M&C Saatchi apologises for birthday party burlesque performance

Saying there is nothing wrong and then saying sorry.. which is it? Duplicity and shallowness

Translation: “We did nothing wrong but you PC killjoy fuckers have ruined the world we live in so now we have to pretend we’re sorry when clearly we’re not.”

@S&MSachie: Don’t be so simple.

They are saying there is nothing wrong with burlesque, out of context, in that it isn’t sexist, and isn’t a striptease (which could be wrong).

But now they are saying sorry for being ‘tone deaf’, that even though burlesque isn’t wrong, and shouldn’t be portrayed as a striptease, in the current political environment surrounding the industry at large, it was not a great decision and they recognise how it could easily be seen by the masses as offensive.

For that, they are sorry.

@S&MSachie: Don’t be so simple.

They are saying there is nothing wrong with burlesque, out of context, in that it isn’t sexist, and isn’t a striptease (which is wrong).

But now they are saying sorry for being ‘tone deaf’, that even though burlesque isn’t wrong, and shouldn’t be portrayed as a striptease, in the current political environment surrounding the industry at large, it was not a great decision and they recognise how it could easily be seen by the masses as offensive.

For that, they are sorry.

“In 2014, 18% of our Creative hires were female and in 2015 this increased to 30% of hires.

This is simply not true.

“However, as there was a series of performances, the consideration that a burlesque routine may not have been appropriate in this context was overlooked. This has been a strong reminder to be more diligent about ensuring these sensitivities are always at the forefront.”

This is just spin ….what does this even mean?

This did not sit well with me, the whole thing seemed wrong, but there was something sinister to me as well. It wasn’t the lady exploding out of a cake, that’s your basic offensive, stupid move. No. It was those bags over those heads. Bags over heads.
Anyone, please. remind me when that looked normal?
it’s not a great look in a war. Do those bags on heads remind anyone else of something that makes my skin crawl?
It’s not a great look in abuse of a person in general.
And wow, I thought we were talking more about how to address abuse these days. Maybe not.

And as a ‘lighthearted’ example as Saatchi might reference it, it remains quite simply Objectification.

Here’s the definition, which I’d love to hear Saatchi respond to:
“Female sexual objectification by a male involves a woman being viewed primarily as an object of male sexual desire, rather than as a whole person.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_objectification

Tell me how putting a bag on a woman’s head and exposing the rest of her body doesn’t do that.

Grubs. The mumbrella team, not M&C.

Any PC Bros here?

That press release is farcical. Basically they are saying that they didn’t do anything wrong but that they have offended people with ‘sensitivities’. Don’t bother apologising unless you do it properly and genuinely. Those of us who work with M&C have come to expect this mentality from the senior management – may only be 21 years but those who run it are as old school as they come.

Burlesque is ok.

The environment in which it was performed is not.

Everyone on here recognises it.

They’ve apologised and said they’ve learnt a lesson.

I hope others have to.

We need to move on.

If burlesque is an art form that does not involve the objectification of women, why then are each of the female participants so stereotypically attractive?

Burlesque: Striptease for the educated classes.

what a hatchet job from Mumbrella.

Oh the joy of getting a PR spun apology. Best.

Maybe you should take some advice from the OMA who don’t allow OOH creative where the head is not visible on a body for things like underwear ads, etc. Probably should have applied this common sense before putting a bag on a woman’s head in a workplace party and calling it art.

Peter Bosilkovskis apology was sincere and really owned it.
This does not acknowledge their part in perpetuating the problem in the industry.
It smacks of M&C simply wanting to look good in the eyes of their clients.

Completely agree.

Goodbye Mumbrella. When your team decided to take a moral and highly critical stance on the industry whose activities you depend on for your existence, your platform as an advertising media ceased to meet my information needs. Biting the hand that has fed you very well is not an attractive quality. If you wanted to be the moral guardian of Advertising, you should have relinquished your role as a reporter of facts. As you have now joined the ‘outraged’ type of commenting, I find you do not suit my needs for information of an industry, for all its flaws, has served me well.

