Improving advertising's diversity starts with directors

Something a bit disconcerting happened to me on a recent pitch for an ad campaign. I found an incredible director, who was a woman, to put forward for a job. 

One of the agency representatives, upon seeing the bid, remarked how strong the creative was and that they were very pleased to see women on the bid… as if they were surprised.

Improving gender diversity among commercial directors can spur a ripple effect in authentic representation.

Of course, I’m not insinuating a director should be picked for their gender alone. The tone of the scenario, however, implied the clients were more concerned with women being bid than being seriously considered; especially as I later learned the parties involved had the selected director in mind well before the open call was made. 

In my view, this agency missed an opportunity for authentic representation. Improving gender diversity among commercial directors can spur a ripple effect in authentic representation for brand campaigns, particularly as this director’s diverse vision ultimately steers the creative for the campaign. Any director’s unique perspective bleeds into the ad creative - from the brief, to the shoot, to the end results - and audiences take notice. Creating a diverse concept is a part of the job but, until the director and production crew are also diverse, the job is only half finished.  

Above: Improving diversity among the director and production crew can have a trickle down effect within the industry.

I know the bidding system can be rife with politics and insider dealings, which is precisely what could be holding back the incredible new potential for creativity in advertising. To bolster diversity - for women and directors of every race and sexuality - I propose considerations to the bidding system that ensure agencies or brands are picking the right talent for the job: 

Empower women in leadership roles 

I feel like I could have gotten a straightforward assessment of what I felt and saw in my agency example if I had a woman in leadership to speak to within the agency. Alas, the top brass happened to be men. According to LinkedIn data, women occupy 48% of the media and communications workforce, but just 37% of leadership roles. This impacts the trickle-down decisions that leaders make every day, including in whose vision they’ll trust for their ad campaign. 

After staffing up, give women the tools and information to make their own decisions.

If the ‘room where it happens’ isn’t inclusive of more viewpoints than those of just men, or just white individuals, they may not have the experience or information to consider all the angles of a choice that a leader of another gender or race may suggest. Do we need to bring up the Pepsi Live For Now example again? After staffing up, give women the tools and information to make their own decisions. If I have questions about a brief and direct those questions to a woman, I would love for her to feel comfortable answering me directly, and not have to “check in with her team.” I don’t hear that phrase very often from male direct reports.

Above: Pepsi's 2017 commercial featuring Kendal Jenner received criticism for its tone deafness. 

Single bid means single bid 

I didn’t think I’d have to type this: if you have one director in mind, seek out that director. No harm, no foul. If you have one director in mind, don’t make an open call for directors to stock up on 'plan Bs', until and unless your first choice says no. And definitely don’t make an open call for directors just to demonstrate that your search yielded diverse options. That’s not exactly what Free The Bid had in mind.

If you have one director in mind, don’t make an open call for directors to stock up on 'plan Bs', until and unless your first choice says no.

In time and resources, just one treatment, for one director, costs that director and/or their production company reps thousands of dollars. These financial hurdles directly - and disproportionately - impact women and POC directors more than men, because they are often paid less than their white male counterparts. The production company and director spent their time creating dead-end treatments when they could be developing, producing and directing excellent craft.

What’s in a name? 

I understand brand and agency caution when it comes to a carefully considered ad campaign. Once the research is conducted, the audience deduced and the brief planned, the brand wants to ensure as much success as possible. The agency wants to flex its creative muscles, knowing full well that a bit of creative risk-taking can yield positive results for its client. Part of that risk-taking, however, lies in getting to know and trusting in new names and fresh faces during your director search.