From gender equality to sexual consent, issues surrounding women are an extremely hot topic in the marketing world.
Beyond the increasingly strong and evocative PSAs from rights groups and governmental organizations, brands have been eager to ally themselves with messages of female empowerment.
Here’s a selection of some of the more effective brand work we’ve seen released around International Women’s Day.
Microsoft (U.S.A.)
Microsoft’s Women’s Day effort – an online video titled “International Women’s Day 2016: What are you going to make?” – shows girls aged 7-15 struggling to cite examples of female inventors. Part of the brand’s “Make What’s Next” campaign, the spot was developed by m: united.
Brawny (U.S.A.)
Brawny has swapped out its iconic “Brawny Man” in favour of four successful women, whose images will appear across the brand’s social media channels throughout March in honour of Women’s History Month. The social effort, anchored by #StrengthHasNoGender was created by the brand’s creative AOR, Cutwater.
Reebok (India)
Reebok India’s newly appointed brand ambassador Kangana Ranau (dubbed the “queen of Bollywood”) delivers a message of encouragement, while urging women to shun stereotypes and carve out their own path. The ad is part of the brand’s global “Be More Human” campaign, developed in partnership with Venables Bell & Partners.
ANZ (Australia)
In an effort to highlight wage discrepancy, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) has launched a spot titled “#EqualFuture- Pocket Money.” The video features children doing chores, and when it’s time to get paid, the girls receive less than the boys. The ad, created by Whybin\TBWA, is part of a larger campaign which centers on the need for financial gender equality.
Google (Global)
Google dispatched film crews around the world to ask women to complete the sentence, “One day I will…” Thirteen videos in total were produced, and are currently posted on the search engines home pages across the globe. The videos feature females of all ages, and even include a few familiar to most, such as Jane Goodall and Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
