Until recently, International Women’s Day used to be a “commercial” date on the advertising calendar, but It was transformed into a space where brands can (rather, I would say, must) show their values and point of view. about society and in which they live and operate.
In recent surveys that we have carried out from Youniversal’s TREND LAB, we found that 8 out of 10 people in Latin America consider that brands are social actors and that, as such, they must take a stand and acton issues relevant to society. So it happens that as with other dates on the cultural calendar, Women’s Day is a date where brands play a role that goes beyond consumption and must show their point of view. (although of course, ideally not only that day, but throughout the entire year!).
Regarding this last point, for brands It is quite a challenge not to fall into “pink-washing”, which involves using the appearance of support for the cause of gender equality as a superficial marketing strategy to improve brand image without a genuine commitment to social change. Increasingly, consumers They are acutely aware of the gap between facts and brand narratives and are willing to punish and even “scratch” brands that remain just words.
As an example of this need for transparency and updating of social discourseswe find cases where apparently this “stop and give again” of brands in the face of the imagery associated with women could be successful, or be negative.
Let’s look at some cases: as an example of a negative case, we find all the questioning of the “perfection” of the Victoria’s Secret models who tried to renew their image according to these times, without completely achieving it at the moment. And as a successful example, the phenomenon sparked by the movie Barbie, using the doll and its historical imaginary of perfection and hegemony, to highlight feminist issues today. The finishing touch to this brand story is that the film (the highest grossing of 2023) was directed by a woman, Greta Erwin, who is not nominated for the Oscars. Which, in a way, proves the point the movie wanted to make.
In general, brands can use this day as an opportunity to show their commitment to gender equality through campaigns targeted advertising, commemorative product launches, support for charities, events and activities, as well as through internal policies that promote gender equality in the workplace.
As an example, in Peru beer Pilsen Callao launched the #AmistadSinDifferences campaign to challenge gender stereotypes in the country. They initially presented a supposed “Pilsen for women”, which generated debate on social networks. However, they later revealed that it was the same old beer, highlighting the idea that beer has no gender.
#LikeAGirl by Always: This campaign focuses on challenging gender stereotypes by changing the negative connotation of the phrase “like a girl” and empowering girls to feel proud of what they can achieve. The campaign included a viral video that sparked conversations about confidence and empowering young women.
“Dove Beauty Sketches” is a campaign that uses an experiment to highlight the challenges women face in recognizing their own beauty. In the short film, an FBI portrait artist draws the women without seeing them, according to their own description of themselves and then seeing them. This reveals that women are often their own worst critics when it comes to their appearance, and that this self-perception is often distorted and different from how others see them. This campaign highlights the importance of self-esteem and its impact on women’s lives.
New images, new values. Human beings are social beings and the images we see of ourselves somehow “construct us.” In this sense, auThere is still a long way to go from advertising and brands: According to a study conducted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media on thousands of advertisements, male characters are almost 30% more likely to use words associated with power than female characters.
But alsoIt is true that consumers are changing and penalizing brands that do not update. The research “Advertising and stereotypes: a high-risk relationship”, carried out by UN Women in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and funded by the European Union (EU), highlights the harm of sexism in advertising and its consequences in consumption. According to the study, 40% of people surveyed are willing to stop buying or even boycott a brand if its messages do not fit their interests and values. 58% consider that showing women in traditional roles such as cleaning, cooking or in a context related to beauty is sexist, as well as 57% believe that it is also sexist to portray them only as housewives or mothers and 54% consider that the advertisements that present them as objects or with little clothing are also things.
In short, the social role of brands in business and purpose is increasingly linked in today’s market, where consumption is perceived as a form of expression of values. Consumers’ expectation of diversity, inclusion, equity and fairness is a growing demand for brands, leading to a closer connection between the business and its purpose.
This commitment has become a kind of basic standard that companies and brands are expected to comply with. Which it involves assume values with courage, commitment, without lukewarmness. It is running and changing the codes of the mainstream, committing not only to the target consumer or collaborators, but also to society as a whole, creating new proposals increasingly aligned with these social values in transformation.
Ultimately, commemorating International Women’s Day from the perspective of brands means reaffirming their commitment to moving together towards a future characterized by equity and justice for all, beyond simply marking a date on the calendar.
*Co-founder and director of Youniversal
by Ximena Díaz Alarcón
