US film and commercials director Alma Har’el (below) has launched Free The Bid, an initiative to ensure that at least one female director is included when an agency seeks triple bids on new projects. At present just under ten per ...
Read More »Cindy Gallop for new Publicis head coach?
At last we’re getting somewhere in the Kevin Roberts sexism farrago. Former BBH New York chairman (or should that be..) Cindy Gallop (below), who seems to have garnered about as much publicity out of this as Roberts, has tweeted: “My ...
Read More »Paul Simons : the Kevin Roberts saga – never mind the row, buy the book!
The Kevin Roberts diversity saga continues with yet another story in today’s Times (4th August). In conversation a few days ago a few of us were speculating there is more to this than meets the eye. Now we know – ...
Read More »Kevin Roberts resigns after diversity fiasco
Kevin Roberts (below) has resigned from Pubicis Groupe following the furore over his comments to Business Insider. Roberts, currently Publicis “head coach” was due to retire next May anyway. Roberts’ statement says: “Fail Fast, Fix Fast, Learn Fast” is a ...
Read More »Is dumped Saatchi boss Kevin Roberts the victim of a new industry orthodoxy?
What many people who have lined up to applaud the demise of Kevin Roberts for his supposedly sexist remarks have overlooked is that he’s been suspended by Publicis Groupe for voicing an opinion. Not for sexual harassment or discriminating against ...
Read More »Now Kevin Roberts is sidelined in new inclusion row
Is this inclusion/sexism stuff in adland getting out of hand? Colourful black-clad (yes he’s both) former Saatchi & Saatchi boss Kevin Roberts (below) – now “head coach” at Publicis Groupe – has been suspended for saying, among other things, that ...
Read More »Does Leo B’s new Always epic owe something to the Kevin Roberts theory of madvertising?
Sunday is International Women’s Day and Procter & Gamble’s Always and agency Leo Burnett are bringing back the #likeagirl campaign, as you would. This time the theme is ‘stronger together’ with girls doing un-girly things in a, well, male-ish way. ...
Read More »Paul Simons: marketing is about leadership – but you don’t see much of that in the Christmas ads
Last night I went to an event Lancaster University hosts annually at the Royal Society of Arts for alumni (and alumnae to be politically correct). These events are a legacy of Professor Sir Roland Smith who was the first professor ...
Read More »Saatchi’s love story for mystifying German gadget
Here’s heartwarming tale, ‘Love Sucks’ (pun intended), for the, wait for it, Vorwerk Kobold VR200. From Saatchi & Saatchi Dusseldorf. See if you can work out what it does. Saatchi Germany CEO Christian Ratsch says it’s an example of Saatchi ...
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