Innocean, the creative agency behind the gender parity initiative F*ck the Cupcakes, and Independent B-Corp purpose-led agency Paper Moose have launched a voluntary industry charter called Love Our Work to foster more positive conversations within creative communities.
It asks agencies, production companies, trade press, and individuals to bring the industry together in an uplifting way by helping to inject pride back into conversations about the industry’s creative output.
The charter was created in response to findings from the Drop the Shade study conducted by the pair of agencies last year, which investigated how the industry is interacting with other people’s creative work, and how that in turn is impacting creatives.
The study found three quarters of respondents felt negative feedback was impacting talent retention and discouraging new talent from entering the industry. An overwhelming majority (77%) want to remove anonymous commentary from industry publications.
Innocean CEO, Jasmin Bedir, said that “as an industry, we grapple with attracting and retaining talent, mental health issues and a lack of inclusivity and diversity, but we’re also fighting for relevance and against ever decreasing profit margins. Toxicity amongst ourselves makes this multi-billion dollar industry smaller.
“I feel like this charter is the perfect public statement from all of us that sets the bar for how we should conduct ourselves. I don’t see how anyone that runs a business in this industry wouldn’t want to support it.”
The voluntary industry charter idea emerged after the findings from the study suggested he industry needs to to instil more pride in the work it creates, wth respondents expressing a desire for more constructive industry discourse.
Following consultation with production companies, agencies, and like-minded individuals in the industry, the charter is now live.
Jeremy Willmott
Paper Moose’s creative director, Jeremy Willmott, said that “having seen, first hand, the impact thoughtless comments about work can have on someone’s career, let alone how it affects me personally, I’m proud to be helping do something about it.”
He described the charter as “an ongoing commitment for better behaviour and allow[ing] like-minded people to stand in support of this issue.
“Our mission is to drive meaningful, constructive conversations that help make our work better and we’d love the industry to join us.”
Innocean’s executive creative director, Wez Hawes, added that in Australia, “anonymous negativity, trolling and vitriol are still readily tolerated in our industry, when we all know the harmful effects and mental health issues associated with this type of ‘feedback’.
“Discussing and debating work will always be justified, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The Love Our Work Charter is merely setting standards for us all to do this in a healthy, constructive way.”
Paper Moose founder and CEO, Nick Hunter, noted that “putting work through the rock tumbler of constructive criticism is critical for us to continuously improve and drive the very best results for our clients, but the way in which that feedback is delivered is equally important.
“This is a journey for all of us and we need to collectively as an industry get better. Celebrating the work and giving people the tools on how to deliver feedback is that first step.”
Earlier this year F*ck The Cupcakes also launched all-year-round program called Yeah the Pies to start conversations between men on the topic of gender equality.
See also: F*ck The Cupcakes launches Yeah the Pies to engage men post-IWD