ADVERTISING
SUHANA GORDHAN: Creatives need to be liberated from fetters of killer deadlines
Suicide in Japan raises the alarm for an industry renowned for inhumane working hours, writes Suhana Gordhan
The CEO of Dentsu, one of the biggest advertising agencies in Japan, recently stepped down from his role following the suicide of a young employee. Tadashi Ishii apologised at a media conference, saying: "We deeply regret failing to prevent the overwork of our new recruit. I offer my sincere apology." That after Matsuri Takahashi jumped from the window of her corporate dormitory in December 2015 following working 100 hours overtime a month for nine months. As we set our alarm clocks for the new working year, my wish for the advertising industry is this: please let’s not kill anybody. Advertising does not have a Hippocratic Oath. Sadly, there was no ancient Greek Father of Making Ads who decided on a code of conduct that would respect creativity in business. But there really should be one. That oath should be about protecting the one thing that creative people need more of — freedom. Most of us go into advertising because we love the freedom that creativity brings us. We get paid to ...
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