He’d better lie low!
Fury over adman’s sexist email rating which colleagues he’d have sex with
A TOP advertising executive sent a sexist email to his entire office on International Women’s Day ranking female colleagues by attractiveness.
Paul Martin’s farewell message to staff last week at The& Partnership – one of Britain’s biggest agencies – included lists headed ‘Bottom five’ and ‘If I’d had too many’.
He wrote: ‘ Please bear in mind that this is based solely on looks and has nothing to do with personality; if it were, there might be some right munters in there and that would defeat the whole point of trying to sexistly objectify people (on International Women’s Day, of all days).’
Mr Martin’s email said he would need ‘nine pints’ before having sex with one colleague and ‘ seven pints and a bag of pork scratchings’ to sleep with another.
Next to another colleague he named he wrote: ‘If you were the last girl on earth, I would use you as bait to trap a wild animal I would be happier f******’.
Placing one woman in his ‘Bottom Five’, he explained it was because ‘you’re having a baby now and three’s a crowd. Sorry’.
Mr Martin faced fierce criticism after the email was leaked online, with some comparing his behaviour to sexist attitudes portrayed on US TV drama Mad Men, which focuses on the advertising industry in the 1960s.
The creative strategist, who has worked with brands including Cadbury’s, Toyota and British Gas, has since apologised.
He tweeted that it had been a ‘stupid, ironic attempt’ to mock the sexist Top Five emails that are widely regarded as tradition at several top agencies.
Mr Martin admitted he had sent the email on March 8 as he was leaving his job at the London agency, which is backed by the multinational advertising and PR firm WPP. In his apology, he said he ‘had understandably offended and upset’ many people and ‘contributed to the culture of toxic masculinity.’
He insisted he had checked with all the women he mentioned, who were ‘friends and people I very genuinely love’, to make sure they were happy with him sending the tongue-in-cheek email. Mr Martin wrote: ‘I thought that was enough to validate me pressing send. It wasn’t and should never have been. The email was meant to be a stupid, ironic attempt to subvert and mock the sexist “Top Five” emails that have been sent around agencies for many years, but I have totally missed the mark and take full responsibility. But saying that this was completely misjudged doesn’t even begin to cover it. This behaviour is never something to joke about and I’m incredibly sorry for my unforgivable naivety and being further complicit in contributing to an outdated and oppressive culture for women.’
Advertising consultant Cindy Gallop, who has led a debate on gender inequality in her industry, said it revealed the level of sexism still socially acceptable behind the politically correct campaigns.
She told The Times: ‘This culture comes from the top.
‘I want to see the guilt, selfexamination, soul- baring and determination to change that Paul Martin is now exhibiting take place in the industry leaders whose appalling examples made him think writing something like this was OK in the first place.’
On Twitter, The & Partnership’s London account issued a statement about the shocking emails. It said: ‘We do not condone sexism of any kind at The & Partnership LDN. We’ve apologised to our staff and others for any offence this email has caused, and have taken action to make it clear to all employees that we will not tolerate emails of this kind being sent in future, by men or women.’
Describing itself as a ‘futurefocused creative agency’, it doubled its revenue last year to £457million.