Neil French, a legend in the advertising industry, has resigned from WPP Group after suggesting women with families aren’t as equipped as men to succeed in advertising.
The former creative chief at WPP Group said in an AdAge.com interview that his remarks at a Toronto gathering were blown out of proportion:
“All the reporting was out of context. I did not say female creatives are crap. What I did say is that when somebody asked why are there so few creative directors I said it was because they can’t put in the hours….
“I know two female creative directors who are at the top of the tree but they either spent a long time before they had a [family] or decided not to have one because they’d rather have a career. I was married to one, for God’s sake, I know this.”
Long known in the creative industry as a controversial figure, and as equally known for his brilliance in copywriting, French resigned from his position to take the heat off his boss, WPP CEO Martin Sorrell. His contract requires he give the firm six month’s notice, so he will still be on until April.
As to how he ended up in the situation, French said “It’s death by blog, isn’t it?” and expounded his view on the blogger who started the mess. “The point is the vast percentage of the people who were there said “What was all that about?” Of course, it’s one woman getting her knickers in a twist and writing a long diatribe on a Web site and then all the other people with nothing to do joining in.”
The ‘woman with twisted knickers’ would be Nancy Vonk, a co-chief creative officer at WPP Ogilvy Toronto. She posted at length about French’s comments in her blog the day after the event.
It seems as though if anyone should have anticipated some incendiary comments from French, Vonk would have been that person. She contributed to the promotional copy for the October 6th ‘A Night With Neil French’ event way back in July:
“Ogilvy is pleased to partner with ihaveanidea to create “A Night With Neil French”. One of the most heavily awarded copywriters of all time, this outspoken Clio Hall of Fame member has done it all and lived to tell. Our favourite ad legend will share his eye-opening perspective during an evening not to be missed. Between Neil, Rick Boyko and Mark Fenske, the stage may spontaneously combust,” warns Nancy Vonk, Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy in Toronto.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
