Showing posts with label Women's rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women's rights. Show all posts

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Letter to a female creative


............................................................................................................
Dear Miss Ford:
Your letter of recent date has been received in the Inking and Painting Department for reply.Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men.

For this reason girls are not considered for the training school.
The only work open to women consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink and filling in the tracing on the reverse side with point according to drections.

In order to apply for a position as “Inker” or “Painter” it is necessary that one appear at the Studio, bringing samples of pen and ink and water color work. It would not be advisable to come to Hollywood with the above specifically in view, as there are really very few openings in comparison with the number of girls who apply.
Yours very truly,

...............................................................................................................................................................

This letter, sent by Disney in response to a job inquiry made by one woman who applied for a creative position, is dated 1938.

Fortunately, 21 years later, a letter like this one wouldn’t have a chance to be written. In 1959 in USA came to life a new law, stating that no candidate can be rejected because of his sex.

This letter approaches us the reality of those years, and makes us feel fortunate, considering legal advances and social awareness that we have developed since that time.

Source: Creative Skirts.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Best and Worse spots showing actual women role Awards

Last December, Peru hosted FemTv and SapoTv Awards. These awards prize the best and the worse spots aimed at women by FemTV- a group of associations in favour of women rights.

The Winner of FemTV 2008 was Visa:



Credits
Brand: Vea Visa Card
Product: Credit Car
Agency: Publicis
Company: Peruvian Supermarkets, Banco Internacional del Perú, S.A.A

The Winner of SapoTV 2008 was Saga Falabella:



Credits Brand: Saga Falabella
Product: Store

Agency: Circus
Company: Saga Falabella

Axe, Unique, Natura, Nivea or Brahma were some of the brands nominated for the awards.

Fem TV
All the spots nominated for Fem TV awards show an economically independent women who is a family lover but at the same time likes looking after herself.

Thus, what is the difference between the nominated spots and the winner?
Vea Visa Card represents a woman capable of combining work and family without giving up looking after herself. The role represented in the spot is the ideal of an actual woman although in real life it is not always easy to work and have fun with a family at same time.

Sapo TV
Although among Sapo Tv there were some Axe spots, FemTV Group chose Saga Falabella supermarket as a winner.

According to the spot directors, it captures woman as a hysterical consumer and a person that succumbs to sexuality. This makes spot embarrass not only women but men as well.

This year the awards prized by the jury have been the same as spots chosen by the audience. This fact makes us think that the winner spot has been fairly chosen… or not?

Click her to watch all the nominated spots.

Which spots should have won, in your opinion?

Source: La Primera newspaper


Thursday, November 27, 2008

Woman in the Advertising Industry



Some days ago I read a really interesting survey: "La mujer en el sector publicitario. Categorías, especializaciones y conflicto trabajo-familia en las agencias españolas" (¨Woman in the Advertising Industry. Categories, Specializations and Job-Home Conflict in Spanish Advertising Agencies¨), conducted by Grupo Investigador Comunicación y Sociedad del Conocimiento (The Communication and the Society of Knowledge Investigation Group) from the University of Alicante, under the supervision of Marta Martín Llaguno.

The survey was done in 2004 and 2005 with the participation of 36 biggest Spanish advertising agencies, members of Asociación Española de Agencias de Publicidad (The Spanish Advertising Agencies Association), that divide between themselves about 80% of Spanish advertising cake.

The survey was published by AEAP and it’s available in Spanish on their web page.

It’s fundamental for anyone who wants to understand the functioning of Spanish (and not only Spanish…) market.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Offenders & defenders



About Face is an organization from San Francisco (California) that has got one goal: to defend women and teenagers from the advertising harassment. On their web page we may find a shortlist of offenders and defenders of women in advertisements. Through the means of the web we may participate in the activity of the organization as well.

It is very combative in its character and has gained this way a respect and authority among creatives and advertisers. To be included in the TOP 10 WOMEN OFFENDERS means troubles and is not very recommendable for any brand.

Creative games or creation of new values?

While searching for the fresh perspectives on a women’s role in advertising we have found this document:

It’s elaborated by the Ministry of Work and Welfare (the Spanish one) in the cooperation with the Secretary of Equality and Women’s Institute in Spain.

Even though it’s brief and too overloaded with graphics, it analyzes quite well the advertising profile when it comes to seducing consumers.

What it says, is that the health is nowadays a consumer’s good and thanks to great variety of ¨easy and instant-use¨ products one can face all kinds of situations.

