The elephant in the room? Class and creative careers in British advertising agencies

Abstract

Advertising in Britain has traditionally been the preserve of a middle-class, public school and Oxbridge-educated workforce. Although this narrow recruitment base is recognized as problematic, the influence of social class on advertising careers remains largely unexplored. This article explores the career trajectories of British advertising creatives from different social class backgrounds and the forms of capital at their disposal. Drawing on life history interviews with creatives, we explore how they got started, got in and got on in advertising careers. In particular, we highlight how the `working-class' creatives struggled to overcome the economic, social and cultural barriers they face in entering the industry. We suggest, however, that once `in', the influence of their social class background was more subtle and less detrimental, due to the social capital they accumulated en route and the value of their distinctive brand of cultural capital.

Gender in the UK architectural profession: (re)producing and challenging hegemonic masculinity

“…If architectural practices are committed to equality and diversity within their organisations then it is important they are aware of how their working practices may marginalise those who are unable to meet them. More broadly, within the creative industries, attention must be paid to how characteristics such as class (McLeod at al., 2009) and gender may intersect to affect entry to the sector (Skilton, 2008) and career progression.…”

Transferring management practices to China: a Bourdieusian critique of ethnocentricity

“…The possession of capital enables the holder to re-define the configuration of power relations (e.g. Cooper, 2008;Kerr and Robinson, 2009;McLeod et al, 2009;Morean, 2009;Mutch, 2003;O'Mahoney, 2007;Oakes et al, 1998;Townley et al, 2009). Often, struggles over resources and access take place within fields which Bourdieu defined as networks of social relations, and structured systems of social positions.…”

The Impact of Social Class in the Hiring Process

“…Researchers have explored the impact of social class on a variety of topics such as work attitudes and interactions (e.g., Benjamin, Bernstein, & Motzafi-Haller, 2011;Gray & KishGephart, 2013;Judge & Hurst, 2007), careers and career mobility (e.g., Audretsch et al, 2013;McLeod, O'Donohoe, & Townley, 2009;Snipp, 1985), work life balance (e.g., Lautsch & Scully, 2007), job performance (e.g., Johnson, Messe, & Crano, 1984), and perceptions of risk (e.g., Cooper, 2008). This research often found distinctions between individuals of varying social class.…”

“…Perspectives about chaos have been shown to impact work related factors such as career choice. In a qualitative study that explored creative career choices, many upper or elite class parents were supportive of their child exploring creative careers, whereas those of lower class often encouraged their children to seek more stable careers (McLeod et al, 2009). As lower class parents were likely hoping their children would be able to navigate chaotic situations, selection of a stable career often takes precedence for lower class individuals.…”

“…In a subsequent study, Centers (1953) Some more recent researchers have increased the number of classes to five, describing the categories as elite class (i.e., capitalist and institutional elite subgroups), professional or "upper" middle class, middle class, working class, and poor (Bullock, 2004). Conversely, some researchers simplified the classes to three, with upper, middle, and working classes (McLeod, et al, 2009), whereas Resnick and Wolff (2003) returned to four classes, upper, middle, working, and lower. These authors posited that the middle class exerts power and has power exerted over them, whereas the working class has less power and autonomy with limited or no input on their work conditions.…”