LM is completely correct.

I can verify 100% that M&C did not significantly increase its female creative hired by 30% in 2015. This is complete spin.

While M&C might have women in senior roles, such as GM, the women they have in these roles are the types of people who won’t rock the boat or add anything real to the gender conversation. What is the point of women in positions of power if the only thing they do is verify the archaic behaviours/attitudes of their male peers??

I’d prefer it if M&C either
1) actually apoligized and meant it
Or
2) took issue with Mumbrellas criticism and contributed to the “important conversation” meaningfully with their opposing view or rebuttal.

this apology/statement is half-assed and tries to do both of the above very poorly. It also invites more questions than it answers.

Bore off with your faux outrage

Time to move on

An astonishing backflip from the defence offered less than 24 hours ago.

It appears M&C woke up, saw it was in the top 5 headlines and realised its entertainment choices weren’t just reflecting poorly on its own brand, but also those brands it represents.

Did a client say something? We’ll probably never know.

But when you’re in the spotlight, so to are your clients with whom you supposedly share common beliefs and values. With the gender equality debate in fullswing throughout other industries, who would want an agency with a tattered image on big issues instead of leadership?

This apology is a cynical attempt to redress this.

To the M&C staff and its industry friends – you can defend this all you want, but you’re a minority interest group in this debate. There hasn’t been an inch of media support for M&C this weekend. That silence speaks volumes.

Lastly, no matter how ‘creative’ you might be M&C, you’ve also demonstrated how out of touch you can be as well. Who would you credit for that?

Objectification is everything to do with the audience and nothing to do with the event unfolding.

I grew up in an area where topless bathing was the norm. I didn’t think it was ‘sexualised’ in any way, nor would I think Burlesque to be sexualized. Maybe in 1890, but come on people, the 60s granted all of us a lot of freedom.

Total neo-Puritan hatchet job.
A new low.

Two lessons here.

If you’re going to have an agency party:

– Don’t put footage of it on Youtube.

– Don’t invite Mumbrella.

1.If you are in communications and you are tone deaf to the audience, what does that say about your campaigns?
If half the seniors in the company are female, isn’t that all the more reason to be sensitive?

– if you are in communications and you are tone deaf to your audience, what does that say about the rest of your campaigns?
– if so many of your senior women and execs are female, where were they when this creative execution was being planned?
– blaming the media – or being tone-deaf to their message (because they don’t tell you what you want to hear like everyone else) is facile and a great way to go broke

Oh there you go, they apologised – their employees and buddies have repeatedly told us how the reaction was the problem (‘faux outrage’) and that it’s Mumbrella’s fault, and we don’t realise how artful striptease is (especially when combined with cakes and bags on heads (edgy!)…

Just like Leo’s did.

No, no problem here….as a man, I’m physically revolted by the shit people will tell themselves to excuse the endemic, gross sexism in the industry…

Yes yes, thankyou, we know one or two are hired. But there’s the problem right there.

@Free the nipple…

hey dude, nice to see you know your feminist events…

shame u dont have a fucking clue what objectification is.

I guess that proves it, 2 out of 2 agencies so far who don’t get it and their lame employees and dependents blame Mumbrella.

Own it losers, then you might learn something.

Why do they have so much money to waste?

You seem to have a lot to say on the issue Pugwash. Why are you hiding behind anonymous comments?

If you are as passionate as you say. Why don’t you own it?

Drawing attention to inappropriate behaviour is fine but surely advertising the act you are so outraged against demonstrates an equal lack of judgement.

Oh please! Can everyone just calm on down. As a woman, I do not find this at all offensive – it was a beautiful show! In fact, its actually pretty tame versus the silly hype it has generated. Move on people!

At first I wasn’t sure which I found worse – the news about some sleazy ad company party or discovering the fact that some of these wankers refer to themselves as ‘creatives’. Now I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.

So many butthurt M&Cers in here acting in the same defensive way as some of Leo’s clan last year. Bet you were happy to call them out on their BS though.

