Bunmi Oke, CEO, Ladybird Limited, delivered a candid, energetic and deeply address to members of the Women in Out-of-Home Advertising Nigeria (WOHAN) at the association’s recent event in Lagos, challenging women in the advertising industry to take their personal branding seriously, dismantle the myths that have been used to limit their ambitions and never be ashamed of what they want from their careers and their lives.

Opening her remarks pointed observation about how women in advertising present themselves. “You don’t use your own assets to promote yourselves,” she said bluntly, urging women to stop relying on others to tell their stories. “Keep on improving on your personal brand. Don’t assume that people know you. Sell yourself. Don’t be shy, step out. Nobody is going to do it for you.”

On the subject of ambition, Oke was emphatic that women have every right to want more and should never feel the need to apologise for it. She challenged the persistent cultural myth that women are less ambitious than men, describing it as one of the most damaging falsehoods perpetuated against women in professional life.

“Women are just as ambitious as men and driven by many different motivations. You have a right to your personal ambitions and do not be ashamed of them,” she said. She added that ambition takes many forms and no woman’s aspiration is too small or too large to be taken seriously. “Whether your aspiration is to run a very successful vegetable farm or to be president of the country, you understand your aspirations and you are able to pursue them.”

She spoke passionately about the unique strengths women bring to any workplace or leadership environment, pushing back against those who try to flatten the conversation into a claim that men and women are identical in every way.

“Women bring unique strengths to the table. Things like vision and adaptability,” she said, adding that emotional intelligence, which is so often dismissed or weaponised against women, is actually one of their most powerful professional assets.

“Emotion is a natural part of decision making. Women navigate complex relationships and teamwork through collaboration and empathy. That is not a weakness. That is a skill.”

Oke addressed the myth that women are only interested in fashion and domestic life with a sharp rebuke, noting that the diversity of women’s interests is one of their greatest professional strengths.

“Women’s interests are diverse and many excel across multiple roles and industries simultaneously,” she said. She celebrated multitasking not as a burden but as evidence of women’s extraordinary capacity to manage complexity. “Not only did you beautify the patient, you added fun, you added all these things for yourself. Women are not liabilities. They are assets to the world.”

She also spoke with uncommon honesty about personal choices, including her own decision to get married, using her story to make the broader point that every woman must be the author of her own decisions rather than acting under pressure from society.

“I chose to get married. That was the difference. Nobody forced me. Make sure it is your choice,” she said. She was equally candid about the professional prejudices she had faced in her own career, recalling being told she was too frank and too direct, before finding a way to turn those qualities into the foundations of her success. “In spite of my intelligence they said she is too frank. But I continued running my integrity and that is what carried me.”

On the question of women in leadership and political positions, Oke was direct about the gap between representation and genuine inclusion. She noted that having a woman in a position is not enough if she is placed there as a token rather than as a leader with real authority.

“I pray that we have not just a first female president for tokenism, just to put a colony flavour. To become president you must have done it with purpose,” she said. She urged younger women specifically to begin positioning themselves now for leadership roles, not waiting for permission or for the perfect moment. “Position yourself. Be interested in appointments as well as participation. When we are calling names, make sure your name is there.”

Oke closed her address with a reminder that the legacy women build through their ambition, their work and their personal brand extends well beyond themselves into the generations that follow. She shared that her own children had told her she was their role model, a moment she described with visible pride and equal humility.

“Never forget your strength as a woman. Women can drive progress, succeed and inspire future generations,” she said. She left the room with one final charge that captured the entire spirit of her address. “Don’t hide yourself. You are uniquely and colourfully made for a reason. Go and conquer your world.”