AdWomen: A Great Name for London’s New Exhibit

London, by Jove, you’ve done it again. First, you captured my creative imagination when I had the chance to live there. Now, your very own Museum of Brands opened an exhibit called AdWomen: Celebrating 100 Years of Women in Advertising.

As a woman in advertising in the U.S., I love the concept behind this exhibit, and I love the name: AdWomen

While “Ad” is short for Advertising, it also sounds like “Add women” when spoken — a notion, a necessity, even a rallying cry — for this and every industry worldwide.

About the AdWomen exhibit

If you’re headed to London any time soon, stop by the AdWomen exhibit running November 8, 2024 – April 28, 2025. Here’s what it’s all about:

The Museum of Brands and the History of Advertising Trust are bringing together the world’s biggest archive of brand communication and the phenomenal collection of Robert Opie. AdWomen explores how advertising has both influenced and reflected women’s societal and domestic roles over the past 100 years.

Drawing inspiration from the acclaimed ‘Mad Women’ documentary, first aired on Channel 4 in May 2023, AdWomen celebrates the pioneering women who created groundbreaking TV ads that transformed the industry. This exhibition features iconic adverts from the 1920s to the present day, focusing on both women’s roles in the creation of adverts, and on their portrayal within them: highlighting what has changed, what remains the same, and how brands can better represent women in the future.

As much as I’d like to, I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to see this exhibit in person. However, if you do, let me know what you think! And when you get there, tell them an AdWoman sent you.

Gender in advertising

This topic — full of social and ethical impacts — is bigger than this blog post can chew. But let’s look at gender in advertising from the perspective of the AdWomen exhibit’s premise: Celebrating 100 Years of Women in Advertising.

In anticipation of the exhibit’s opening date, BBC Woman’s Hour hosted a discussion with Museum of Brand’s Curator Alice Kain and Sabina Usher, joint Head of Strategy at marketing agency OMD UK. (The segment begins at minute 33:37.)

Part of the discussion revolves around the portrayal of women in advertising. Here’s a snippet from Sabina Usher:

The inevitable question is ‘what has really changed?’

It would be easy to clap ourselves on the back because we no longer showing images of virginal 60s housewives or pin up 80s sex symbols. [For example, the Wonderbra ad, “Hello Boys”]

It is sort of a shock to the system for our modern standards. But I think what this exhibition does and what we have to continue to do in this industry is really challenge how much has changed. Are we just replacing stereotypes with new ones?

There’s a particularly pervasive one I think at the moment of the super mom. She’s master of the home, she’s an organizational queen, she’s a fun mom, and absolutely nailing it at work. We have to challenge these perfectionist ideals that just aren’t real.

The AdWomen exhibit explores the changing landscape of women in advertising through:

• Vintage beauty ads
• Shifting beauty ideals
• Iconic campaigns
• Empowering narratives
• AdWomen who’ve shaped the industry

Mad Women, a documentary

There would be no “AdWomen” without Mad Women, the 2023 documentary that inspired the exhibit.

According to the UK’s Channel 4, Mad Women is “the story of pioneering women making iconic TV ads that changed the world: from Shake n’ Vac and Levi’s, to the Flake girl in the bath and the Lynx effect”

The History of Advertising Trust collaborated with Channel 4 to create this documentary looking at the women who worked in advertising from the 1970s to the present day. In turn, this inspired a collaboration between the History of Advertising Trust and the Museum of Brands to dig 100 years deeper into this topic for their new exhibit.

“Add Women,” from a naming perspective

When I started as a namer and copywriter at Zinzin, I began to write for this blog. And I always try to cover topics related to naming or branding in general whenever possible. Some of my favorite posts include creative women (founders, artists, writers, pro sports) and their impact on culture and society.

Here are some Zinzin blog posts that focus on the contributions of women in the creative world, related to naming, of course.

• Edith Heath, founder of Heath Ceramics: Heath Ceramics: A classic California brand with a great story
• Jess Smith, President of Golden State Valkyries: Golden State Valkyries: A naming slam dunk
• Moms everywhere: The Mother of All Brand Names
• Tove Jansson, Finnish writer & artist: Moomins and the Naming Genius of Tove Jannsson
• Agnes Martin, artist: Agnes Martin’s Painting Titles: Naming Lessons On & Off the Grid

In every industry, we need to Add Women.

Parting thoughts

AdWomen is more than an exhibit name. It’s a cultural and societal imperative, a momentum, at least when we emphasize its homophone counterpart, “add.”

Namely, to add women is important in the advertising industry, which “has the power to influence the way we think, how we feel about ourselves and how others see us,” as put succinctly by BBC Radio broadcaster and Woman’s Hour host, Clare Mcdonnell.

My own AdWoman journey started in college. I actually have a degree in advertising, which turned into a career in copywriting, joined by the fascinating niche of naming. I’ve worked alongside awesomely strategic and creative AdWomen. And I’d love to see more of them.

Now, book that ticket to London, and add Museum of Brands to your itinerary!