The Future Subscribes to a No Bullsh*t Policy: Heather McTavish, Virtue Worldwide

Virtue Worldwide

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Heather McTavish

Group Creative Director — Virture Worldwide

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In our latest installment of "Women in Advertising," we spoke with Heather McTavish, Group Creative Director at Virtue Worldwide, about creating the right opportunities for young creatives, and the shift towards a brighter future that has no room for gender bias.

What barriers do women still face in our industry and why are they still there?
The biggest one always feels like visibility. Sure you have one or two women at the top, but it still feels very much like a boys club to some capacity. In working at a younger agency, we’ve had the luxury of growing women internally to take on those leadership roles, but there are still times when it’s you and one other woman in the room.

How should we tackle an issue such as equal opportunity, not solely for women’s equality but across the entire DE&I spectrum?
It comes with growing and hiring and creating the right opportunities for women across the DE&I spectrum. It’s about making sure that women are able to run the same typically male briefs such as whiskey, or technology, and not pigeonholing anyone for 1) being a woman 2) Being Black, Latin, or AAPI. The good thing at VIRTUE is that half of our creative team is BIPOC, so when it comes to allocating briefs, it’s about finding people who want to do the work for the audience, and not just placing women of color on briefs because they’re Black, or Latina. So, when I think about equality it’s about ownership and opportunity on all types of briefs.

How would brands react if their ad strategy was created and produced by a majority male team?
It’s hard to say. More than ever clients want people on the account who look like the audience. I’ve seen men do incredible work on make-up and beauty brands, but that’s beside the point. I would say to some level, the work would lack authenticity, you can’t write, talk, speak to an experience at a visceral level if you’re so far removed from the actual experience.

What experiences did you have joining the industry?
I had women who looked out for me. Women who challenged me to be better, do better, who took the time to offer guidance and feedback, and now I try to do the same.

I have always had male creative partners throughout my career, and often found myself as the only woman in the proverbial room, but because I was attached to a male creative I was able to bypass working on beauty or fashion. We weren’t labeled “the girls” like so many other female partnerships are.

There have been times I’ve been uncomfortable in this mostly male-dominated role, and there have been times where I’ve been surprised. Notably, when one of my male colleagues told me his salary to make sure I was being paid the same if not more. Turns out I was being paid less, a lot less, and had he not said anything, I wouldn’t have asked for more money.
It’s funny how things evolve. There’s a want now, and a need to make sure the women in the agency are seen and are making the decisions, because it’s good business.

Who inspires you the most and why?
My team inspires me, the young creatives. The women who are owning and running projects, while raising juniors and mids to do the same. I see the younger guys listening to the women in the room, not threatened by their creativity, instead celebrating it. And I think that’s a bit of a shift. The future is bright, riddled with talent, and subscribes to a no bullshit policy when it comes to being a creative and as a woman in the room, and I very much respect that.