WACL is making a big splash for its 100th anniversary. First there was the Mad Women documentary on Channel 4, and now there’s an ad campaign, supported by Unilever’s Dove and running on ITV, Sky and Channel 4 as well as online and in print.
Seen through the eyes of young girls watching ads, the voiceover tells us that they will one day love their wrinkles, feel body-confident doing the sports they love, and learn to love their natural hair.
Claire Sadler, chief marketing & fundraising officer, British Heart Foundation, is leading the campaign for WACL. She said: “We wanted to recognise the role and influence we have in championing positive representation of women in advertising. And look ahead to amplify the voices of the next generation of women and girls to make sure advertising is fit for their future.”
ITV’s head of creative, Vineet Raheja, was creative director for the TV ad, and British Heart Foundation’s head of creative, Helen Arnold, was creative director for print, OOH and digital. Media donors include ITV, C4, Sky, Guardian, Metro, Global Outdoor, Clear Channel, Meta, Amazon, and MiQ.
There’s no doubt that advertising plays a role in shaping social norms – or at least reinforcing them – although this spot focuses on the girls’ attitudes to appearance rather than their role in society.
That could be down to the Dove tie up, or because there still aren’t enough examples of ads where women do normal stuff, even though they make 85% of consumer purchases.
