Why advertising needs more voices

[Music]

i’m going to take this opportunity today

to tell you the story of what it

feels like to have bowls

bowls a very personal male story

do you think i can do it and if

there is an owner of an actual set of

balls standing next to me

should they tell the story consider it

companies right now are investing

billions in shaping the way

we see things through stories

in short advertising is shaping

the way we think through their stories

i’m not here today to tell you there is

anything wrong with that

i have been producing ads for many years

and

i actually love how ads can have impact

on the way we see the world and

do good

who is actually telling us these stories

an example a global makeup brand

makes a campaign about the uh

story of a woman’s journey through to

old age

and her relationship with her own image

in short what it feels like to be a

woman

i hear the voice over it goes

all these questions we women ask

ourselves is it my body

am i getting old will somebody love this

face wait

i have never said that and no one i know

has

but i’m thinking it now

will somebody love this face is in my

consciousness

and it’s starting to shape and influence

how i shape my story

it may come as a surprise to you that

this ad

was directed by a man and in the course

of shaping things behind the camera

he went on to make some changes to the

copy

initially written by a woman creative

the result paints a picture of

insecurity

and the solution to this insecurity

is to fall in love with one’s own beauty

no doubt and to be fair the brand’s

directive

but no one behind the camera pushed back

on this

the brand found an ally in a director

whose story

it isn’t her story

his lens the campaign went on to get

much praise so many likes and positive

press

he told us what it’s like growing up as

a woman

yeah the brand got lauded and

for moving the needle and celebrating

woman’s

power by not questioning the messaging

we let them

i’m not here today to single out this

particular brand or

that male director for accepting the job

the concept and system of

her story his lens is so normalized that

simply may never even cross the male

director’s mind

to say no

it’s funny right if i’m about to tell

you what it feels like to have

bowls in fact it’s perfectly normal for

a male director to be invited to tell a

woman’s very personal story

to a global audience

what it feels like to have balls it

lands in your inbox

you are a dude you reply i

got this a large part of the industry

doesn’t see a problem they’re too

invested

it truly is a collective blind spot

now this isn’t the isolated story of

man versus woman nor am i saying

that a woman should never tell a man’s

story

or vice versa it’s more than that

let’s look a bit deeper

if you are talking to black people

about their experience in racism

you’d hire a black director no a dating

app didn’t think so

they hired an entire white crew to

talk to people of color about their

experience with racism

you’re making a campaign wanting to

empower

middle eastern hijab-wearing muslim

women

and their amazing feats and successes in

professional

sports you hire a middle eastern muslim

women director to talk to them

to give the lens through which to view

this story no

a huge global sports brand didn’t think

why not hire a muslim director just do

and it’s not like there isn’t any you

know

directors available or great talent

around

great stories are being made everywhere

there really is no need to keep the

collective experience

and their lifting experience out

of stories that brands tell

and you know what it’s not just these

really deeply personal stories that

brands tell us these days

although you gotta admit that we should

at least get these

it is in fact more so about whether

diverse groups are getting the

opportunity to tell the