International Women’s Day aims to celebrate the achievements of women around the world, raise awareness about discrimination, and drive gender parity.
This year, many brands honored International Women’s Day with their own creative marketing campaigns – some that garnered laughs and others that sparked controversy. Let’s take a look:
Miller Lite Brews Change
Miller Lite acknowledged the sexist advertising that is notorious in the beer industry in its “Bad $#!T to Good $#!T” campaign. In its ad, comedian Ilana Glazer collects old posters of women in bikinis promoting beer and grinds them into worm food to make fertilizer. The fertilizer is then given to female brewers to make more beer, a nod to the “founding mothers” of beer.
The hops grown through this new campaign will be donated to over 200 female brewers to make over 300,000 beers. Miller Lite will also donate over five times the amount it spends to buy back the old ads to the Pink Boots Society, supporting in brewing education for women.
Barbie Inspires the Next Generation of Female Scientists
Barbie honored seven women across the globe who are leaders in STEM with one-of-a-kind role model doll made in their likeness.
Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and Dolls, said in a statement, “STEM is a field where women are severely underrepresented, and our hope is that honoring these seven leaders in science and technology will encourage girls to follow their passion in this field.”
The honorees include: Susan Wojcicki, Longtime YouTube CEO; Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andME; Janet Wojcicki, Professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco; Katya Echazarreta, Electrical engineer and science show host; Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Space scientist and science educator; Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius, Marine researcher and microbiologist; and Li Yinuo, Co-founder of ETU Education.
Häagen-Dazs Honors Women Who Don’t Hold Back
Häagen-Dazs, created in 1960 by Rose and Reuben Mattus, has launched The Rose Project, a global initiative with a bursary grant of $100,000 that will support remarkable #WomenWhoDontHoldBack and help unleash their potential.
On its website, Häagen-Dazs shared that while Reuben made the ice cream, it was Rose who made them famous and broke glass ceilings with her pioneering marketing skills. Yet, her immense contribution was largely unsung compared to that of Reuben.
Nominations for The Rose Project are now open here.
Hershey Unwraps Her for She Bars
As part of its “Her for She” campaign, Hershey featured five Canadian activists on its limited-edition chocolate bar wrappers, including: Kelicia Massala, the founder of Girl Up Quebec; Naila Moloo, a climate technology scientist; Rita Audi, a gender and education equality activist; Autumn Peltier, an Indigenous rights activist; and Fae Johnstone, a Transgender LGBT+ activist.
Unsurprisingly, the campaign was met with strong reactions. Hours after its launch, social media users called for a boycott of Hershey for featuring a transgender woman in its International Women’s Day promotion.
In response to the controversy, Hershey simply stated, “We value togetherness and recognize the strength created by diversity. Over the past three years, our Women’s History Month programming has been an inclusive celebration of women and their impact. We appreciate the countless people and meaningful partnerships behind these efforts.”