12 women thriving in APAC: Fiona Chen

Fiona Chen, creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai | CHINA

Tell us about your career path and achievements.

I started out as an F/A artist back in the old days when computers had yet to exist in Singapore. I was completely self taught, and worked my way up to my position as a creative director now.

My first stop in China was in Beijing in 1997, then to Shanghai in 2000. And I’ve been in Shanghai ever since. I consider myself half local Chinese.

I think that my passion and extrovert personality made me stand out from the crowd, and I became one of the youngest creatives to become a creative director at Ogilvy back in those days. (I was barely 28 years old then.)

I have bagged some local and international awards.

Who is your role model?

My role model is myself. I’m tough. I’m passionate. I’m self taught. I’m talented. And I’m a woman.

Do you think there’s a glass ceiling in advertising in China? 

It’s true that creative women are facing many challenges when moving up the ladder. It’s also the reality that there are way fewer female creative directors then male creative directors. From my experience in China, there are two major reasons for this.

The first being that the ballsy nature of a creative director is at odds with the social stereotype that is expected of a Chinese woman.

In my view, the job of a creative director is a tough one. You need to have a unique and firm point of view, even if it means being unsympathetic and unaccommodating.

So what do you call women who will not take ‘no’ for an answer, or outspoken women who express themselves with colourful expletives, or make you work late at night only to kill your ideas in the morning because they aren’t good enough, or fight tooth and nail to protect an idea?

Because of our passion and toughness, we are labelled many unpleasant things, a lot of times the ‘B’ word.

On the other hand, society is much more tolerant towards a man who is outspoken, or tough, or fierce. It’s a sad inequality.

I’ve been told many times that I’ve earned my fame as the ‘B’ in the industry. But it won’t change who I am. As I know, I’m quite good at my job, and I push the boundaries of my team to keep doing better. I will retain my passion and my toughness to get me and my team more recognition from the industry.

The second main reason why there aren’t more female creative directors out there is the clients’ need (or lack of need) for us. For obvious reasons, many skincare and beauty clients love to work with creatives who are women. I appreciate their trust and enjoy working with them.

However, it’s unfortunate that some clients I have encountered don’t believe in female talent. Shocking, but true.

I once pitched for a local client with a team of female professionals, and we lost the pitch. Afterwards, I heard from my friend from the winning agency that the client told them they have doubts that an all-women team is capable of handling their business. It’s really depressing that we lost just because we are women.

Another example is for an international car client. During the first meeting with the client, after I introduced myself, the key client pointed at me and said aloud that they ‘doubted that women can make car ads’. Frustrating and ridiculous, but true.

I strongly believe female creatives can work as broadly and deeply as any of our male counterparts. Our talent should not be contained ONLY to areas that traditionally ‘belong’ to women.

I have had the great pleasure of working with many amazing ECDs and CCOs at Ogilvy. None of them labelled me as a creative only suitable for ‘female industries’. They give female creatives the same chance to shine as long as we deliver good work. I hope clients can also embrace this diversity and can judge us by the work we do, not by who we are.

What is your view on the belief that women do not want management roles in advertising?

Bullshit. I think that anybody who has the capability and talent for a creative management role should go for it, regardless of gender. As a woman, you need to trust yourself, work hard, and lean in! Don’t let the social stereotype limit your potential.

What do you make of the claim that women aren’t as creative as men?

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I feel sorry for those men who think that because they are missing out on a hell lot of talent. On the other, I blame the women who these primitive men have based their conclusions on. It’s a pity that they don’t push hard enough to get what they deserve.

What advice would you give to a female creative who’s starting out in her career in China?

The same advice I would give any talented person, regardless of gender. Be fearless. Be creative. Try everything.