Brands and agencies are being encouraged to pledge that every a year one third of the directors across production agency pitches will be from an underrepresented group.
The initiative, operating under the moniker Bid Different, has been set up by Caviar’s head of new business and executive producer, Mia Powell. She is also asking brands and agencies to carry out and publish a diversity audit of the directors that have been involved in pitches.
Powell said she set up the scheme after noticing a lack of female directors winning awards. Her research found that more than 75% of ads that won awards at the Cannes Lions festival this year were directed by a white person, and fewer than 19% were female.
For a more UK-focused look at the statistics, Powell analysed the British Arrows. Here, she found that more than 80% of the winning directors were male and fewer than 10% were from an ethnic minority background.
Powell told Campaign that she has been analysing the winners for the past four years as part of a presentation she delivers to agencies called Mind the Gap. She said that setting up Bid Different is not about “naming and shaming” but about showing how “representation is reflected in award-winning work”.
She added that she is trying to create a solution to something she has been talking about for a while. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” she said.
She also pointed out that there are fewer opportunities for directors due to budgets being cut and less work being made.
“Bigger directors, who would normally never work on, say, a £300,000 pitch, are now in that bid pool. And we're struggling to innovate newer directors, because that whole ecosystem is pushed down the funnel and it's really detrimental to the future of our industry; it's so scary.
“I [wrote] in my post [on LinkedIn] when the Jeffs, Jims and Johns are all retiring, that skill gap that [will arise] because of the lack of new voices coming through, that's when we're really going to see creativity take a hit because we won't have anyone to facilitate that kind of level of craft and work because they wouldn't have had the experience.”
Bid Different's pledges in full:
Part 1:
We pledge that 33% of directors across our pitches annually will be from an underrepresented group – that can be a public (or private) commitment, shared between clients, agencies, production co's as far as they are willing.
This gives the agency flexibility to bid how they want but may encourage more than just one female and one ethnically diverse person on a pitch, for instance.
Part 2:
We pledge to conduct and publish a diversity audit of the directors’, pitches and project awards our brand/advertising agency/production co. was involved with.
We suggest an assessment on a quarterly basis to ensure that brands and agencies are on track to reach the 33% target.
Alma Har’el, who has recently signed with Somesuch for projects in the UK and the Netherlands, set up Free the Bid in 2016. This called on ad agencies, brands and production companies to include at least one woman director to bid on every advertising job, and later evolved into Free the Work, which aims to increase diversity in filmmaking.
Powell noted the difference to her initiative: “Bid Different implores agencies to bid 33% underrepresented across the entire bid pool across their annual projects versus on third on each pitch. We also suggest they do internal audits quarterly to ensure improvements are being made.”
Cannes Lions has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the British Arrows said: “Our judging process is conducted entirely blind – jurors do not see any credits, ensuring the work is evaluated purely on its creative and craft merit.
“While this approach safeguards impartiality, it also means we have no visibility or influence over the diversity of the talent behind the entries, which can impact representation among winners. We wholeheartedly support initiatives like Bid Different and recognise that greater diversity in award outcomes begins with more inclusive commissioning and entry practices at the agency and production level.
“Our Young Arrows programme was created specifically to address this – to provide a platform for emerging, diverse talent and help open up the industry to the next generation of creatives.”
