“At the end of the day, we have the incredible privilege to offer an informed opinion on something and get paid for that.”

A few months ago, after a class visit from 72andSunny’s Alex Morrison, I wrote about the privilege of the advertising industry. This profession isn’t easy, but it offers an incredible opportunity to shape culture, communicate and learn.

Listening to 72andSunny CCO Glenn Cole discuss “the creative class” on Friday morning, that lesson took on a more complex meaning.

What is the creative class? It’s the fast-growing and powerful group of professionals who deal in ideas. Advertising, design, and technology are culturally and economically powerful industries. They’re also overwhelmingly white. 

As Glenn told our group, “the access to the creative class is where it’s broken.” Opportunities like this past week of agency visits aren’t available to everyone.

It was incredible to hear that 72andSunny is committed to improving that access problem and that throughout New York, agencies are pushing at the conventions of advertising to better its cultural impact. It’s an exciting time to be entering the agency world.

As I do, I’ll remember my responsibility not to mistreat the privilege of this industry, nor to forget the privilege that got me here. 

Rachel Benner. 05.14.2017.