Global adland execs have pointed to a larger problem with gender diversity in advertising, following recent remarks from Maurice Levy calling the J Walter Thompson scandal “one man’s mistake”.
One week ago, J Walter Thompson worldwide CEO Gustavo Martinez resigned over allegations of sexist and racist remarks and was replaced by Tamara Ingram.
However, at the 4A’s Transformation Conference in Miami, Publicis CEO Levy suggested that the issue wasn’t a fair representation of the advertising industry and were the actions of Martinez alone.
Gender equality activist and founder of Publicis’ BBH Cindy Gallop was one of the first to take to Twitter, saying Levy’s comments are “why the white men at the top should never presume to speak for women/POC in any industry”.
According to US reports, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell also spoke out against the comment, saying he disagrees “violently” with the view.
AdWeek quotes Sorrell saying: "I disagree violently with what Maurice said about this being a one-off. Maurice has a habit of ignoring the facts. When we get to senior levels of management, the number of women drops, unacceptably, to a third. We're putting in programs for improvement ... but it's not just looking at the charges against Gustavo Martinez, it's looking elsewhere in the industry."
While Sorrell can’t speak specifically on the case – J Walter Thompson is part of the WPP stable – he did say “there is a problem” with gender diversity in advertising.
Gallop is a regular commentator on gender diversity. Last year she directed a number of tweets at Leo Burnett Sydney during the Seven White Men controversy.
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