This isn’t a surprise. The agency is really good at big ideas but extremely old school to deal with and extremely hierarchical. They’re just realising that digital is sort of an important channel!
I was there at the party – it was too much but it’s what you would expect from them. Any nod to gender balance is all talk I’m afraid.

I am a client – thankfully M&C Saatchi is not my agency. I’d fire them for being stupid. (And recklessly spending money)

FFS!!!
It’s their party and unless you were there and somehow took offense, stay the hell out of it!
P.S. For this who are unaware (most of you) the very origins of Burlesque centre around it being a parody. Yep, a pisstake. And it would appear by all the media attention generated, the acts did it brilliantly.

UUmmmm, We are in advertising arnt we? MC just made an awesome free publicity stunt and clients out there are talking (good & Bad). Now the MC name is everywhere.
Congrats! very clever.

Another win for the Wowsers, ably supported by the un-likeable and anonymous pugwash who is rude, conceited and writes like he spends too much time sending SMS’s.

Move on ! Totally over the top moral outrage because it is so easy to respond. Though bags on heads not a good look. Much harder to generate the same level of moral outrage from the industry over treatment of kids in asylum for example – can the industry do an ad campaign for free ? This is where moral outrage should be directed- where it really matters. Not some industry party.

Thank you Mumbrella.

I’m afraid so many of us are institutionalised we think all of this is normal. You are often the only reminder that it’s not.

So interesting to hear that plaintive catch-cry: “why don’t people just move on?” or “calm down!” It’s usually because the original offence hasn’t been properly understood, the apology is defensive and hence rather meaningless.

The longer this story goes on for, the more lopsided the coverage becomes. Ask smh.com.au, as I’m sure saying ‘stripper’ gets a lot more clicks than ‘burlesque performer’. None of the republished articles make mention of the topless male waiters, nor the drag queen. You know why? It hurts the sensationalist ‘misogyny in advertising’ narrative.

Would a burlesque performance be appropriate at a bank function? Nope. Would topless waiters fly at the KPMG Christmas party? Certainly not. Will Wesfarmers be looking to have a transgender acrobat at the EOFY luncheon. Unlikely.

It’s all massively inappropriate, but isn’t this industry supposed to be risque? A little bit different? The day we look at accounting firms and see the two industry cultures as the same, it will be a very sad day.

Every time M&C have a party the sad losers who don’t get invited, and a few who do
but clearly weren’t beautiful enough to fit in get all snippy about it. The problem is non existent folks so act your age and go back to your kale smoothies and complaining about the Australia Day lamb advertisement.

Adam, When you invite media as M&C did, you can’t say ‘stay the hell out of it’. It’s no longer a private event. Mumbrella was invited because of its role. And that also means they were there to do their job, not compromise it.

I’m genuinely amazed by the number of people who have been suggesting Mumbrella had no right to do this story?!? People in this industry are dumber than I thought if they don’t understand the basis of journalism.

@knobcreek invited media – in other words, someone who was there – is obviously excluded..

@ KGB.

What about Virgin Mobile, or Smirnoff, or Lexus? Would you say that it’s inappropriate if it was any of them hosting this party? I would say (I wasn’t there) that this party would be bang on brand for all of them.

The question – is it on brand for M&C? and does M&C want to be KPMG or does it want to be Virgin Mobile? From the reports, nothing at the M&C party was anything more offensive than what you’d see at Sydney Festival..

What a PR disaster!

Two strikes and this agency is out :

Firstly , the decision by management to present this type of “entertainment”; and

Secondly, the pathetic written excuse.

If this is typical of the agency;s creative and organisational ability I would never retain them.

Yawnarama

Wonderful idea for an agency party to be flamboyant. More please.

Shame only the women were semi-clad. More nudity, less outrage it would seem.

Hardly objectification you prudes. Just women dancing. Sex sells in our business. Get used to it.

Besides when did you become allergic to fun? If it’s not your taste then find a quiet corner for a moment. Sensibilities are easily protected if you try.

