2022 Inductee

Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin

Creative Leaders

As former co-CCOs at Ogilvy & Mather Toronto, award-winning powerhouse duo Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk produced and oversaw iconic, culture-shifting campaigns, the most famous of which includes Dove’s “Litmus Test.” They later co-wrote books guiding the career growth of others. And as co-founders of the Swim leadership lab, established in 2012, the advertising veterans went full-tilt on their passion for training and coaching creative leaders as a way to drive change in workplace culture. All of this has served their truest passion: Ensuring women succeed.

“They’ve been champions for diversity and inclusion, and they have been spectacular mentors for women (and men) all over the world,” says Jenny Smith, president, CD at Ray Creative Agency and member of the Hall of Marketing Gold Advisory Board.

Each arrived in advertising via a different route. Vonk chose her path after hearing Advertising Design program head Ray Nichols at the University of Delaware present to undeclared art majors like herself. In his talk, Nichols used the adage, “Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on,” convincing Vonk to jump into the field. Kestin was almost broke in Montreal when, after observing ads above the subway seats and thinking she could do better, called every ad agency in the Yellow Pages alphabetically, until Young & Rubicam – at the end of the phone directory – agreed to give her a shot.

Later, Kestin spent a number of years out of the industry, having been fired twice by agencies in the earlier part of her career. Over two hiatuses, she sang in a bar band, wrote for a magazine, spent time as a mother, tried to figure things out. She wasn’t planning to return to advertising. But then Ogilvy & Mather asked her to work with Vonk, on a freelance basis, in 1989. The two spent the May long weekend coming up with ideas for feminine hygiene brand Kotex, and a friendship that would lead to a thriving professional partnership was born.

It was their work on the Dove “Litmus Test” in 1991 and 1992 that solidified them as a risk-taking creative force. Using science to demonstrate that Dove was gentler on skin than other soap, the campaign was unique in that it appealed to women’s intellect, providing a new way to talk to a female audience. It went on to garner global accolades, from Cannes Lions to the One Show.

More than a decade later, the CCOs again defied advertising norms with Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty,” born in partnership with four Ogilvy & Mather offices. Their teams redefined beauty, calling out the ideals of feminine beauty perpetuated by the media and beauty industries. The Toronto office’s work included the double Cannes Grand Prix-winning “Evolution” film.

But for all their pride in their roles in the “Real Beauty” campaign’s success, Vonk gives credit where due: While they were among the creative leaders, “one of the most famous Dove ads ever made was actually created by – gasp – a male team! (Tim Piper and Mike Kirkland).”

Two other award-winning campaigns are points of career pride. To promote Timex’s Indiglo Night-Light feature in ‘97, the duo created TV ads that featured a blue dot moving against a black background, suggesting an athlete was wearing the illuminated watch while diving or rowing. At the end, a super explained Timex Indiglo supported the Olympic athletes, with print ads using simple line illustrations to convey the same message.

Their famous Diamond Shreddies campaign, the brainchild of Hunter Somerville, a summer intern, cheekily promoted a supposedly “new” kind of Shreddies, by simply rotating the
square cereal to become a diamond.

While at Ogilvy, Kestin and Vonk mentored young talent and provided them with opportunities.

“If I want to be really glib about it, it was because we were mothers,” says Kestin. “We always felt we should bring younger people in, and I loved that part of the job as much or more than the actual doing. I really loved raising of other people, the helping, the growing.”

When the two were ready for their next career steps, they landed on the idea of starting a leadership lab that would help creative leaders make a real impact in their workplaces and the industry. Ogilvy offered to house Swim as part of its offerings, but the pair opted to go out on their own, with
the agency as their first client.

“Having been that person who had to make the transition from being a maker to helping others be their best is a hard shift because we work in a business that says you’re rewarded for what you personally make,” says Kestin. “So there’s so much unlearning that goes into creative leadership.”

“Leading is hard,” adds Vonk. “It’s the leader who shows up with empathy, puts their employees first, brings humanity into the role and creates an environment where people can truly thrive.”

Kestin and Vonk have lectured at schools and conducted workshops, as well as written books. Pick Me (2005) stemmed from their advice column, Ask Jancy, on a now-defunct website, and continues to be a resource in schools. Darling, You Can’t Do Both (2014) was born when a HarperCollins editor approached them after a talk they gave at a Women of Influence event, and is a guide to ignoring, bending and breaking the unspoken rules of business that trip women up.

Over the years, the pair has been recognized with everything from global awards to being included among the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising Age. Recently, they were recognized as recipients for the 2021 Les Usherwood Award.

Their latest Swim project, a global virtual leadership program for women for the Grey Group, is another contribution that aligns naturally with their impactful careers. Says Kestin, “Going all the way back to Dove, if you look at the through-line of our careers, working for women, with women, to improve our own lives and those of others has been a passion for us from the get-go.”