Diversity in the industry......

http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/rory_sutherlands_blog/archive/2009/08/30/the-ipa-oxbridge-and-lap-dancers.aspx

I came across an interesting article today which made me sit up straight, rub my eyes and clear my throat all at the same time. I was intrigued by the title and decided this article did not deserve a quick skim read. Instead it deserved my undivided attention and an open mind. Unfortunately, the issue was dodged it was a very poor article that the author put together. It was boring and had no real relevance.

The title was ‘Oxbridge and Lap Dancers’ and it was a blog entry from Rory Sutherland, big ad land cheese and top IPA thingamajig. The title intrigued me and his use of the word 'diversity' made me think I would be reading a well written blog entry about the lack of ethnic minorities in the industry and of women in senior positions. Although, I admit I am not 100% sure about the lack of women as during my experience I have come across various female account directors, account managers and managing directors. I was hoping for an interesting article about diversity in the workplace but unfortunately I was left disappointed.

The article coped out in my opinion as I have read articles which detail the lack of ethnic minorities in advertising and the lack of women in senior roles. This could have been a thoroughly engaging and honest look at the issues through the eyes of a well respected and intelligent ad land head honcho. At least we know who won out of the Oxford and Cambridge beef...Oxford have as there appears to be more Oxford guys in the industry than Cambridge...hooray (I think). I like Rory’s blog and he seems like an interesting guy but I think he didn’t want to cause any controversy.