Change is needed if Māori are to be attracted to Advertising.

I started working in advertising way back in the mid 1980’s, at a time when Māori culture was neither relevant nor valued nor understood in the Pākeha mainstream, let alone the advertising industry. It was a pretty alien and (no holds barred) racist environment to a Māori boy from Tokoroa, educated at Hāto Pētera Māori Boys College and with brief stints in the forestry and the army behind him. At times it felt like being invited to a dinner but sitting at the kids table away from the main conversation. “Sssh you kids. The adults are talking.”

“Bloody typical Māori.” 
“Useless Māori.” 
“Lazy Māori.”
“Pretty good. For a Māori.”
Yup I got them all.

That doesn’t mean every agency was like this or that some of the people I worked with and met along the way weren’t brilliant, fantastic and caring. Or that I wasn’t led and guided by some of the most empathetic, encouraging and inspiring people, and that I didn’t make friends with colleagues who encouraged me and my cultural self to flourish and thrive. 

Oh no, not at all. Some of the agencies I worked in and the people I worked with really fostered my strengths. 

But I was coming from a background that proudly nurtured my Māori whakapapa and self, where I proudly marched on Queen Street in protest to apartheid (chur to the Māori boys back in the day) into a world where being Māori was a very lonely place. The culture in which I was brought up and lived in had little to no bearing on the work I was creating. It did make me feel like a bit of an outsider at times. But I hid it well.

Hindsight is a great thing, and on reflection that is where I went wrong. I gave in. I assimilated myself into the industry rather than integrating who I was as Māori to bring a unique view, he tirohanga Māori, to the world of advertising and brand building that I was part of. But with little cultural support, and for a long time being the only brown face in the room, it got pretty fucken depressing at times. But hey, grin and bear it eh?

Fast forward 36 odd years. And here I am, having faced, learnt and taken advantage of the many challenges and opportunities presented to me. While there were some shit experiences, I have been lucky, even privileged enough to have been exposed to some brilliant minds. I have unapologetically absorbed what I’ve seen and experienced and have adopted and used some of the amazing methodologies, frameworks and thought processes throughout my career. I have managed over the decades to quietly eke out a position that has placed me ahead of many others in navigating the conflicting cultures of Advertising and Ao Māori. 

Although our industry has moved forward in how it values Māori views and ways of doing and contributing to the work, I’m reminded that there is still much to be done. As Māori we want to continue building on the shoulders of those who came before us and that means Advertising and Communications as a sector has the opportunity to enlist and tautoko rangatahi who can bring varying world views of what it means to be Māori. 

But the challenge still exists. If there is an appetite for our culture to be present in our work there also needs to be a table for which we can lay the kai. So the table we set is the  environment we create and the kai is the nourishment that feeds our creativity. Agencies need to create a space and place where Māori can feel comfortable and are able to flourish and be fed. After all, what will be good for Māori creators will be good for all creators and creation itself. We can share our experiences, our thinking and feed our creativity together.

Nā Darryl Roycroft