representation.  At first glance, the industry should be given credit for the fifty percent of woman working in the industry, but if you dig a little deeper only eleven percent of women are in creative director roles (Ember, 2016).

Although I am passionate about women empowerment… or should I say empowertizing? this post is not intended to discuss the reasons why women are not being represented at the C-suite level.  Rather, this post is intended to highlight some of the “Nasty Women” (thank you Donald Trump) who are making things happen in the advertising world.

Kat Gordon Founder of The 3% Conference 

Kat Gordon, is the founder of the 3% Conference tailored to support female leadership in the advertising industry. As industry veteran Kat experienced firsthand what is was like to see women left out of the pitch.  After feeling left out of the conversation she started her own agency that specialized in advertising to women.  In 2012, she started the 3% Conference –three represents the percentage of creative directors at the time— to address the issues that prevent women from excelling in their advertising careers (The 3% Conference, 2016).  Since the inaugural conference, the industry has experienced notable growth in female leadership.

Andi Zeisler, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Bitch Media.   Bitch Media is a

Andi Zeisler Co-Founder of Bitch Media

nonprofit, feminist media organizations that engages in thoughtful conversations about how women are portrayed in mainstream media (Bitch Media, 2015).  Andi along with her team produce a quarterly magazine, weekly podcast, and website.  Andi has author numerous books including her most recent We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to Covergil and Selling of a Political Movement.

Susan Credle: is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Foote, Cone & Belding and previously she was the first Executive Creative Director for BBDO Worldwide.  Susan is

Susan Cradle, Global CCO of FDC

viewed as an important voice for women in the industry and have received numerous industry awards (FCB, 2016).  She is credited for humanizing M&M’s and creating the Allstate Mayhem character (Ember, 2016).  I must note the Allstate Mayham campaign is one of my all time favorites!  In here thirty-year career Credle has gone from bathroom relief intern to executive; all the while supporting other women.

There are countless other women that should be recognized in this post, but above are three women at I have come to admire greatly.  Please feel free to share any other names in the industry!

References:

3 Percent Conference. (2016). Retrieved from: https://bitchmedia.org.

Bitch Media. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.3percentconf.com.

FCB Worldwide, Inc. (2016). Retrieved from: http://www.fcb.com.

Ember, S. (2016). For women in advertising, it’s still a ‘mad men’ world. The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/business/media/for-women-in-advertising-its-still-a-mad-men-world.html