On brand? Sound investment? Good questions!
Probably easy to answer for a company that’s been in business for 21 years. Well earned I say.

Now let people enjoy a party in peace ffs and stop mistaking prissy industry gossip for worthwhile industry news or rumour

Hello, it’s a 21st birthday party, I would have been thrilled to have this group play and perform at my 21st.

Good on them for spending the money locally and not flying everyone to Bali. Pity other companies didn’t follow their lead.

@Adam ; @KG and others who claim it’s just a parody, no harm done. Women are discriminated against by conscious and unconscious bias all the time. Actually the same arguments that “it’s not offensive, it’s just fun” were the same arguments that tried to defend the Black and White Minstrel Show. That was totally acceptable until everyone realised that it wasn’t.

Sure there is a place for burlesque but it is not at a workplace function in an area where women are fundamentally not given equal rights (the statistics on salaries and numbers of women in senior positions don’t lie).

If you really cannot see the problem with bags over half naked women’s heads at a workplace event then I shudder to think what else you think is ok. If this is really no big deal, then why are you getting so miffed and trying to shut down the conversation?

Bravo Mumbrella.

@howard bull

You weren’t at the party. You have no basis, other than sensationalist journalism from Mumbrella, to make such comments.

Read AdNews. Read B&T. Read Campaign brief.

Proper industry publications calling it like it was. Not click bait designed to fuel a fire and ultimately make Mumbrella more money.

As a researcher who has experienced the superior attitude of so many males in the advertising world and who are so averse to having their ‘creatives’ assessed, I’m not surprised by their performance re the entertainment and their spin following the public outcry.
Where is the so called creativity that M&C brag about? Having such crass ‘entertainment’ is proof as to how uncreative and oafish they are and how out of touch they are with the world today.

Mumbrella, you are starting to sound like a bunch of PC kill-joys. I preferred B&T’s coverage of this non-story.

Topless male waiters, burlesque dancers, girls jumping out of cakes… it’s satire, stupid!

I don’t work in advertising, and this event, and the false apology, just smack of a company who hasn’t caught up to modern business in Australia.

@benji

Read B&T or AdNews for a more balanced story

@WhiteMen Black & white minstrels … a function where women didn’t have equal rights … really?!! I suggest you venture out of your 60’s cocoon one night and see a Burlesque show, where you’ll find at least 50% of the audience are female.
As for ‘what else I think is ok’ a very obviously tongue-in-cheek adland 21st held by a great creative agency is very much ok by me.
Oh, an tnd the handbags over their heads? I’ll say it again: P-A-R-O-D-Y.

To all the M&C defenders out there, just reverse the genders for a second. Imagine the party planner’s pitch: first we’ll get a near-naked bloke to jump out of a cake; then we’ll have a g-string clad guy spread his legs for everyone while hanging from a rope; and to top it off we’ll have a bevvy of fit young boys rubbing handbags across their groins while gazing vapidly into the distance. Cringeworthy? Stupid? Plain embarrassing? Are you starting to get it now?

I have to say I find this all disturbing. I love this industry and, in my view, you can participate in its machinations as much as you like or as little as you like. Yes it’s changing. Yes it needs to.

However I understand that the boys club exists particularly in the creative side of the industry – it’s a shame. But it’s rare that it is embodied across a whole agency. Most that I know have a very robust program of addressing gender diversity.

I have never worked for M&C. Nor freelanced. But many of the people I’ve worked with (and for) are female success stories who have climbed the peak at M&C Saatchi. I’m not going to name for fear of embarrassing them on this thread, but one thing is for sure, they all worked for the people who have become the targets for the entertainment at this party. The people who have been there for 21 years developing our young into leaders.

Mumbrella should truly be ashamed of themselves for these personal and destructive attacks on the agency and its lead staff. The agency is a progressive Communications company, founded by people with an innate feel for the arts. In my opinion the fact that most of these acts are sold out within a few days of the Sydney Festival only amplifies their commitment to this. Its ludicrous to suggest other motives given the mix of people present. It goes without saying M&C as a brand that I expect a strong embodiment of the arts.