What’s curious, this scheme works the same with men (with the exception of well known advertising protagonists: femme fatal, Lolita, woman-sexual gratis that comes with a product).

I think that this document should pass through advertising agencies so that we could rise the awareness, that what we do is not just a mere creative game but a problem that needs to be solved. It’s a high time to start looking for new values and new creative formulas. We have to create responsible habits and to avoid hurting people’s feelings.

It is really a great challenge for the advertising of this century.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Who dominate-Who is dominated

There are two worlds of bottom smacking, the world of BDSM and the world of ketchup bottles. The company, Dressing for Pleasure, a specialist in fetishwear and all things S&M related, married these two worlds by putting stickers of enticing rear ends on the bottoms of ketchup bottles. Thus inviting bar patrons to explore a completely different appetite while addressing their hunger.


The chosen stickers are these:




I think this controversial advert discriminate against women. From my point of view, it is directed only to men, heterosexual or homosexual, in their role of the one who dominate, so women only is represented as the one who is dominated.

This discrimination is subtle because there is a man's backside (anyway, there wouldn't be equity), so someone can argue the opposite. But I think this is the role of women that is offered. Moreover the only one who hits is a man's hand.


By the way, I haven't been able to find out the names of the creative team, because they aren't in the technical data. The campaign is made by JWT agency.


Source: Ads of the world

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Gold for borning female in India

I have read one copy that gave me goosebumps. This ad has been Gold Lion in the press segment at Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2008. The advert tries to make aware against female foeticide in India. The campaign was realized by the Indian Contract Advertising Pvt. Ltd. agency for the non-government organization Aadhar, which fights against this curse.

The strength of the ad is in its forceful, clear, direct, overwhelming copy. Also, it is shocking because this is something more than advertising. For the poor families of India to have a daughter becomes a serious problem, due to the dowry that the woman is used to pay to her husband. In the second country with more population of the world, the abortion is legal since 1971. However, knowing the sex of the baby before being born is banned to prevent the frequent selective aborts.


The ad starts with the copy “How to carry on the family name”. Then, it describes how to abort step by step. The final step is: “After three months, try again for a boy”.

In opinion of the Press Lions jury president, Craig Davis: “It’s wonderful that good work is coming out of places that were earlier not performing so well at Cannes. India is one of them. An entry like Aadhar ‘anti-female foeticide’ has beautiful copy”.

From here, our congratulations to India and specially to the female copywriter Anshumani Khanna. We hope, more than never, that this copy will be not only powerful, but also effective.


Creative team
Type of Entry: Newspaper
Category: Public Awareness Messages
Title: FAMILY NAME
Advertiser/Client: AADHAR
Product/Service: ANTI FEMALE FOETICIDE
Entrant Company, City: CONTRACT INDIA, Mumbai
Country: INDIA
Advertising Agency, City: CONTRACT INDIA, Mumbai
Country: INDIA
Executive Creative Director: Ravi Deshpande
Creative Director: Raghu Bhat/Manish Bhatt
Copywriter: Anshumani Khanna
Art Director: Manan Mistry/Vimal Singh
Typographer: Manan Mistry


Source: www.funonthenet.in
Source: http://theinspirationroom.com
Source: Desire creative

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Men also can

The Ministry of Equality has given the “Crea Igualdad” ("Create Equality") Award to the advertising campaign 'Ellos también pueden' ('Men also can') for the laundry detergent Puntomatic. Shackleton agency executes the spot. It has received the prize because of its explicit call to the egalitarian distribution of tasks at home.



Source: AmecoPress Information for Equality

The Minister of Equality against sexist advertising

In a commercial break of the Ministry of Economy and Treasury of the Government of Spain, a female psychologist recommends to a male patient to leave his work and forgets his wife because “she absorbs all their positive energy ”.

The masculine voice answers: “To leave my Puri? But are you crazy? If my Puri is the greatest! It´s clear that you haven't try my Puri's croquettes! ” Then, one third voice adds the slogan of the campaign: “If your life is as you choose, wouldn't your investment have to be the same? Buy Treasury Bills”.

On 29 of September, María Jesús Sainz, Popular Party senator and second vice-president of the Commission of Equality in the Senate, accused to the Government to make “sexist” publicity in this campaign for radio.

The minister of Equality, Bibiana Aído, declared that she would execute “the necessary steps to retire immediately the “spot” .

Source: http://www.facua.org/es/noticia.php?Id=3481&IdAmbito=22