Washed Up - Anonymous employee Cutwater Employee Review

Advertising is not exactly a politically correct industry and remains a boys club for the most part. However, Cutwater goes far beyond that to create an incredibly toxic workplace. I feel compelled to write about my experience there as had I known about the culture, I would have never accepted a position at this agency. When discussing a project to combat hate speech online, the CCO repeatedly used a racial slur in his examples of “provocative” ideas. “Let’s start a conversation. How come you can say [n word] and I can’t say [n word]. How cool is that? Get people talking about the word [n word].” While working on a project in which the client specifically asked to show diversity and body positivity, the president of the agency reviewed the creative and stated it was “too urban.” When asked to select shots to remove, he specifically called out a plus-sized Black woman in the video. He claimed it was not due to her race or size, but her lack of clothing. He later approved a replacement shot with a skinny white woman with even less clothing on. Although there were many people in these meetings who heard these kinds of discussions, no one did anything about it. That is because Cutwater does not have a single HR employee. Who do you raise concerns to when the leadership uses racist language? Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, there is also blatant sexism at play here. Women were assigned to work on assignments for baby products, skincare, chocolates, and paper towels. The men worked on pitches for alcohol, sports drinks, cannabis, and banks. Women were brought into client meetings for projects they had nothing to do with, just so they had “female representation” in the room. When pitching new business, Cutwater paid our friends and family cash to sit in the office, making the agency appear more robust and diverse than we actually were. Cutwater likes to claim that they are like a family. Perhaps that’s true, if it’s a dysfunctional and abusive one. In two years there, 18 people quit. That’s well over half the agency. Creative concepts were often recycled at the behest of the CCO, the president spends more time gossiping about employees than working, and the agency hasn’t won a real creative pitch in years. If you’re considering taking a job here, my advice would be to ask to see what work they have produced in the last year and judge their ability to do creative work off of that. Don’t let the decades-old awards on the shelf fool you. Cutwater hasn’t made anything compelling in years. It’s a sinking ship. And the leadership is, at best, simply washed up. Pros: Great snacks + a stocked kitchen (although that does mean you’re expected to eat lunch at your desk everyday). The media department here is actually smart and capable. You get $50 if you work off your own laptop. Dog friendly.