Sod the Stereotypes
When we’re not making Shetland ponies dance for Three or helping Tesco celebrate the joy of food, we love getting stuck in to some cultural experiments. So a little while ago, when ELLE magazine approached us with an intriguing project for their November issue, we jumped at the chance.
They invited three agencies (Brave, our fellow ‘ditch buddies Mother and yours truly) to collaborate with three feminist figures on a brief to rebrand feminism.
We partnered up with Vagenda, a witty and incisive feminist blog founded by Holly Baxter and Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett out of frustration with the way women are portrayed in – and expected to conform to – stupid and outdated stereotypes. We’d like to think we know a little bit about the modern woman too, especially through our work with Nike, and together we wanted to do more than just give feminism a shiny new identity. We wanted to turn the issue over to ELLE’s readers and open up a debate.
Our idea is simple: led by Vagenda’s Sod The Stereotypes manifesto, our call to action encourages readers of the magazine to tear out the corresponding page and write their own statement declaring how they define themselves as a woman, take a snap and spread the word using the #imawomanand hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. The benefits are twofold – readers have an opportunity to state their point of view on an important issue and ELLE has a chance to learn a little more about its readers and their interests.
The conversation also translates to our interactive window display here at 16 Hanbury Street, which naturally features a giant apple. It’s inspired by the first line of the manifesto: “I’m not an apple shape…”. When users outside the window tweet #imawomanand followed by their statement, they receive a fruit label inspired sticker with their tweet printed on it (thanks to a bit of magic by our creative technologist, Will Hooke), which they’re invited to stick to the window, take home, use to change the world – it’s up to them. Our installation will run throughout October, while the November issue of ELLE will be on shelves.
A huge thank you to everyone at ELLE, Vagenda and the W+K team: Sanam Petri, Beth Bentley, Karen Jane, Kelly Satchell, Amy Leach, Katie Harrison and Will Hooke.
Ladies: get ELLE, get your marker pens, get down to our window and get involved.
Tell us, who are you?