74. Changing Perceptions- #LikeAGirl by Always
#LikeAGirl is a campaign breaking stereotyped and
demeaning connotation the slang ‘like a girl’ has. The campaign was done by
menstrual hygiene products brand, Always produced by Procter & Gamble with
MS&L as their consultancy.
‘Like a girl’ is a slang most commonly used to
insult a person. Always took this insight and created a campaign out of it.
Research conducted by the brand shows that during the age of puberty around 12
to 14, 50% of the girls feel paralysed by the fear of failure. This decreases
their level of confidence and makes them feel incompetent to do certain things
such as sports activities because they fear to do it ‘like a girl.’7 out of
10 girls feel they are not good at sports. This has less to do with their
physical capability but rather is a result of societal expectations and
emotional turmoil. Their self-confidence takes a big hit and half of them end
of quitting sports.
Always used these insights and decided to change
people’s perception of #LikeAGirl. They asked a few people of different age groups
to throw like a girl, run like a girl, and fight like a girl. Following the
instructions, people started to do things in different ways which showed their
interpretation of ‘like a girl’. Most of the grown-ups did the activities in a
weak or clumsy manner to show that #LikeAGirl to them means insulting or
demeaning someone. On the other hand, the young girls chose to do the same
activity with power and confidence because to them ‘like a girl’ meant like
themselves.
The campaign portrayed a different perception of the
same slang and explained to people how derogatory it is to categorise the manner
of doing things based on gender. Girls are not weak and we tell them they are
by saying that ‘you run like a girl’ or ‘you fight like a girl.’ What does that
even mean? I run like a girl because I am a girl. The campaign took the phrase
from insulting to a powerful and empowering movement.
It garnered 133,000 social media mentions and 76
million views for the YouTube video. It also won PRWeek’s Campaign of the Year
in 2015. But, more importantly, it helped in changing perceptions. 94% agree
#LikeAGirl has encouraged girls to be more confident. 76% of girls now have a
positive association with the phrase ‘like a girl’, a huge leap from the
earlier 19%.
So, next time someone says ‘run like a girl’, it
means win the race.
Reference:
The 20 best PR Campaigns of the past two decades: https://www.prweek.com/article/1493241/20-best-pr-campaigns-past-two-decades
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