Facing accusations that he made frequent jokes about rape, Jews and African Americans, JWT’s global CEO Gustavo Martinez resigned last week, marking an abrupt reversal by his company. Succeeding Martinez is Tamara Ingram, the company’s chief client team officer. Ingram, who led the P&G business at WPP for more than a decade, became one of the most powerful female executives in advertising when she was promoted last year.
The shake-up has sparked an industrywide moment of reflection. The allegations that Martinez often mocked women and minorities left many wondering if Mad Men’s portrayal of leering, intolerant ad executives in the 1960s truly was an artifact of a bygone era or a lingering reality hidden under a veneer of diversity and inclusion.
To be clear, the case against Martinez and his…
