Top Women’s History Month 2023 campaigns

Values-driven advertising has never been more important, with brands motivated to demonstrate their activism and appeal to a generation that puts its purchasing power to work for the issues it cares about. This month, marketers put their best ads forward in celebration of both International Women’s Day (IWD) and Women’s History Month. But for some members of the industry, the opportunistic nature of these campaigns could easily miss the mark.

"As an individual committed to gender equity, and a member of an agency team that has produced powerful work for brands participating in Women’s History Month, the “event” of IWD feels hollow to me this year,” said Jo McKinney, CEO at Burns Group, which put together #BiasCorrect, the multiyear viral Slack plug-in and campaign for Catalyst. “The theme of 'embrace equity' seems to assume that equity is something we already have or is something we should willingly accept versus something that is increasingly out of reach and will require a herculean effort to achieve. Women’s rights are more threatened than ever and a brand or corporate message one day or one month out of the year is not a difference maker."

Some say the response on the part of brands runs the risk of resonating with a performative tone.

“At times, a great amount of focus is put on how quickly a company can react rather than how deeply they can reflect,” said Kelli Perkins, program manager, diversity, equity and belonging at UM Worldwide. “Brands should ask themselves how they might show up for the women within their own walls, and from there create transformative spaces and strategies so that the power of their culture is felt externally.”

Rising to the challenge

Still, these types of awareness days give marketers an opening to celebrate marginalized and disenfranchised groups, and there were a number of marketers who rose to the challenge for this year’s edition.

“Dove has always been a brand that values women as we truly are and not what society pushes us to be,” said Perkins. “Its latest campaign in partnership with LinkedIn, #BlackHairIsProfessional, is a perfect example of how brands insert their voice into pressing topics, such as what qualifies as good or professional-looking hair. It’s uplifting to see brands like Dove and LinkedIn play a larger role in reshaping societal norms and pushing for overdue legislation.”

Dove hit the mark with a second campaign on TikTok with #TurnYourBack, "launched in response to the staggering statistic that 77% of teen girls use some type of filter or another form of photo retouching before posting a photo on social media, and 54% of girls prefer the way they look when their photos are edited," said Stacey Trunnell, brand strategy director at Cactus. "Since the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty launched nearly 20 years ago, they’ve clearly tied their purpose to helping improve self-esteem in women and girls—not just one day a year, but all the time.”

To Ali Kirby, director, influencer relations, at HireInfluence, the campaigns that celebrate women’s accomplishments tend to resonate most. For Kirby, “She Is PepsiCo” fit that criteria, celebrating 28 female leaders from 20 cities across the U.S. and Canada with personalized delivery-truck wraps. 

“The program was a great way to address the impressive work of women with an internal twist that highlights PepsiCo's commitment to female empowerment,” Kirby said. “As an added dimension of dedication that extends beyond their marketing strategies, brands need to have meaningful action, steps that show a commitment to updating their internal organizational structure and a greater level of dedication.”

Driving to excellence

Another brand that met the challenge of celebrating women was auto-maker Ford. Its “Men’s Only Edition” ad highlighted the extensive contributions women have made to the automotive industry, removing all parts created by women from the car, including windshield wipers, GPS and rear-view mirrors.

“It felt like a breath of fresh air for a brand that is steeped in masculine American heritage,” said John Higgins, CEO and chief creative officer at OS Studios. “At the same time, it did a great job of highlighting the often-overlooked accomplishments of women in the auto industry, while pointing to a more equitable future.”

Added Faryn Hill, director, marketing science, and women’s affinity group lead at Critical Mass, “The quick bait-and-switch was powerful, light and impactful. The ad's message of celebrating women's contribution to the automotive industry was a refreshing and delightful surprise, especially given how this topic is often overlooked or not highlighted enough in mainstream media.”

To Jessica Clifton, head of brand and marketing advisory at Media.Monks, the power of the ad was in how it successfully underscored the accomplishments of women.

