International Women’s Day Global Campaigns

International Women’s Day is a tradition over a century old. The day is aimed to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women and focus on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development, financial security and social acceptance. International Women’s Day is a chance for brands to show what they’re doing to promote equality. Lets have a look at what some businesses did to mark the occasion.

Apple

“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much,” goes the soundtrack to Apple’s “Behind the Mac” ad on YouTube, released Tuesday. It’s a compilation of pictures of women, including campaigner Malala Yousafzai, soccer star Megan Rapinoe and #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke. They’re shown working on Macs, and the song uses words from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx talk, “We Should All Be Feminists,” which was sampled by Beyonce in her song “Flawless.” The company is also running events in-store highlighting women creatives.

KitePride

The Tel Aviv based fashion social enterprise launched a campaign titled #forher בשבילה# in order to raise awarness about forced prostitution. The campaign launched with actors and actresses from the kibutyznkim using social media to both raise awareness about the issue and to educate the public that a place exists to employ and empower these women. The celebrities posted a picture with their KitePride bag explaining that through their purchase, empowerment, dignity and continuous employment was provided to woman who sewed their bag. #forher is a campaign of unity and empowerment. Keep tuned for more to come. 

Absolut

The Swedish alcohol brand launched a campaign called “Drink Responsibly. #SexResponsibly,” on Valentine’s Day with ads stating: “Buying someone a drink doesn’t buy you a yes,” and it aims to continue the conversation ahead of International Women’s Day. It is working with influencers to share stories on social media tagged #StillNotAYes and is running an event on March 12 where actress and producer Olivia Wilde and others will discuss consent. It has launched the campaign with RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. 

Intrepid Travel’s

When tour company Intrepid Travel realized that most of its trip leaders were men, it sought to equalize the imbalance, noting that 65% of its customers are female. Zina Bencheikh, general manager ofMorocco office, successfully lobbied for the country to license more female tour guides and this week the business launched women-only tours to Pakistan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. It plans to report on its progress towards equality by 2022.

Procter & Gamble and Time magazine

Time magazine was “created by men for ‘busy men,’” and it named its annual “Man of the Year” in 1927, only changing it to “Person of the Year,” in 1999, according to its executive editor, Kelly Conniff. Now, Procter & Gamble is backing Time’s release of 100 influential “Women of the Year” profiles, including the likes of campaigner Greta Thunberg, author Toni Morrison and chemist Rosalind Franklin, and has sponsored a documentary on how the women were selected. P&G brands that will advertise in the printed issue include Pampers, Olay and SKII.

Kind

Kind held around 10% of the U.S. market share for snack bars in 2019, according to Euromonitor, and this year it has decided to get political for International Women’s Day. It is running a petition to campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to go ahead — a change to the constitution that was proposed in 1972 and is now back before Congress. It will also donate profits from its limited-edition “Equality” bar to the Alice Paul Institute, which is campaigning for the ERA to be ratified. Bars can be bought via its website, where it sells multi-boxes and subscriptions.

 

Reebok

“It’s a Man’s World” might seem like a counter-intuitive name for a women’s product range, but Reebok did just that when it launched a collection designed by women, with the phrase crossed out on its footwear. Reebok, owned by Adidas, just dropped its 2020 “It’s a Man’s World” collection ahead of International Women’s Day.

Narendra Modi

He’s not exactly a brand, but India’s Prime Minister tweeted that he will “give away” his social media accounts to women who are inspiring and is asking people to enter a competition to run his Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts on Sunday.