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An American ad agency called Badger & Winters has launched a new campaign called #WomenNotObjects.
This concept comes four years after advertising executive, Madonna Badger, lost her three young daughters in a house fire. After this tragic event she decided to devote her time and energy to urging advertisers to make a big change in terms of approach.
Badger told The Wall Street Journal that she wants to honour the memory of her children (as well as her parents who also died in the fire) by showing the world that sexist advertising is harmful to women. She says that she wants her life to “have a purpose” and that she loves her job, but not “if it hurts anyone.”
The below clip features women holding up examples of sexist ads for various companies such as Burger King and Skyy Vodka while giving personal commentary on the sexist images:
"The key to my heart? A man that smells like a vagina," says the woman holding the infamous Tom Ford fragrance ad that features a woman with a perfume bottle placed in front of her crotch.
Badger also admits that she was part of the problem; she was responsible for those Calvin Klein ads featuring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss back in the ‘90s.
Many brands and advertising agencies are now making ads that aim to inspire women instead of using their bodies to sell products.
Always launched their #LikeAGirl campaign in 2014, which sought to help girls feel proud of being able to do things and not associate negativity with the phrase “like a girl”.
In 2013, Dove launched the Real Beauty campaign in a bid to inspire women and girls to reach their full potential by caring for themselves and each other.
Lush Cosmetics were reprimanded for their Go Naked campaign highlighting their package-free products with images of naked women of all shapes and sizes. But they also received a lot of support worldwide.
So it looks like the world of advertising slowly is changing its ways.
Do you want to see less sexist ads?
