'Your face doesn't fit the agency' – creatives bring to life the bullshit barbs the industry should be challenging
Creatives have responded to The Drum's Diversity Census – published this week – which shone a spotlight on the lack of diversity in the industry, highlighting the issue of inherent bias.
Diversity, or rather the lack of, has become one of the marketing industry's biggest talking points over the last year. Gender equality, ethnic diversity, LGBT inclusion and equal opportunities for people of all economic backgrounds are essential considerations for marketing business leaders.
The Drum launched its Diversity Census research earlier in the year, inviting individuals from across the marketing industries to complete an anonymous peer survey to gauge the temperature on diversity.
One of the takeaways was the willingness with which people shared their experiences of discrimination – either overt or inherent – and instances where they have been talked down or faced pejorative comments from employers or colleagues.
Of the many personal experiences and anecdotes shared in the Census, a few comments stood out in particular, so The Drum decided to ask creatives to illustrate some of the most common negative barbs faced by people in the industry. The result is a series of typographic illustrations composed of actual comments directed at people in the industry, designed in order to create discussion, highlight the impact of throwaway comments and illustrate some of the biases that still exist.
Here, we take a look at a few of the illustrations we received. Results and analysis of the Census can be found here.
'Ambition will be your downfall' - Dan Bray, Dare
'Your face doesn't fit the agency' – Nizam Ali, Lida
'Despite being a blonde girl, you can actually think' – Rob Lloyd, TMW Unlimited
'Hide your accent if you want to progress' – Anna Carpen, 18 Feet & Rising
'If you're not Cambridge or Oxford, you're not worth talking to' – Josh Cadwallader, Lida
'She's hitting her 30s, so not much shelf life left' – Kit Suman, Dare
'You need to toughen up' – Zach Warren, Dare
'If you didn't curl your hair, you would be taken more seriously' – Roy Hyndman, St. Luke’s
'If you're not Cambridge or Oxford, you're not worth talking to' – Tim Brookes, RKCR/Y&R
