McLeod, Charlotte, O'Donohoe, Stephanie and Townley, Barbara. (2009) The elephant in the room? Class and creative careers in British advertising agencies. Human Relations, Vol.62 (No.7 Sp. Iss. SI). pp. 1011-1039. ISSN 0018-7267

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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.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School
Journal or Publication Title:	Human Relations
Publisher:	Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN:	0018-7267
Date:	July 2009
Volume:	Vol.62
Number:	No.7 Sp. Iss. SI
Number of Pages:	29
Page Range:	pp. 1011-1039
Identification Number:	10.1177/0018726709335551
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/27726

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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