dragging his knuckles

here's a headline for Neil French: "blogs killed my career." - subhead: "is it something i said?"
the image behind the headline would be a picture of the bloated ego with a questioning look on his face - standing at a shuffleboard deck somewhere in miami, with pregnant women in the back making lemonade, having babies and rubbing their husbands' feet.
In an interview in Ad Age, Neil French, the so-called "creative legend" rebuts his detractors and defends his comment that "all women creative directors are crap." french made the comment when speaking to an audience in toronto (who each paid $125 each). when asked why there are so few women at the top of the advertising food chain, he made the remark that has since resulted in his resignation from WPP Group.
when asked in the interview if the reaction was fair, he blamed the blogs, and of course "one woman getting her knickers in a twist and writing a long diatribe on a Web site and then all the other people with nothing to do joining in."
that woman is Nancy Vonk, the Co-Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Toronto, and it wasn't the first time she'd heard his philosophy on breeders. her being at such a high position is proof she must have heard the kind of crap spilled from french's mouth many times before - and from many other men at the top most likely. it's not a matter of having thick skin; it's a matter of not letting things get too far.
unfortunately, if you read the comments to the adrants post on neil french's interview, you'll see that the old world attitudes are still present in the industry. and unfortunately, french's resignation from WPP is only the end of his career there - as i'm sure he'll still have opportunities elsewhere, and he'll still be able to grunt his monosyllabic commentary for $125 a seat. if you're interested in something like that, may i suggest your nearest zoo, instead? it's much cheaper to see an ape speak there.
tagline for french: "Neil French: misogynist for hire."