This article is setting off a firestorm

Smh. As CD 1 called out, this isn’t an article. It’s a poorly-written blog post (that reads as borderline petty IMO)... I FULLY support the takedown of abusive leaders and none what they author says is surprising (though probably true), but this hit list wasn’t the way to do it (and says more about the author’s lack of critical thinking)… Also, never pick a public fight with those who have the money and resources to sue you for slander.

The indignation is hilarious.

I worked with Erin before she got sick, and what she lays out here doesn’t surprise me at all.

No one in advertising publicly vents about people in power, especially the darlings, as you risk becoming a pariah.

This industry is very kind to those who trample and steal their way to the top, especially if they’re photogenic white women.

Wonder whose lawyer contacted her before she deleted it. 😂

She’s not wrong about Tiffany Rolfe though.

Tl;dr:
“everyone else sucks, is self-obsessed and tears down other women”
-woman writing article tearing down other women while referring to herself as pretty, able to hold the room in the palm of her hand, and claiming everyone knows she was building something special if only she didn’t get sick

I read some of her other posts and noticed she is a recovering addict. I am too. But ‘being on the journey of healing’ doesn’t allow you to judge people who are not. She’ll need to heal a lot more. This blog posts comes from a very bad place.

The Whitest Ad Chicks You Know.
Rich white ladies are sort of the worst. And there is no honor amongst thieves. Especially those who are still thieving.

So, here is my experience with some of advertising’s top white chick executives. The reason they are “white” is because I know them to do what white women do, which is use people, position, and white male adoration/support to further themselves ahead of other people. The reason they are “chicks” is because my experience with them was that they used judgment, assumption, and jealousy to discard and destroy others at various points in their lives and careers — another very white thing to do.
I’m white, and at one short time in my life I was wealthy — but in my soul I’m a lower middle class farm girl who grew up in North County, MO. I am learning how much “white-ness” saved me in my life so far, but also I’m realizing how much white women hate other white women.
I think these below advertising white women could always sense that my authenticity and different way of thinking was a threat to their career goals. Also, white women don’t like other pretty white (tall) women, and I’m finally learning this lesson in 2022.
We were all on the path to the top of advertising royalty. But my ad journey ended so differently, and now I get to write my experience, instead of watch it play out in capitalistic dystopia. The way these ladies “play the ad game” will sit with me for the rest of my life.
1. Tiffany Rolfe. She had a different last name before she married David Rolfe, and the fact that she bears his name is HILARIOUS to some of us who knew him back in the day. What I remember of Tiffany, was she was one of the 2 female creative directors (shout out to Kat) at CPB in 2004 when I started in advertising. Tiffany was cold, and did not fraternize with the “media” girls. No, she in fact propelled the bro culture that would eventually tank Crispin. She did this by trying to distance herself from the other females, and become the “in “hot” girl” amongst the creative boys. I asked her one time “how can I get into creative” and she laughed and said she didn’t know how to do that from media. She never spoke to me again after that. I eventually made my way out of the media department at Cripsin (the bastard child department that CPB should actually thank for its Cannes Lions). Now that I see Tiffany running a massive creative culture, I can’t help but think “how is this woman in a position of power when she treated so many of us other girls like shit in formative years?” But hey, pretty white women rise all the time, especially when they know how to play unattractive, yet egoic men.
2. Kristen Cavallo. Kristen hired me jointly with John Moore (CEO Mediahub) as a split role between Mullen and Mediahub in 2014. I walked into this disaster of a relationship from day 1. Kristen has always been “special” in advertising. Something about her feels right, feels exciting, feels inspiring. She’s the perfect person to run an agency, actually. Her “special” status was evident with the star status she was afforded by former Mullen CEO, Alex Lekieh. Kristen was my boss as the head of strategy at Mullen, and then again my higher up boss for a short time as the CEO of Mullen. Unfortunately, her marriage fell apart and she started to rely on us female employees as dumping grounds for her trauma and pain. I would answer calls from her at any time (including weekends and evenings), and let her vent in my office when I had work to do. When the males at MullenLowe (post merger) turned on her; I and some other females stood up for her. The leader of MediaHub and the then reigning head of creative - bitched and moaned about how Kristen Cavallo still got salary and bonus even though for at least a year and a half, she was unrecognizable due to her divorce trauma and a complete liability in professional meetings. I knew/know Kristen has some magic, and we’ve all seen that at Martin the last few years. However, she’s a white lady, and seemed to forget that she trampled on many of us who were trying to help her during her season in the desert. When I got ill with cancer and autoimmune bone marrow failure, Kristen never once reached out. She never sent flowers, never came to see me in the hospital. The sheer fact that I know the details of her divorce, family life and where that asshole family vacations, yet she couldn’t even come to see me while I was dying — let’s me know she is a white chick. Totally consumed with what she is doing in the moment, assuming her success is because of her and who she is currently surrounded by. The truth — is that she is part of a system that used her after yet another one of advertising males transgressions. Unfortunately, the way she deals with the men who tried to get her fired, sets us all back. It’s like Hollywood before Reese and Oprah. It’s sad and does not help females. Many of us were traumatized by this industry and as she placates them, we suffer.
3. Elizabeth Paul. Ugh. This one is the worst. Mainly because I wanted this person NOT to be a classic white lady, but alas she is. On paper, Elizabeth Paul and I should be good friends. In real life, we are polar opposites on the end of current faith and capitalistic ideal spectrum. Elizabeth Paul is a white woman who is married to a “minister” of sorts, and loves to tell people she lives in the “bad part of Richmond, VA”. It’s so attention seeking and prophetizing, most people see this from a mile away. She used to send pictures of the “broken down houses” across the street from her house to some of us other women in the office. I don’t think she understands that some of us grew up around poverty, and still decided we were worthy (and our homes were worthy), even without a blonde white chick coming to save us. Elizabeth loves to proclaim she is a voice for minorities, and maybe in some antiquated way she is. But her “missionary” mindset is assumptive and breaks down the second you ask her about her fancy car and renovated house. Also, when she and Kristen Cavallo pitched Home Goods, they outed themselves as having interior designers to pick their actual home goods, and the whiteness shown right through.
4. Laurel Boyd. Laurel is smart, and very creative. But her whiteness wins out when she feels threatened. She wasn’t born a visual creative, no she was a musician. This is her biggest skill but also her achilles heel. She was concerned with women who were “traditionally hot” — and she was mean to good looking women who didn’t do what she wanted. She always felt angry and subservient towards the creative department at MullenLowe, as well as the male MediaHub leadership, and when I worked with her this was so palpable. I don’t think she understands that we know the trope of “cool creative music girl who hates other girls” — we know you — we get you. Laurel often hired men to work for her, and I often had to fight to get her to respect me, especially after she eagerly bought the lies a younger employee spewed about me while I was fighting for my life against cancer at MGH. I have since learned that white women — when left alone with their anger and assumptions — are the most dangerous thing on this planet.
5. Simeon/Seth Edmunds. Simeon is a prototypical a “white chick”. He’s emotional, judgmental, and constantly self conscious about his weight. If he was a nice human, this would be endearing. But instead he’s a mean girl who uses his digital prowess to troll others who “don’t get it”. He would constantly use his prowess and smarts of the digital universe to one up, or put down someone. It was exhausting to work with him because you wanted his knowledge, but knew you would have to deal with the white chick bullshit that he came with. Drama, frustration, judgements. Simeon/Seth was also very white girl in that he took his news from the spilling of the tea from other white women. While I was living at MGH getting bone marrow transplants — he decided to take the gossip of young Mediahubbers, judge me, and then take items out of my office and gift them to other women around the Mediahub floor. Cruel behavior from the whitest chick I know.
6. Erin Swenson (Gorrall). Erin was my former self in advertising. She was obsessed with new business wins and could hold a room in the palm of her hand. She used this power in the end to do little to no desk work, and that bothered her employees/team members. She was not good at executing final campaigns, and had tons of ideas but would not follow through on them. That is a very white thing to do. She would also demand attention and adoration at times that did not warrant it. She had a substance abuse problem and it showed when at a few advertising events she appeared “white girl wasted”. To the women who worked on my team — I am sorry your perceptions changed when I got sick. We were building something different and I think you knew that.
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Advertising has been an awful, abusive business for women. Especially pretty white women. The industry was BUILT on white women compromising themselves to please the male ego’s that ran the show from 1920–2020. To the women who I have called out in this article — I pray that you change how you do things, and that you understand your actions affect us ALL. You are in POWER now.
Do better. Act more responsibly. Choose new KPI’s. Reject the past. Embrace those of us that were abused by this system we call “advertising”.
Make it right, and be the hero’s I know you all are.
With conviction and love,
ESG