“Women manage to make some of the most innovative and provocative contributions to our society,” she said. “The brilliant spot made it clear that many innovative parts of the automobile may not have been possible without them.”

Tying campaigns to a sense of community and action is equally important, with impact coming from real, grassroots change.

“One campaign for International Women's Day that resonated with me was the SheSays campaign, featuring resignation letters from women and nonbinary people in the creative industry, shedding light on a trend of departures that are linked to mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression,” said Adrian Owen Jones, chief growth officer at ThreeSixtyEight.

“They're addressing the root causes of these mental health struggles by seeking to change workplace policies and culture that make it difficult for these individuals to thrive,” she said.

Hershey Canada’s #HERforSHE campaign was based on a similar foundation of community and action, using their platform to celebrate women working to affect change, including 2SLGBTQIA+ advocate Fae Johnstone.

“Hershey’s effort to bring awareness to trans inclusivity and representation was truly commendable. It’s not every day that a brand is willing to reinterpret its own name for trans rights,” said Eileen Zhao, strategy director at Fred & Farid Los Angeles.

“It’s encouraging to see brands wanting to celebrate and advocate for equality, especially in a climate where execs are understandably cautious of the backlash that anything controversial could cause,” said Sheila Srinivasan, creative director at Wondersauce. “This year, it felt particularly important to see campaigns successfully highlighting trans women, like that of Hershey Canada.” Srinivasan also pointed to Lottie London, Strava and Miller Lite as brands that met the challenge for Women’s History Month.

Intentionality matters when it comes to addressing awareness days and months through branded campaigns, and for many their success or failure hinges on perceived authenticity.

“As with anything, the work that truly resonates is a sincere expression of a brand’s purpose and actions rather than an opportunistic play for relevance or attention, which, in this moment feels not just cringe but offensive,” said Ellie Gogan-Tilstone, senior VP and head of strategy at MullenLowe Boston.

Gogan-Tilstone points to the work Mattel Inc.’s Barbie fashion-doll product line has done in supporting women and girls, highlighting its Barbie Celebrates Role Models campaign.

“It’s not a stunt,” she said. “It feels real. But I think the larger point is that right now what women need is for brands to talk less and look inward. Before doing anything external, ensure that the women within your own walls are paid, promoted and supported equally.”

Going beyond the obvious

To Erica S. Wiggins, director of marketing and communications at George P. Johnson, the social networking and dating app Bumble embodies activism beyond a surface level.

“As a consumer and a marketer, I look for brands that are doing more than paying lip service to inequity,” Wiggins said. “Bumble’s ‘Make Your Move’ campaign is not only on brand, but it's a program that will likely change lives.”

Wiggins noted that the brand’s partnership with Vital Voices increases impact by providing a layer of support for change-makers.

“They also support women around the world with ‘Moves Making Impact,’” she said. “Users choose the cause they want to support, and every time they make the first move by sending a message to a new match, they’ll donate to a woman doing corresponding work in her community.”

Ultimately, brand messages that resonate best come through as genuine, transparent and meaningful. Of course, what resonates or doesn’t is deeply personal, noted Reshma Karnik, chief media officer at Barkley.

“As a woman of color who created and paved my path, I am still moved by the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue that appeared on Wall Street to mark International Women’s Day in 2017,” Karnik said. “The bronze girl with hands on her side waiting to take on the world represents the little girl in India who wanted to cross seven seas and experience life in the U.S., where dreams do come true.”

For Karnik, this year’s cohort of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month campaigns contained some great work—specifically, Amazon’s “Tache” spot and Mercedes Benz’s “Be One of Many” ad—but all raise the question of how much more could be done.

“What if we didn’t celebrate one day as International Women's Day on social media but instead celebrated every day as Women’s Day like we’ve done for men throughout history?” she said. “This change begins with each one of us. I am raising two little boys to know nothing different, and it is just the beginning.”