Mumbrella we can’t wait to see the pictures from your next party. God help you if it’s more that lolly bags and a jumping castle.

@Joanne:

Where do I start? If nothing else, you have been unintentionally hilarious.

Firstly, you know the “G string clad guy” you refer to? Well, if you read the original piece you would have noted that the acrobatic performer was actually transgender. So, I’d suggest before you spout your ill informed nonsense, get an understanding of the facts.

You also ignore the fact that there were topless male waiters and scantily clad male dancers. Working with your ‘reversal’ scenario, these would have been females.

So, even if you apply your ‘reversal’, it would result in a bit of risque performance from both genders, exactly as the situation was on the night.

Typical hysterical nonsense from the “i’m outraged” brigade.

There was a certain agency’s 2015 Christmas party that featured extremely muscular males in nothing but tiny white speedos but I as a male had no problem with it. Because despite being a stone-cold dumb dumb my ideas are still taken seriously. Because I work mostly with males. Because I at any one time, besides a drunken dickhead in the Cross, don’t have to worry for my safety 24/7 like women do.

In any one isolated moment a woman shaking her tits isn’t a big deal but when you have to go through life facing this kind of crap it would get real tiring. I’m not some lefty baby but give women a break.

@Bravo – The B&T article was nothing more than a serious bum lick to M&C Saatchi CEO Jaimes Leggett possibly in the hope of getting invited to more events like this.

Mumbrella I think it’s a disgrace that despite begrudgingly inviting you our party and buying you a beer once a year you refuse to trot out agency press releases verbatim as we ask.

Who the hell do you think you are having an opinion of your own?

I went to a brilliant Commonwealth Bank employees (and friends) conference last year, Wired for Wonder. One of the keynote speakers was Cindy Gallop talking about Sextech and Porn.

How is it ok for Cindy to do this at a work conference but she then slams Satchis for a Burlesque performance-Burlesque of course being beloved by a certain kind of Inner City Hipster Female.

Confused.

The apologists for M&C are beginning sound like the folk who couldn’t see anything wrong with the treatment of Adam Goodes by certain footy fans. The world has moved on, people. This isn’t about PC wowserism, it’s about applied common sense- what’s appropriate for a time & place. Why are scantily clad people appropriate for the Spiegletent but not a workplace function? Well, to paraphrase Justin Trudeau: “Because it’s 2016”.

Meanwhile advertising’s golden couple, Michael & Patsy haven’t yet found time to write their own opinion piece on Campaign Brief. Quite extraordinary that they’re lost for words on such a big issue. Wasn’t CB at the party?

Amidst all the sturm und drang this past week about male sexism in the local advertising industry (of course it’s rampant, this is Australia we’re talking about), and how tasteless or inappropriate a burlesque show with deeply sexist overtones may be for an ad agency’s anniversary party (they’re selling image let’s not forget), all re-triggering the recurring debate about the severe lack of gender diversity in the industry (this is where all parties on every side spin out their skewed and completely self-serving set of statistics), then the usual counter protests from the agency and their fellow travellers claiming political correctness gone mad, the invasion of the fun police, cries of ‘it’s not the party I attended’ and ‘this is a beat-up, click-bait, etc.’, followed inevitably by the few female employees from the mostly male team charged with doing the offending standing by their men, and close on those high heels the cries of artistic license in the use of ‘stripping’ (a rose by any other name) as a neo-performance genre worthy of inclusion at museum level exhibitions (see Jeff Koons and Cicciolina presumably), all wrapped up in a non-apology apology by the agency in question in which their ‘creative’ bonafides are paraded out for all to see and testified to by significant and worthy apologists from rival agencies, and industry colleagues alike, with last but certainly not least the predictable attacks on the ‘journalists’ who published the critique of the event and the overt threats to blackball them from the industry for their having dared to call into question the actions of those who invited them to attend the thinly veiled version of a knees up in the first place, there is one very significant detail that has been overlooked.

