As the eyes of the social media world descend upon the Cannes Lions Grand Prix this year, there’s an interesting trend. From Under Armour to P&G and Sport England, many of the award-winning campaigns from Cannes Lions sought to inspire women and start movements. So how did they do it? Read on.
Under Armour’s “I Will What I Want”
Instead of just hiring another celebrity athlete, Under Armour took a unique approach and hired supermodel Gisele Bundchen. In anticipation of fan comments and questions, Under Armour tackled the feedback head-on with a video and website showcasing a different side of Gisele.
As the video plays, Gisele is seen working out while social media comments—both positive and negative—play on the website. The innovation with the video is that the comments are updated and shown as part of the video in real time with little moderation. Developed by Droga5 New York, the video has over 2.7 million views to date and offers a powerful brand narrative inspiring to women to defy the odds—and the haters—and be true to themselves.
Sport England’s “This Girl Can”
To celebrate and inspire active women throughout England, Sport England launched “This Girl Can.” The goal? To encourage women to be active, “no matter how well they do it, how they look, or even how red their faces get.”
According to Sport England CEO Jennie Price, understanding conversation trends about women and exercising was critical to the campaign development. “Before we began this campaign, we looked very carefully at what women were saying about why they felt sport and exercise was not for them. Some of the issues, like time and cost, were familiar, but one of the strongest themes was a fear of judgment. Worries about being judged for being the wrong size, not fit enough and not skilled enough came up time and again.”
As a result, Sport England launched “This Girl Can” as a way to tell the real story of women who exercise and plays sports—jiggles, red faces, and all. The video, which has over 8 million views, a dedicated website, social media channels, and the hashtag #thisgirlcan, has grown far beyond its UK roots to become a movement and community in its own right where women can come together to share stories and experiences. It’s a fantastic example of how campaigns derived from honesty, passion, and being true to your fanbase can truly take on an inspiring life of their own.
Procter & Gamble’s #LikeaGirl
As seen in Procter & Gamble’s video, #LikeAGirl, the company shines a spotlight on unfortunate stereotypes as a way to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence during puberty and beyond. The campaign video, which was first launched during the Super Bowl, showcases different boys and girls showing various actions of how to do things “like a girl.” As the video storyline evolves, these stereotypes come to life and are challenged. The participants begin to realize what they’re perpetuating, and the end result is inspiring.
As part of the campaign, Procter & Gamble’s Always kicked off an interactive website to communicate their movement is an “epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence throughout puberty and beyond, and making a start by showing them that doing it #LikeAGirl is an awesome thing.” The video now has a whopping 58 million views. The campaign offers a valuable reminder that challenging the status quo can result in an inspiring movement.
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