James Hillhouse – Commercial Break: Advertising’s common problem

Has the advertising industry lost its edge? Has it become over-educated and under-commercialized?

This show is all about the lack of socio-economic diversity in the creative industries and what we can do to turn it around.

“Those responsible for hiring often still demonstrate bias towards applicants who are ‘like them’ – especially those with university degrees” – Social Mobility Commission 2021.

James Hillhouse is one half of the team behind Commercial Break – an organization dedicated to increasing working class and minority representation in the creative industries.

In this blockbuster of a show, James passionately states the case for the need to widen the creative reservoir from which the creative industries draws talent – front of house and back of house.

And he pulls no punches.

He makes the proposal for an Advertising Industry 3.0, a melting pot but also points out that it’s one thing to tick a box in terms of diversity but it’s another to retain and nurture that talent to help it thrive.

We discuss:

⚡ How to create the right environment for growing new talent

⚡ How WFH has made problems worse through a loss of structure and what agencies can do about it.

⚡ The role that new business has to play in levelling the socio-economic balance

⚡ How MIT’s building 20 is a powerful example a diverse workforce

⚡ Are working class people more creative than most?

⚡ Is lack of diversity of creative thinking a global problem?

Plus

Jeremy Davies is back from his summer Grand Tour to explain how modern new business execs are less Jolly Roger and more 007