A top creative advertising agency, on the occasion of their 21st anniversary, where clients and industry heavyweights and the press (a captive and attentive audience of those who matter the most to the agency’s financial future and status as innovators), had all been invited to celebrate, this agency who had the opportunity to use the once in a company’s existence chance to showcase themselves in a unique and profound way, one that could likely establish them as the standard for creativity in the region for some time to come, this group of individuals (male or female is insignificant for the point being argued) chose for the auspicious evening to put on a series of cliched 1950s-60s styled performances more reminiscent of the age of the industry in mid-20th century than the early 21st, ostensibly a Mad Man theme party, without the fancy dress.

Look in the dictionary under Fail, and you’ll likely see the photos of the event that Mumbrella published, replete with Louis Vuitton bags as symbolic stand-ins for women’s heads.

If there were a crime at this event, and there may have been several, before, during, and afterward in the socio-political dust up that followed, this is surely the most damning.

Just a reminder:

Creative – cre·a·tive – krēˈādiv – adjective
1. relating to or involving the imagination or ORIGINAL IDEAS, especially in the production of an artistic work.

Lost me at the first set of brackets and reminded me why long copy ads went the way of the Dodo.

Let’s be honest, Adam, you were likely lost at the first three-syllable word, long before the brackets.

The whole idea of the ‘long form’, run-on sentence was to metaphor the exhausting nature of the myriad arguments that have sallied forth on this issue, pro and con; all missing a rather important point for a creative ad agency, that their performance was not very creative, was imitative at best, even a bit tired as an idea given the omni-presence of Mad Men in the media, and as an addendum maybe sexist as well.

Curious, do you come up a bit short everywhere, or just with your attention span? I suspect you’re an all rounder, aren’t you.

Believe me Aldo, it’s not us, it’s you…

Ah Aldo, Aldo, Aldo :/

@Aldo

Just above the command/alt key (on your keyboard) is a period.

Just a reminder.

@Felicity.

[quote] “Tell me how putting a bag on a woman’s head and exposing the rest of her body doesn’t do that”. [unquote] It doesn’t do that, and to be fair, they were not in this instance, exposing the rest of their bodies. Men dressed only in swimming trunks, wearing bags on their heads says what? Sexual objectification of men? I doubt it; obscure? Maybe, simplistic? Maybe.

“Female sexual objectification by a male involves a woman being viewed primarily as an object of male sexual desire, rather than as a whole person.”

Human beings are multi faceted, we all possess some form of sexual allure, which is not in our immediate control, but in the eye of the beholder. however, not all of us are sexually orientated in the biological, or reproductive way.

How then, would we describe a situation where a woman views a woman primarily as an object of sexual desire? What criterion or criteria does a woman look for in a man, or woman who will do for tonight?

This attack on the 21st birthday bash with girls in a cake, girls with bags on heads, and burlesque type dancing, is unwarranted and hypocritical in my opinion.

@aldo we will call you if we need you. Really. Promise.

Not quite up to speed with these newfangled emoticons thingys, are you Aldo 😉

“Let’s Aldo the shit out of that”.
(Creative director to copywriter, after reading their short and snappy sentence-driven copy).

I find it pretty funny that M&C Saatchi think that a ‘gal’ jumping out of a fake cake is somehow original. And that scantily clad performers is risque.

It’s not original or risque. It’s simply inappropriate and stupid. And quite frankly embarrassing.

And are we really going to waste time debating whether women or men discarding clothes is either stripping or art? Just because the powers that be at M&C believe they are somehow ‘creative geniuses’, advertising agencies are, at the end of the day, an employer, and need to behave as such.

That said, they’ve done their client’s a service.
If you have an agency that is still stuck in the ‘sex sells’ era (and most likely wants you to spend millions on useless TVCs that stroke their own ego and line their pockets); then you really need to move on.

Quite frankly you are stupid to be with an agency that is happy to throw away money celebrating themselves (in such a public way) and too insular to see that it was going to end badly.

