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When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that. – Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Imagine a world where the giants of advertising - DDB, BBDO, Chiat, McCann, Y&R, JWT, and every other iconic agency, past and present - were all founded by women.
The biggest and farthest reaching impact would be the narrative that women were fed for generations–that their worth is tied to how the male gaze perceives them.
Danielle Ogilvy. Eleanor Burnett. How wild does that sound? And how sad that it does! If that was reality, what would that impact be on the world– from the way stories are created to how people maneuver in the industry? I don’t think the world would be the opening scene of the Barbie movie, but I think we’d have far fewer Mojo Dojo Casa Houses.
Ilon Specht’s line was a feminist rallying cry. Buying something because you like the way it makes you feel was a radical act.
The biggest and farthest reaching impact would be the narrative that women were fed for generations–that their worth is tied to how the male gaze perceives them. Self-care was self-improvement to help you nab that man! Which made sense when you needed a husband to be able to buy a home or get a credit card…Women have been the largest percentage of consumers for eons, but most of the ads were written by men who had never used these products and made leaps as to how to connect them to women.
Buying something because you like the way it makes you feel was a radical act. We’ve come a long way, baby.
Case in point, if you haven’t watched Ben Proudfoot’s film The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, you must. Specht wrote one of the most iconic advertising lines of all time, Because you’re worth it. The brief was to convince women to buy the most expensive hair dye on the market.
Specht’s insight was that it makes your hair feel soft and thick. It looks shiny. It feels better against your neck, and overall makes you feel good. But beside all that, you’re worth it. BOOM!! Seems pretty easy and straight forward. Woman speaks to the camera, beautiful hair shots. Done. Great.
SPOILER ALERT: It was not great.
Ilon Specht wrote one of the most iconic advertising lines of all time, L'Oreal's 'Because you’re worth it'.
The woman never spoke. She walked alongside her husband who explained how great his wife's hair felt. It’s soft and full. It feels great against her neck. And it makes her happy because he likes her hair. So let her spend the money, because to him she’s worth it.
Women who need to get home are an efficient bunch. Imagine if a bunch of moms were in charge – bet you’d see a lot more day cares and afterschool programs in agencies.
Wow. Cringe, as the kids would say.
Thankfully, Specht won the battle, and after that monstrosity, her spot was shot and the “kind husband” spot was canned. But good lord, how was that ever a discussion? It wasn’t men’s fault– they were speaking to what they knew. But tens of years of ads have been written and produced with this male gaze, reinforcing negative stereotypes. Specht’s line was a feminist rallying cry. Buying something because you like the way it makes you feel was a radical act. We’ve come a long way, baby.
An adland run by women would see a better work / life balance.
But back to the question — what if women had built the ad industry from the start? We’d still thrive in competition as that’s the nature of the business, and women certainly don’t demure to a fair fight. But what else would come with women at the helm?
Women who look out for their community and the wellbeing of others are worth supporting.
Definitely a work / life balance. Women who need to get home are an efficient bunch. Imagine if a bunch of moms were in charge – bet you’d see a lot more day cares and afterschool programs in agencies. I also think paternal leave would be more common. Who understands the impact and need for paternal leave more than a mom?
It's all that sense of nurturing and the tendency to cultivate the community for the greater good over the hubris of one. The article What the World’s Richest Men Could Learn from the World’s Richest Women, highlights this point: Women who look out for their community and the wellbeing of others are worth supporting. Lifting up others and encouraging their own success and growth is incredibly rewarding.
Women, who are wonderful diplomats, might push for more reasonable payment terms, pitching processes and timelines.
What about how business would be done? What about payment terms and the way pitches are handled? Women, who are wonderful diplomats, might push for reasonable payment terms that don’t put a burden on smaller businesses bankrolling mega corporations. Pitches that are paid for and requested in a reasonable timeline? Sounds diplomatic to me.
The world we should aim for isn’t a Barbie-pink matriarchy; it’s a space where more perspectives are valued and where equity leads to better, smarter, more empathetic work.
Maybe women would have gotten drunk with power and men would be writing an op-ed about “what if there were more men!” Anytime there’s inequity and too few perspectives this is what will inevitably happen. I’m sure there would be some pretty terrible urinal ads if no men had a perspective on it!
But that’s the point — it’s about balance. The world we should aim for isn’t a Barbie-pink matriarchy; it’s a space where more perspectives are valued and where equity leads to better, smarter, more empathetic work. A world with more understanding, patience, and acceptance.
Why? Because we’re ALL worth it.
