So yesterday I'm sitting with a good friend of mine who left the agency world and became a brand manager. When I asked her about what the transition from agency to client side felt like, she was quick to say "thank god people don't take me as a blonde anymore!".
You might think that marketing and ad industry types are "chanukad" but somehow there is a perception that females working in the industry are not the brightest crayons in the box. Where this came from, I have no idea but just listen to conversations on ad agency corridors and you will note the feelings.
A creative director I was working under once pointed out that creativity in the alcohol beverage industry died once women were made brand managers. He quipped "What does a housewife know about drinking habits of majority of the target market which is men?".
An agency MD once sent out an HR search for a beautiful chic from the same tribe as a particular client so that the agency could get more estimates signed. "I don't care if she can read or write, just get a girl in a short skirt and let her wave the estimate to the client and I am sure he will sign it."
Another notorious MD who is known for not mincing his words, once blasted a female account executive with these words. "You are not stupid, you are a hero. In fact, someone should hang you on a clothes line and let us watch all the stupidity drip out of you".
It is a fact that new chics in agencies go through hell. The kind of hell you see in movies when a chic wants to make friends with the popular cheer leaders. Its hard to gain acceptance within the girls who have their agency territory clearly marked.
I do not support the perception that agency lasses are blondes, but clearly ladies you have a task ahead. I would say that ye who adds value and does not just act like a glorified messenger will earn the respect deserved. So if you don't know, now you know.
Hey, that's just my opinion.
:)
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