Creative Skirts

Mad Woman

Inspiration for the day:

A WOMAN copywriter sold the “I <3 New York” campaign in the 70s. She was working at Wells Rich Greene at the time, and worked with graphic designer Milton Glaser (who did the work pro bono, thinking it would only run for a few months) to get the campaign sold to the city.

Her name was Jane Maas, and she’s also written a book, Mad Women, at the spring-chicken age of 80. (check it out in hard copy or iPad-style)

Makes me think I’ve got plenty of time …

Advertising's Confession Room

What if the reason there aren't more females in creative departments, is because the women that are there have always been happy to be one of the boys?

That's one of the many good points that Colleen DeCourcy (ex-Organic CEO and current Socialistic CEO - who I had the priviledge of working with inbetween) made in DigiDay's Confessions of a Female Ad Exec a few weeks ago. 

But the plot thickened when DeCourcy revealed her identity, and brought back this eye-opening,-but-not-at-all-surprising paragraph that was originally part of the piece:

There are, of course, crudely sexist moments. Here are two special quotes from my career that never fail to materialize when I close my eyes to fall asleep in whatever far-flung hotel I’m sleeping in tonight. “I like that necklace, I could choke you with it while I fuck you from behind,” I was told. After a none-too-pleased response came the capper from this guy: “You’re not offended are you?! We only say those things because we forget you’re not one of us. It’s a compliment!” Really.

And now, in response to the stories that DeCourcy got in response, she has made a home for the stories (which she says have come from minorities of all kinds). 

So, got a confession of your own? Well, share it like your momma taught you.

The League of Extraordinary Women – doesn’t that sound official?

Fast Company has published its list of 60 women who are changing the world. Most have much loftier goals than creative departments (hats off to them), but here are a few that are really relevant to us:

Allessandra Lariu, Cofounder of SheSays.

Lariu’s site & network reaches to 20 different cities around the globe and works to connect female creatives with jobs, mentors and workshops. They put on some really great events - we’ve been fans for a while now.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Founder & CEO of MissRepresentation.org

Siebel Newsom wrote & directed the 2011 documentary Miss Representation, which dives into the role of the media in perpetuating a negative image of women and girls. Her site is now a hub for media issues related to women, and the film has been screened in over 47 countries after premiering at Sundance in 2011.

‘Creative Skirts’ vs. ‘Morrisey, Totten & Peters’

Here's a good post questioning why men tend to name their agencies after themselves, and women don’t:

A rose by any other name ain’t as sweet.

My guess is most women shy away from putting their name on the door because it's a tad egotistical, and it pretty immediately breaks down the idea that "we're all responsible for the work that is made here".

But hey, maybe we should have started this blog as Morrisey, Totten & Peters. (Although that would now have to be Whigham, Aspinwall & Peters - which might be another reason women aren't as apt to tie everything to a name.)

Portfolios don't come cheap.

The Advertising Women of New York know that shiny little portfolio of yours didn't just drop from the sky – for lots of us it came with quite a price tag attached in the form of student loans.

So in an effort to support future talent, they’re paying off 10 lucky women’s debt up to $10,000 each.

Deadline is August 15^th

Awards will be handed out at their 100^th Anniversary Gala. Swanky.

Apply here.