Women in advertising-A male point of view
June 17, 2009
Back in 1998, when I began my career in advertising as a client service executive (Yes, the copywriter was in client servicing at that time!) women were scarce in advertising agencies. Once in a while a sophomore doing her MBA will come for an academic project. She will be doing a safe project like “Customer satisfaction of Pepsi in rural area: A study by taking Gondawala district as an example” or “Market penetration of HSBC’s SME loans” or something like that. From my agency we will go for creative presentations, and only very rarely I have seen women sitting in as brand managers. But there were some good agencies run by very able women, and those agencies are still doing well. There were some good women in client servicing too, but the creative department was predominantly a male bastion. Creative directors, exceptionally good ones, are normally males. (Please don’t call me an MCP!).
I am against any stereotyping. I know talent only matters and sex does not play a role in it. But sometimes I do wonder about the influence genes have on us, which we cannot change even with best mentoring.
May be that is why we don’t have
1. A female musician that can be called truly great, great enough to be placed along with Bach, Beethoven or Brahms. Please note that I am not talking about singers, I am talking about great music composers or directors. Females somehow miss this composer gene.
2. A great physicist. Yes I know about Madam Curie, but she was more of an experimental physicist than a theoretical genius. Almost all great theoretical physicists are males.
3. Great female chefs are hard to find. Even though women outnumber men in the number of people that actually cook, excellent cooks are normally men. This confuses me to the core, but, just think for a while and you will see I have a point.
4. Have you heard of a female philosopher? A real philosopher who has created her own school of thoughts? I am still yet to come across one.
I am not being all negative about women. I am just pointing out the realities, and I am not judging why the reality is like this.
Advertising still remains as a male dominant territory. Gorgeous women client servicing executives will come and go, but patiently I am still waiting for a woman who will wow me, not with her looks, but with her brains.
And especially in this part of the world, how long shall I wait?
July 24, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Hello Denis,
With these thoughts no doubt you are lonely.
As PR professional I would like to share my thoughts why Advertising is a “male” territory. Advertising goal is to motivate a customer to purchase or do something. For money advertising people will sell you anything. And here men are experts. They like to say what they do not believe in.
September 13, 2009 at 7:52 pm
You have truly and rightly potrayed that ‘we the women species’ have been the suppressed, downtrodden and subjugated lot for ages (not anymore I pray!!!), from the time of Bach, Beethoven, Madam Curie, Picasso days, u men always dominated the scene, your fat male egos never allowing the women a chance to expose, express and exhibit their intelligence and creativity. So we still think you ( and most men are) MCPs, proudly and shamelessly still holding onto and dominating all spheres and proclaiming no woman can reach their level. If we live another 200 more years on earth I challenge you that what you wrote above shall be rewritten with you ‘Men’ as the weaker lot, mark my words from Heaven!!!! Give us a chance cos’ God has designed us for another purpose altogether…your loving mother, your ever so loving wife, and your most beautiful precious little daughter…aren’t they the best example for a Beethoven, Physicist, Chef, Picasso, Philosopher and so called “Creative Advertiser”. Wonder how many of these hard hearted souls would make the world’s best mother, wife and daughter with tender loving care.”But sometimes I do wonder about the influence genes have on us, which we cannot change even with best mentoring”. Sorry Denis, didn’t mean to be so curt with my reply!!! We’re still the best of friends right??!!
July 26, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Dear Lena,
Come on, PR people will say anything for money too…right Lena?
September 17, 2009 at 2:38 am
Interesting to be reading these thoughts.. But i must say, it really will depend on where you’re looking, and how you’re looking at things. Maybe yes, there are less published observations on how the equal half of the male specie did great in various fields of endeavor to include signficant contribution to science, technology and even history, but this is not surprising considering the generally “machismo” culture still prevalent across the globe. I believe in my country we are lucky because women are viewed as equal if not — stronger and more successful as against our male counterparts. For instance, we have the most loved women President — Corazon Aquino that inspired not only our own people but the whole world. Am sure there are a lot more women deserving of appreciation if not high level recognition, so i challenge you to use this space to let more people know that there are great women out there! Feature someone each week or each day. Imagine, that will be 365 women in a year! Not bad
October 10, 2009 at 1:53 am
If you’re not a male chauvinist pig, you’re at least a male chauvinist ostrich, as you obviously have your head stuck in the sand. Look a little harder and you’ll find women of great achievement in all the fields you mention. If you can’t be bothered doing some online research, I guess you’re a male chauvinist sloth.
As for the matter of “greatness” – well, we have two problems here. One is that women have only very recently had access to the same education and professional opportunities as men. Are we expected to produce as many geniuses in a century (or less) as the sex that pees standing up has produced in the last few thousand years?
The other problem is that all of us confuse greatness with fame. Who decides greatness? Who decides relevance? Until very recently, men have decided. Men in general — if you haven’t noticed — don’t listen to women. You’re not greatly interested in what we do, think, or say. You create fields — such as philosophy — around your own concerns and interests. You presume to speak for and to all humans when in fact you only speak amongst yourselves. Women have indeed founded their own schools of thought — which men dismiss as the rantings of feminist cranks. Our society is still eager to praise high-achieving men and call them geniuses — turn them into stars — while giving less attention to high-achieving women, unless their “achievement” is a pretty face and a good figure. I see no conspiracy here, but simply an entrenched tendency amongst men, probably a very ancient tendency, to be interested in the doings of other men, and to maintain male supremacy (thus wealth and higher quality of life) by allying with and supporting other men, when direct competition does not interfere.
“I am not being all negative about women” — yes, you are. By not making an effort to find out more about women in history, and by not considering (and it’s a no-brainer) how patriarchal society prefers to promote, encourage and reward men.
If you want to think about the influence of genes, you could ask why, after a few thousand years of men ruling the world and creating the systems by which the world is ruled (so that even powerful women must work within male-created systems), human society is distinguished by violence, corruption and mismanagement. We don’t know whether women could do better, but when man casts a critical eye over the world he has wrought, perhaps he should ask whether there is a fundamental defect or two in himself.
You can do some research, you can make the effort, or you can make dismissive noises and stay where you are, in your cosy bubble of imaginary superiority.