International Women’s Day 2024—how Ford, L’Oréal and other brands are celebrating

As women continue to face global inequalities, brand marketers have seized on International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month to call attention to these issues and celebrate women’s accomplishments throughout history. Here’s how some brands are activating this month. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here Ford Motor Co. Ford penned a love letter to women auto enthusiasts everywhere through a campaign called “Dear Car Girl.” The campaign, in collaboration with Wieden+Kennedy New York, kicks off with a hero spot starring stunt driver Dee Bryant; Ford engineer Fernanda Medina; racer, car builder and Bronco ambassador Gabby Downing; and drag racer and Mustang ambassador Lauren Stoney. The spot connects clips of the individuals doing what they love—driving, engaging in mechanics or washing their cars—as they read the love letter to other auto enthusiasts. The campaign will be followed by Q&A videos on social media that dive deeper into each of their stories. A printed “Dear Car Girl” letter will run in Ad Age sister publication Automotive News, while Ford will also send physical letters to female ambassadors, dealers and employees. Kotex The menstrual hygiene brand released a striking manifesto spot from agency Capital A (led by Always “Like a Girl” creator A.J. Hassan) that takes stock of the many threats to women’s progress—and strikes a defiant tone. Read our full story on the campaign here. L’Oréal Paris L’Oréal Paris launched a global campaign in partnership with the international non-governmental organization Right to Be to fight against street harassment and support women who have been harassed. The initiative, called “It’s Never Your Fault,” features outdoor posters that invite women not to blame their lipstick, their mascara or their shoes for provoking harassment. The ads include a QR code that links to a five-minute training video about standing up against street harassment. The campaign follows an Ipsos study that found 75% of women worldwide have already experienced sexual harassment in a public space at least once in their lives, and 85% of people globally declare there is a lack of training on how to intervene when witnessing harassment. Wolverine Wolverine Boots and Apparel launched a campaign spotlighting the accomplishments of women in the skilled trades with the goal of adding “woman-made” to the dictionary. Last week, the 140-year-old boot maker debuted an anthem video challenging the use of the phrase “man-made” and introducing “woman-made.” The 90-second spot features street-interview style clips as an off-screen interviewer reveals to bystanders that the creations of structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Terminal One at LAX and others were led by women. As part of the effort, Wolverine also launched a public petition on Change.org calling for the addition of “woman-made” into the dictionary. Binance Binance created a luxury fragrance for women, called Crypto, as part of a larger effort to bring more women into cryptocurrency investing. Binance set up a pop-up stand in a shopping mall in Bahrain on Wednesday to promote the new scent. As an incentive, Binance will also reward each of the first 5,000 women who successfully complete a crypto beginner course on Binance Academy with $25 in USDT Token Vouchers. For International Women’s Day efforts, the company also organized a series of local meetups, as well as social media and user-generated content initiatives. The campaign comes as the Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, a study by data firm GWI, found women’s involvement in crypto investing is still lower than that of their male counterparts across all age groups. “Crypto is universal—it’s about empowering all individuals. It’s time to ensure no woman is left behind in this financial revolution,” said Rachel Conlan, chief marketing officer at Binance, in a statement. MilkPEP MilkPEP’s Team Milk, Vox Media and Gale are boosting “26.2”—a running initiative created by Team Milk in 2022 to address the significant gap in support of women in sports—at SXSW, leading an inspirational run on Friday. The campaign will extend throughout the weekend. Ad Age A-List and Creativity Gala Buy your ticket to the in-person event Click here On Saturday, The Cut and Team Milk will also host a “How I Get It Done” panel discussion on women in the sports industry, featuring Dina Asher-Smith, world and European champion athlete; Haley Rosen, chief executive officer and founder of Just Women’s Sports; and Chloe Kim, American snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Following SXSW, Team Milk and Vox Media will premiere “Running Sucks,” a docuseries that follows influencer Abi Ayres on her journey of preparing to run the New York City Marathon. Le Chocolat des Français Le Chocolat des Français, known in English as the Chocolate of French Men, is launching “Le Chocolat des Françaises,“ the Chocolate of French Women, featuring a new range of four chocolate blocks with artwork of pioneering women in French history. Created with TBWA\Paris, the chocolate blocks will feature a Snapchat code. Scanning it will bring the illustrations to life, allowing the women to recount the contributions they made to society. The women featured are: Maker’s Mark Handmade Kentucky bourbon Maker’s Mark launched a limited-edition label designed by artist Gayle Kabaker in