More from Erin Swenson

Not cool. And as others said, not an article. It’s a mean girl “dear diary” blog post.

I too like to define anything I don’t like as “white”

OMG - are those all real people she has written about?

I’m short fat and ugly so I’ve seen a hundred ladies like this spark up and implode while I keep my head down and get that work done in middle management. I guess being out of the spotlight even for a moment really grates huh?

She sees hateful people everywhere but she is obviously projecting. She needs help.

I also suspect the Op is actually Erin. Or a bff of Erin trying to get views

She felt deeply enough to write this and I think that says a lot… I’m sure some of this rings true but the overwhelming feeling I get is of bitterness. I wonder if she realizes how entitled she sounds in this article.

I missed it! I worked with her at that time (with those players mentioned above). So curious what she said!

… my POV is that throughout her time, there was nothing but an outpouring of support and sympathy for what she was dealing with. She was a strong lady and respected - so either I missed what was going on, or she has an incredible victim complex. Either way, while I won’t deny some descriptors of the protagonists made me laugh the details she revealed about others personal lives is fairly vile. Whatever she was trying to achieve, most of the fallout of the nuke will land on her…

I love how the post starts and ends

Start -- women who are pretty, white, and tall rise all the time, especially when they know how to play unattractive egoic men. (While admitting she's also pretty, white and tall)

End -- my superpower is being able to own a room and I used my superpower to do no real work. ope! sorry to all my employees who i rode the backs of to my own success!

🙄😂

I'm not seeing a link or screenshot in the original post. Someone please put me on 😩

I can't see the article link. Please share?

https://erinswens.medium.com/the-whitest-ad-chicks-you-know-8590b50da242