@Groucho If only you were a fraction as clever as the man whose name you’ve appropriated. Really.

@LM From someone who calls himself Loud Mouth, we’re offered instruction in creative writing. How special. Your Mum must be proud, and by the way, don’t forget to bring home the milk. She’s worried there’s not enough for your supper.

A critique of substance might have been more interesting than notes on form, but then how would you know?

No worries. Mistaking brevity with having something to say is common in Juniors.

Best for you to stick with New and Improved. You’ll be right.

@Adam Keep it short, mate. Fewer chances for error, or much of anything else really.

@Out of breath Just above the command key (on my keyboard, and on everyone’s other than yours) is a comma. Just a reminder.

It would appear that breath isn’t the only thing you’re out of.

@Super

What the hell do you mean [quote] “stuck in the ‘sex sells’ era” [unquote] We are in, and have always been in, the sex sells world.

Youth, beauty, and wealth, are the three factors that always create attention, and are usually forgiven a multitude of sins in this world.

In spite of social media and internet saturation of the minds that once read nothing but bubblegum wrappers and comics, the majority of humans are still driven by our deepest instincts. We love to imagine that we are highly individual and above the baser self, but this is at best a pipe dream, and at worst a delusion.

What we know so far about Aldo: he’s a PC user, so isn’t a Creative; he calls dinner supper, so he’s either well advanced in age or a Pom; he’s a stickler for correcting punctuation, so he’s the very least borderline OCD; he absolutely must have the last word, so he’s probably on the client side. Oh how desperately I wanted to put the apostrophe in the wrong spot in “he’s”.

Reading your attempt at writing like James Joyce (unsuccessful) I wondered quite what sort of weird one you were. Then I saw the last post at 3:33 am and I answered my own question..

@Pitch Doctor. First, it’s Proust not Joyce, and for those like yourself who don’t get around much, 3:33 AM is not the middle of the night everywhere.

@Adam Maybe it’s been awhile since you actually looked at a Mac keyboard, but that’s understandable, what with the typing before thinking, observing, or having anything of significance to say. What we know about Adam is that he has a hard time accepting language that he’s unfamiliar with, but again, a limited vocabulary wouldn’t be a problem for his short, snappy style of copy. We also know that he’s an ethnocentric bigot, and a few years from now, when he’s busy with the only job he can get writing catalogue descriptions that are ‘short and snappy’, he’ll learn the value of actually comprehending the one language with which he has a minor understanding. Those catalogue clients will demand it.

#88 I like this game! What do you know about me, Aldo-nonymous?

What we know so far about LM: he chooses Loud Mouth for an Internet handle, but in person, he’s really quite timid; he’s just turned 30, but still lives at home with his Mother and two cats, telling himself nearly every day that he’s going to finally get a place of his own; he sees himself as a writer and spends all his spare time at the agency churning out alternate copy to the work being presented by his creative team to their CD, as practice for the day when he’ll finally submit his own portfolio . . . until then he’ll continue on as a junior producer, running errands for the account team; at the agency he goes unnoticed as the least outspoken of anyone in his team, and the person most of his colleagues think of as being agreeable; online however, his secret personality emerges in anonymity as an aggressive opponent of political correctness, and a staunch defender of male values; he’d like to have a girlfriend, but always seems to stumble at hello; he’s a Libra, enjoys long walks on the beach, but sadly, always alone; the secret he refuses to tell anyone, even his Mother, is that his favorite films are not Star Wars or Raging Bull, but nearly any romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant.

Playing the man and not the ball.

Classy.

Sorry Aldo… female, 48, long term partner, art director. No cats, parents overseas. No immediate desire for a girlfriend (although we’re all just one tequila away from the dark side, aren’t we?).
Oh, and I’m an assertive Pisces whose favourite film is Magnolia. Not Steel Magnolias, the other one.
Nice try though. Super-snappy copy!

I think you hit the wrong target, Aldo-nonymous. That hurt.