support of the nonprofit organization Vital Voices. For Women’s History Month, consumers can order the complimentary label and personalize it with the name of an inspirational woman in their lives. The label depicts Kabaker’s interpretation of a spirited woman in acrylic gouache, inspired by the Kentucky wildflowers and Maker’s Mark color palette. Danone Danone’s Dannon Light + Fit yogurt unveiled two initiatives that aim to empower women entrepreneurs and address challenges faced by women-owned small businesses. First, the brand announced special-edition packaging for March, featuring the work of Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and female artist Camila Rose as part of its Empowering Women Artists Series. It also unveiled a grant program created with organization Female Founder Collective, which will provide five creative female entrepreneurs each with a $10,000 grant and a yearlong membership to the organization, with applications opening Friday. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs has announced the winners of its $100,000 bursary grant after launching “The Rose Project,” a global initiative to recognize five revolutionary women inspired by the brand’s unsung female founder Rose Mattus. Eunice Maia from Portugal, Jennifer Seifert and Karol Ivanna Aceves Flores from Mexico, Sarah Kandolo from South Africa, and Yarett Piñeiro from Puerto Rico will take an equal share of the award, which supports unsung women “who don’t hold back,” according to campaign materials. The project will continue throughout next year, with nominations now open through July. Häagen-Dazs will also offer a global free scoop giveaway along with other promotions for its Founder’s Favorite vanilla ice cream to mark International Women’s Day in select shops across Europe, Latin America and Asia. MTV Entertainment Studios MTV Entertainment Studios is handing over its platform to a young female creator, Zoey Martinson, from Busua, Ghana, for Women’s History Month. In a campaign video titled “The Wave,” viewers follow Martinson through a small village in Ghana where a group of women and girls that are raised to be “Good Ghana Girls”—obedient, docile and raised to stay away from the sea—start a surf club called the Obini Girls Surf Club. The film will run across MTV Entertainment linear, social and digital platforms throughout March. LoveShackFancy New York-based fashion and lifestyle brand LoveShackFancy is launching a pop-up shop on Roblox in partnership with Stratosphere Studios, the creative arm of Gen Z publisher Basket, with 10% of sales going toward Girls Who Code. The activation, which will run from March 8 to April 8, will feature-limited edition brand items targeting Gen Z. “As a Gen Z woman and co-founder, our collaboration with LoveShackFancy captures the essence of Gen Z’s passion for expressing style online and offline,” said Emily Yuan, co-founder of Basket Entertainment. “We’re excited to launch on International Women’s Day to honor the diverse community of women gamers who embody the LoveShackFancy brand.” Climate Clock Climate Clock has updated its Gender Parity Lifeline on public art installations of clocks worldwide to show a small increase in women in parliament. According to Inter-Parliamentary Union data, clocks now show an increase from 26.5% of women in parliament in 2023 to 26.9% in 2024, an increase of 0.4%. The campaign comes as at least 64 countries— representing a combined population of about 49% of the people in the world—have held, or are set to hold, national elections this year, offering an opportunity to increase the number of women in parliament. Mekanism Creative agency Mekanism is calling on the ad industry to codify menopause support in their benefits policies through a call-to-action campaign titled “The Menoclause.” The Menoclause calls on the industry to implement a simple, six-sentence policy outlining workplace rights and benefits for those experiencing menopause: Publicis Canada Publicis Canada launched an awareness campaign about the male-centric workplace designs by calling attention to the often too-cold-for-women temperature at work. “Turn the Temp to 23” features custom-printed blankets with the call to turn the temperature up to a more inclusive 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees Fahrenheit), which is shown to enhance women’s productivity without hindering men’s. The campaign was inspired by the fact that 76% of female employees report their offices as too cold, which leads to discomfort and impaired performance among women, hindering career progress over time. Equal Rights Amendment Coalition The U.S. is the only democratic country in the world without equal rights for women guaranteed under the constitution. To call for that to change, former Rep. Carolyn Maloney and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Coalition have launched a text line, “Shout for Equality,” led by Ogilvy, that shows support for the ratification of the ERA, which was introduced 100 years ago. The text line goes together with a petition that calls on Congress to recognize the ERA as ratified via a joint resolution. When added to the Constitution, the ERA will prohibit the denial of equal rights based on sex as one of the country’s foundational constitutional principles. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here

International Women’s Day 2024—how Ford, L’Oréal and other brands are celebrating

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