Other Stuff
Mad Women - A Herstory of Advertising
In the US, only 11% of Creative Directors are women, an interesting fact seeing that 80-85% of the purchase decisions in the household, regardless of category, are made by women. Christina Knight felt it was high time to discuss the imbalance of the advertising industry and how it affects women, the workplace and the advertising that is produced. After 35 years as a copywriter and creative director, Knight wanted to celebrate a number of successful ad women, the role models she had longed for during her career. Meet Mary Wells Lawrence, Susan Hoffman, Shanteka Sigers, Shelly Lazarus, Kat Gordon and Jean Grow, six American ad women and their eleven female colleagues from across the world: Nina Åkestam Wiknér, Joanna Wong, Marianna Ghirlanda, Catrin Wagnemark. Rakhshin Patel, Stephanie Wurst, Anna Quennerstedt, Margaret Key, Cilla Snowball, Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke and Christina Knight herself.
Knight's aim is to inspire and empower a young generation of women - and men!- by showing it is possible to have a successful career in advertising and by sharing valuable experience and advice. She also hopes to inspire a dialogue between agencies across the globe and between women and men in advertising, as well as consumers, who would all benefit from an a more diverse, inclusive and gender equal industry. Second edition 2021. Available in print and as audiobook on Bokus, AdLibris. Residents outside of Sweden can order from the Book Depository with free shipping:
https://www.bookdepository.com/Mad-women-herstory-advertising-Marie-Tomicic/9789188613844?ref=grid-view&qid=1664873376693&sr=1-8
Review:
“I got this book when a friend in advertising recommended it and loved it. It's basically a straight-forward series of stories from women all over the world who work in advertising. It gets its message of perseverance and diligence across more clearly and entertainingly than most. It's definitely a niche book but I've already bought it for my teen nieces and highly recommend it for anybody after true stories of feminist career struggles.”/J Preston
‘Mad Women - A Herstory of Advertising’ won Gold in the international awards how MUSE Creative Awards 2022.
Not Buying it - A Guide to a New Era in Advertising
The independent follow-up to Mad Women was published by OLIKA Förlag in 2018. This is how Christina Knight describes the book:
"I believe we are done with the diagnosis; defining and stating the problem of the advertising industry, we know it more than well and we are not buying it. It s time for tangible tools and strategies so that we can solve the problem and not just talk about it. And that is precisely the raison d être of this book to offer specific aid on anything from negotiating for equal pay and tackling power play and inequality in your everyday life to recruiting and promoting diverse talent. My absolute belief is that it is possible and necessary to create a more equal, diverse and relevant advertising industry, beneficial to all. It’s high time. Let s make it happen."
Christina Knight
Available on Bokus, AdLibris and Amazon.
Review:
“I read this book before I got into the process of a new job in the communications industry, it was very helpful! It made me value myself higher, look at things with new eyes and reflect on / take a stand on things I might not have otherwise.”/Josefine