Ah Aldo 🙁 With just the teensiest bit of creative thought you would have worked out to click my name to work out my job. Although I’m sure @LM will appreciate what I do far more than you. But then again …

@LM, Adam, David Hague, not LM, et. al.

Playing the Woman, evidently, and the ball, but then in a social media shrouded, semi-anonymous world, this is all laced with fiction . . . isn’t it just, and these ‘bios’ more wish fulfilling fantasies than hard copy.

In the immortal words of Groucho, no not the real one, the faux Aussue online version, ‘Really’.

It is well know in the industry that 10 of M&C’s creative hires have come from Andy poaching from his previous agency. 9 men and 1 woman is what i’ve been told. At least 4 of the positions were CD roles.
This only adds up to a 10% increase female hires (1 person).
I’d love to see a full list of all of M&C’s creative hires (and their titles) so we can truly see this 30% increase in female creatives and celebrate it!

Bugger, if I’d known my bio was meant to be a wish-fulfilling fantasy, I would have said I was 35. And a creative director.

Honestly, in my opinion, as long as they’re not breaking any laws, anybody who starts a business can do whatever the heck they want.

Having women jump out of cakes?

No law broken.

Hiring blokes over women?

No law broken.

Of course their clients can work out if they want to deal with them or not, but the truth of the matter is, as long as they’re not breaking the law – and they remain an independent agency – who gives a toss?

@LM

Why aren’t you a CD a the age of 48?

Cue the deadly silence.

@Groucho – probably because she’s a woman which is the point we are making. please use the deadly silence to consider the conscious and unconscious bias against women which is why CDs are predominantly men. white men hire white men whether they consciously know they do or not (see the Leo Burnett we-only-hire-white-men-for-senior-positions debacle).

@fFs – ok, you’re right, no law was broken. But the maintaining the status quo of bias against women is the same arguments that were used to justify the white Australia policy and other previously legal discrimination.

Bags on womens’ heads perpetuates the bias and discrimination. it’s not appropriate for a workplace.

What I don’t understand is, even if us feminists have got this whole thing totally wrong, why does it upset (many) men so much. One does not give oxygen to argue about something which clearly has no merit. So why are you bothering and getting upset about it with narky posts on this. Is it some kind of subconscious need to maintain the power because if there was a level playing field you’d have more competition to deal with? Otherwise, I seriously just don’t get some of the outraged and annoyed reactions.

@ 99 Groucho , not the frequently posting one, fuck off and get your own identity (Mummy you know I post with my email address). You have prolbably never written anything original which is why you can’t manage a post as yourself. Your try hard post is just not up to scratch. Wit needs intelligence you see.

I don’t want to be one, simple as that. To be honest, the older I get, the less career oriented I am.
Is the sisterhood going to throw eggs at my house now?

Mummy, someone’s gone and stolen my identity, which I stole from someone who actually had an identity, and intelligence, and wit . . . which is why I stole it, and now it’s happened to me . . . . I know I’m just a hopeless regular troll on an advertising blog site, but I have my rights, don’t I?

@103 Groucho of course you have rights. You have the right to be a fuckwit, you have the right to attempt humour . You are good at the former, a failure at the latter so stop trying. Idiot.

I know you are, but what am I?

Spent 10 years in the media business. Left 5 years ago. Sad to see it is now full of a bunch uptight, Ned Flanders PC wowser Social Justice Warriors.

The thing I liked about it so much was that media WAS so different from other industries. Next you’ll be telling me that Friday after work bags aren’t even the done thing anymore?

Might as well be working in accounting!

@105Grouchos the words loser, sad, idiot, and twat come to mind. You arrange them in the order that suits you. If you can cope with that many possibilities

It looks like a fun party . I’d like to work for them. I can imagine how booooooring the Mumbrella parties must be …..What is the issue here . A company can run a party how ever it likes . The law has not been broken . Does Mumbrella think it’s the moral police .How come so many guys comment on how a woman feels. I don’t comment on how men feel . Get over yourself guys – you don’t really mean it . PC is BS