ALWAYS #LIKEAGIRL
Always is one of the most well- known brands all over the world since it hit the markets of UK in 1983. The brand is a part of the multi- national consumer goods corporation of Procter&Gamble and specializes on feminine hygiene products. It is sold under different names depending on the country it is launched. So in countries like Japan, China, India, Philippines, Thailand etc. it’s sold under the name of Whisper, in Italy it’s called Lines, while in Turkey under the name of Orkid! Always specializes in products as: Maxi pads, ultra thin pads, pantiliners and feminine wipes.
Although Always is active in the international markets for over three decades now and is considered a “mature” brand, the competition from rival brands is more clear now than ever! In order for Always to not only survive the millennial excessive consumer goods rise, but to stand out and thrive, the advertising agency of P&G had to come up with something clever to steal the show. And they did in 2015, with the “Like A Girl” campaign which later won the Emmy Award for outstanding commercial!
The creative team asked from a group of young people and teenagers consisting of both boys and girls to listen to some actions from the director and do the first thing that comes to their mind. “What does it look like when they say, you run like a girl?”, “ Show me what it looks like to fight like a girl!”, “Now throw like a girl” were the directions and everyone acted as if ‘like a girl” was a degrading quality for someone to have. Later the director called out little girls and pre-teens and proceeded with asking the exact same questions, only the answers were dramatically different. These little girls did not take the direction as an “insult” but tried their best to show how a girl would respond to all these directions. Apart from their young age, they seemed bold, quick and dedicated to what they were doing. After that, both children and teenagers were asked some questions about their reaction and the reason of it, to which most of them admitted that “Do it like a girl” sounds like a humiliating thing. By the end of the video beautiful words are spoken about girl empowerment, but there is a bigger issue beneath all that.
The #likeagirl “Always” campaign was profound and well-timed. Despite living in the 21st century, there is no actual equality between men and women in various fields. Women are still perceived as “inferior” to men and there still is deep sexism where they are concerned. Women are continuously criticized for the way they look, the way they choose to live their lives and handle their careers and they are undermined in today’s society. Even though steps have been made towards a change in that, women still face situations that no man in the western world would face. For example women are criticized for choosing time-consuming and ambitious careers instead of being housewives and they are often paid less than their male colleagues in the same job just because of their sex.
The phrase “like a girl” is an insult to women and girls around the world. Doing things like a girl means that you either do them badly or poorly compared to a man. The campaign‘s purpose was to raise the issue of sexism towards women and try to turn that phrase into something positive. Women, and especially young girls, who are more vulnerable to criticism, need to feel empowered and confident in their own selves and not ashamed of who they are. Doing things “like a girl” should be something they’re proud of and embrace their womanly nature. After all, we all are humans who shouldn’t be defined by our sex, so why should we constantly make comparisons between men and women and why should such a simple phrase be turned into something derogatory?
As the campaign’s short film went public, the way people used to feel about the phrase “like a girl” started to change. It achieved more than 85 million global views on YouTube from 150+ countries. After watching it, 76% of people said they no longer viewed the phrase negatively. Furthermore, two out of three men who watched it, said they’d now think twice before using ‘like a girl’ as an insult. Additionally, the hashtag #likeagirl became a trending topic and women all over the world wrote about their habits and the things they do like girls! So it does look like “Always” succeeded in making a small change and raising awareness on how wrongly society sometimes treats women.
The campaign won D&AD Pencils across eight separate categories, including Direct, Digital Marketing and Film Advertising. This film was proof of the power that creativity holds.
The campaign turned into a huge success and managed to reach its goal. In fact it started as a social experiment that ultimately transformed a phrase from an insult to the ultimate compliment that it is. Apart from the initial film, there are others that were included in the campaign such us : “Doing things #likeagirl on and off the field”, “Unstoppable #likeagirl”, “#likeagirl: girl emojis” , “#likeagirl keep playing”.
Our Team: Mariza Rizou Evaggelia Paraskevopoulou Dimitra Christodoulaki Dimitra Karali
