While Solving the Ad Industry's Biggest Problems, These 6 Leaders Over 50 Are Building a Powerful Case Against Ageism
André Chaves / Working Not Working Member
When you picture the image of a freelancer, do you think of someone in their 20s who is coming into the industry? Or do you think of someone in their 50s who made the decision to create their own business and attain healthier work-life balance? Regardless of your answer, the truth is that the ad industry is highly ageist. As proof of that, it's easy to look at all the beer ads of millennials drinking by a lake or the various '30 Under 30' lists that are published every year to celebrate young talent.
There's nothing against giving visibility to younger talent who are getting into the industry, but if we want to make the ad world a better place to work, we need to eradicate ageism. One of the most common stereotypes that drives ageism is related to the idea of succession, which surfaces when younger people or recruiters assume that older leaders have "had their turn" and should make way for younger generations. Or when editors and festivals leave aside the opportunity to invite older leaders to share their perspective or speak on stage, essentially stripping their voice.
In March, a survey of 330 marketing professionals conducted by the consulting firms New & Improved and We Are Next revealed that 61% of respondents have experienced ageism themselves. That number shot up to 79% among people 30 and older.
The fact is, ageism is a real problem and one that everyone will eventually be a victim of, or is or has been the offender to. Therefore, in a future that needs to be a hybrid of combining new perspectives of youth with the expertise of age, this list serves as a reminder and proof that, if the industry has advanced in the past decade, much of that progress has been made with the help of advertising leaders over 50 who have used their voice to confront the status quo and draw attention to issues that were not yet being discussed as they should.
Kat Gordon
In 2012, after years of working as a Creative Director, Kat Gordon was shocked to learn that only 3% of creative directors in US advertising agencies were women. Thus, she created The 3% Movement with the aim of uniting advertising and media professionals to take action to change this gender imbalance. During her 11-year journey organizing 1500+ person events with multi-city shows each year, Kat and her team helped raise the number of female Creative Directors from 3% to 29%. In 2018, Ad Age named her “Visionary of the Year” and, in her opinion, advertising is an industry that eats its old. Kat is 55, a mother of two sons, and author of the forthcoming book, The Future Belongs to Belonging: How Inclusive Cultures Unlock World-Changing Creativity.
This is a highlight reel from the 8th Annual 3% Conference in 2019, in Chicago, with over 1300 attendees, 107 speakers, 37 sponsors, representing almost 500 companies.
Ken Fujioka and Ana Cortat
In 2017, after the experience of working in Brazilian agencies as VP Strategy, Ana and Ken partnered with the Account Planning Group Brazil to create 'Hostility, Silence and Omission', the first ever survey about sexual and moral harassment in the Brazilian ad industry which listened to more than 1,400 professionals and resulted in more than 65 presentations in agencies and conferences across the country. The survey revealed that 90% of women and 76% of men had already suffered some type of harassment, whether moral or sexual. Among the respondents, 51% were sexually harassed in the workplace. For the launch, a video with several testimonials reported in the survey reached over 200K views in just a few days.
Morihiro Harano
Although the Japanese agency scene is dominated by places like Dentsu and Hakuhodo, creative director Morihiro Harano caught the industry's attention over the past decade by launching two independent agencies. In 2011, he co-founded PARTY and led it to win the Independent Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia 2012. Shortly thereafter, he founded Mori Inc., which was selected as 'The World's Leading Independent Agencies 2014' by Campaign UK and even won an MTV Video Music Awards for OK Go's music video “I Won't Let You Down.” In a market that until recently has been relatively closed off from the rest of the world, Morihiro has released two books to talk about creativity and explain why it is important to expand viewpoints. Morihiro started his creative career at 34 and has just turned 50.
Gonzalo Vidal Meyrelles
Gonzalo worked for major agencies in Argentina and even won a Cannes Grand Prix in a campaign for Axe. However, in 2012 he decided to create Prójimo, an agency that also functions as a marketing school founded in La Cava, the biggest shanty town in San Isidro in the northern area of Buenos Aires. Built with the support of the community, the agency soon became a highlight on the Cannes Lions stage and, more recently, was awarded at the D&AD. In an industry that is still so elitist in which the most admired agencies are based in New York City or Los Angeles, throughout the decade Gonzalo confirmed how it is possible to help brands to be impactful, working with local communities and giving them the opportunity to show how brilliantly creative they can be.
Adrianne Smith
With more than 25+ years of industry and advocacy experience, Adrianne Smith made history in 2019 by creating Inkwell Beach Cannes, the first stand-alone Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Beach in the Cannes Lions’s 66 years of existence. Featured on Adweek as the “Most Ambitious Diversity and Inclusion Program to Date,” the initiative debuted with speakers including CBS This Morning’s Gayle King, Naomi Campbell, Bozoma Saint John, and actress Gabrielle Union. It also provided 25 young people of color from different countries the chance of attending Cannes Lions for the first time, with all expenses paid. Despite the increase in the number of panels and sessions related to the topic at the festival over the decade, until 2019 less than 2% of attendees were people of color or members of underrepresented communities. Currently, Adrianne keeps fighting for change through her non-profit organization, Cannes Can: Diversity Collective.
If you've come this far, I'm sure you're wondering: how do we combat ageism within the industry? How do we overcome this problem at hand? The answer begins by having the necessary conversations, and recognizing the gaps that need to be filled. This means hiring older leaders and inviting them to projects. This means putting them in the spotlight and asking them to be members of juries — not just those who work in agencies, but also those who've decided to take a different path within the industry. Ageism won't be solved unless we're bringing people of all ages and backgrounds into the mix.