Always: Like A Girl
Consistently labeled one of the most influential examples of great marketing from the past decade, the inspiring #LikeAGirl campaign for Always kicked off in 2013 with the help of Leo Burnett Chicago and Holler.
Faced with the challenging task of making a feminine-hygiene brand popular in the eyes of its young female audience, the realization that the brand had lost relevance with 16 to 24 year-olds urged them to try something different.
Based on their research, the team found that over half of girls quit sports at puberty as a result of a crisis in confidence.
Using these insights, Always set out to appeal to its younger audience, harnessing social media to reverse the widespread perception of the term ‘like a girl’ in an empowering way, embarking on an “epic battle to stop the drop in confidence girls experience at puberty”, encouraging them to ‘Keep Playing #LikeAGirl.’ Judy John, Chief Executive Officer/Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Canada says:
“We set out to champion the girls who were the future of the brand,”
In 2014, Always launched a new leg of its epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence through puberty and beyond by tackling the societal limitations that stand in their way. Since then, #LikeAGirl has gone from a simple phrase to a powerful and empowering movement.
Using #LikeAGirl as an insult is a hard knock against any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty's really no picnic either, it's easy to see what a huge impact it can have on a girl's self-confidence. Always wanted to show that doing things #LikeAGirl is amazing!
Do we limit girls and tell them what they should or shouldn’t be? Do we box them into expected roles? Well, Always asked, and the answer was shocking: 72% of girls do feel society limits them. Always’ mission is to empower girls everywhere by encouraging them to smash limitations and be Unstoppable #LikeAGirl.
Playing princess, getting their nails done, dancing in bunny ears – is this a true representation of all the things that girls do?
That’s the question Always asked a few years ago when taking a critical look at how girls were portrayed in emojis.
A picture is worth a thousand words and Always wanted to empower girls to show that they can do anything.
7 out of 10 girls feel they don’t belong in sports. And as they’re pressured to conform to societal expectations, it’s no wonder that at puberty girls’ confidence plummets and half quit sports. Yet sports are exactly what help girls stay confident! Always wants to keep them playing #LikeAGirl and is inviting everybody to join in to rewrite the rules.
At puberty, 50% of girls feel paralyzed by the fear of failure, with a majority of girls feeling that societal pressure to be perfect drives this fear of failure.
This leads to girls avoiding trying new things because they’re too afraid to fail. But the truth is, failing is a good thing!
It helps us learn, grow and ultimately build confidence. Let’s keep her going #LikeAGirl!
