November 2024
It's been an interesting couple of days watching the Advertising industry assess itself and its own position around diversity, inclusion and representation.
I for one have for a long time thought we look strangely white, strangely male, and strangely preoccupied with ourselves (ego?).
I come from a couple of Architect parents, I grew up in an academic family, around scientist grandparents, economists, psychologists and artists (Dad's side). But when I was a young kid, I just wanted to create. I didn't have the logical academic mind of my Mum's side of the family. I didn't have the A+ logic that they all possessed to get ahead in life, but I did have lateral curiosity and I was enthralled with artists like Michael Leunig and Bruce Petty from a young age.
I got my first gig in the creative industry in year 8 of high school auditioning for a part in a claymation animated WA health commercial TVC by Anifex (anifex.com.au) in Adelaide which was directed by one of the animators of Ren and Stimpy (My favourite cartoon!). I loved the creativity of what they were doing, I showed them my drawings with great excitement, it was my first introduction into the creative industry. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was hooked.
But over the years, I have realised that creativity is useful for many different things. While it is fundamental for 'making ads', it is also a key ingredient for strategising business direction and helping build business. It's key to planning, it is essential for strategically analysing marketing strategy problems and creating new behaviours that help societal progression. Creativity is required to innovate in even the most rigid of contexts. Its needed to future-proof products and research and develop for new ideas. (I saw this first-hand working on the Oakley business in Europe).
But our industry seems preoccupied with 'winning mertics' and 'the way we look'. And in Australia, we look white and male (which has just come to a head). I feel that perhaps it is the industry that needs to rebrand its idea of creativity to be less about the self-image and more about the broader contribution. The most creative companies in the world really do make great contributions.
And great creativity needs diversity. Diversity of thinking is lateral, multi-dimensional creativity. Perhaps we need to reimagine the idea of the creative department and think more about the concept of creative companies. Creative companies need diversity. They need diverse nationalities, genders, and perspectives.
If we are to be in an important era of creativity, then perhaps we need to re-position our industry into creativity for impact and contribution rather than creativity for self-validation. I feel we can still have the shiny part we love about it, but make our metrics about what we're in service of as well.
I love advertising, but I love creativity more.
So I hope we can progress, and be more inclusive on all fronts.
To make better ideas.
It's been an interesting couple of days watching the Advertising industry assess itself and its own position around diversity, inclusion and representation.
I for one have for a long time thought we look strangely white, strangely male, and strangely preoccupied with ourselves (ego?).
I come from a couple of Architect parents, I grew up in an academic family, around scientist grandparents, economists, psychologists and artists (Dad's side). But when I was a young kid, I just wanted to create. I didn't have the logical academic mind of my Mum's side of the family. I didn't have the A+ logic that they all possessed to get ahead in life, but I did have lateral curiosity and I was enthralled with artists like Michael Leunig and Bruce Petty from a young age.
I got my first gig in the creative industry in year 8 of high school auditioning for a part in a claymation animated WA health commercial TVC by Anifex (anifex.com.au) in Adelaide which was directed by one of the animators of Ren and Stimpy (My favourite cartoon!). I loved the creativity of what they were doing, I showed them my drawings with great excitement, it was my first introduction into the creative industry. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was hooked.
But over the years, I have realised that creativity is useful for many different things. While it is fundamental for 'making ads', it is also a key ingredient for strategising business direction and helping build business. It's key to planning, it is essential for strategically analysing marketing strategy problems and creating new behaviours that help societal progression. Creativity is required to innovate in even the most rigid of contexts. Its needed to future-proof products and research and develop for new ideas. (I saw this first-hand working on the Oakley business in Europe).
But our industry seems preoccupied with 'winning mertics' and 'the way we look'. And in Australia, we look white and male (which has just come to a head). I feel that perhaps it is the industry that needs to rebrand its idea of creativity to be less about the self-image and more about the broader contribution. The most creative companies in the world really do make great contributions.
And great creativity needs diversity. Diversity of thinking is lateral, multi-dimensional creativity. Perhaps we need to reimagine the idea of the creative department and think more about the concept of creative companies. Creative companies need diversity. They need diverse nationalities, genders, and perspectives.
If we are to be in an important era of creativity, then perhaps we need to re-position our industry into creativity for impact and contribution rather than creativity for self-validation. I feel we can still have the shiny part we love about it, but make our metrics about what we're in service of as well.
I love advertising, but I love creativity more.
So I hope we can progress, and be more inclusive on all fronts.
To make better ideas.
