It appears a misguided tweet from WPP CEO Mark Read has lanced one of the advertising industry’s biggest boils – ageism.
And now the indomitable Cindy Gallop has leant her two-cents worth to the debate, claiming that for too long adland has been run by “older white men” who “don’t seem to think ageism applies to them” and basically all have a youth fetish!
As reported on B&T yesterday, the 52-year-old Read reignited the ageism debate when he tweeted an answer to a question by a business analyst who asked if WPP had the right mix of TV and digital experts.
Read responded with: “We have a very broad range of skills, and if you look at our people – the average age of someone who works at WPP is less than 30 – they don’t hark back to the 1980s, luckily.”
Many soon took Read’s comments to be ageist, in that it inferred that anyone older than 30 couldn’t grasp the digital landsape.
Read quickly back-pedalled in two follow-up tweets, adding: “I’m sorry my reply suggested otherwise.”
But that wasn’t enough for the glorious Ms Gallop, who quickly seized upon Read’s comments.
In a series of tweets, Gallop railed: “This is why I have been fighting ageism in advertising for decades.”
Gallop then followed-up with this beauty: “The reason our industry is ageist as fuck is because the older white men who run it (and bizarrely don’t seem to think that #ageism applies to them in any way) fetishize youth.”
She then added: “Our industry badly needs older people – or, as I like to call us, experts.”
Before adding this typically sage point: “Ageism exists at every point along the age spectrum. You can be dismissed for being too young as well as for being too old.”
Twitter followers lauded Gallop for her stance. “He’s [Read] is obviously right: everyone under 30 is automatically a genius and everyone over 30 is automatically a moron, it’s not difficult Cindy, that’s why he gets the big bucks,” tweeted one.
Another added: “Notice how we don’t question if a baker with 20, 30, or 40 years of experience can still make fresh pastries.”
Check out all of Gallop’s withering takedown below:
Why have I been fighting #ageism in advertising for decades? Because: “If you look at our people – the average age of someone who works at WPP is less than 30 – they don’t hark back to the 1980s, luckily.” @readmark @WPP @gideonspanier @campaignmag https://t.co/cfboaX2pUu
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
“The reason our industry is ageist as fuck is because the older white men who run it (and bizarrely don’t seem to think that #ageism applies to them in any way) fetishize youth.” @3PercentConf
https://t.co/GVEjNd9zv3 #changetheratio #diversity #liveolder #sayyourage— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
“Our industry badly needs older people – or, as I like to call us, experts.” @3PercentConfhttps://t.co/4utrhgf1Fm Because we’re experts in all THIS – and what ad agency, holding company, and any company in general, doesn’t need THIS?! #disruptaging #sayyourage #liveolder #ageism pic.twitter.com/O5bLl7n4Sl
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
‘We’re a powerful force in popular culture w the ability to shape what people think, believe & do.We can change the way aging is depicted in ads by changing ageism within the industry itself. If we do that, we can change the way society views aging’ @adage https://t.co/dQFJKo9PG7
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
‘Ageism exists at every point along the age spectrum. You can be dismissed for being too young as well as for being too old.’ @adage https://t.co/dQFJKo9PG7 #LiveOlder #SayYourAge
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
‘Companies don’t understand that experience and expertise are incredibly time and cost efficient, and that they could be making huge amounts more money by hiring, promoting, valuing and retaining older employees.’ @NewDigitalAge1 https://t.co/HDmUHgXmBv #LiveOlder #SayYourAge
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) August 29, 2020
