The consequences of #MeToo are finally being felt in the advertising world. The Australia agency, which announced the takeover of Braaxe in September, has just retracted. A back-pedaling linked to accusations of moral and sexual harassment of the Instagram account @balancetonagency, which collects anonymous testimonials from people working in advertising. “Initially, I intended to brew broad. The advertising world is full of stalkers and I didn’t think of a particular agency. I have received so many testimonials about Braaxe that I was forced to focus on this business for a while, ”confides the anonymous Internet user in charge of the Instagram account to the magazine“ Causette ”.
The founder of Braaxe questioned
Several testimonies report sexual, moral and environmental harassment. The founder of Braaxe, Julien Casiro, would be the main author. “It was heavy joke on heavy joke, a drawing of a penis on a post-it stuck to my desk,” said a former employee at “Causette”.
The ex-employees mention “the drawings of penises all over the walls”, “the water gun in the shape of a penis” and, above all, “the boss’s obsession with porn”. They evoke a personality “as whimsical as possible, [qui] oscillated between a paternalistic attitude with very affectionate nicknames and huge pissing offs. “Les Lionnes, an organization which offers companies in the com and advertising to jointly conduct internal investigations to support the victims, declares to have received around thirty testimonies.
For the Australia agency, this is too much. “In light of the conclusions and the impact of these accusations, the project required significant changes that the founders are not prepared to make,” writes Australia. For now, Julien Casiro has been suspended. A real paradigm shift in the company or a layoff to preserve its image? Only the future will tell …
–
