The Always “like a girl” connects on a deeper level with women. The work builds on what was started by Nike and Dove. Most days I can safely say “we are just marketers,” but every once in awhile, I see that we can have a cultural impact. We can use our platform to stand up for consumers, in this case, teenage girls, and in fact, all women will be moved by this video.
This 3-minute video by the ALWAYS team at P&G is making its way around the internet this weekend with millions of views already. I hope that it gives you goosebumps, tears or gets you to think differently.
The insight that P&G’s team found was that somewhere in the adolescence stage, girls self-confidence plummets. In the video, they ask both men and women over the age of 15 to depict what “like a girl” looks like, and both sexes show a stereotype and a negative association with WEAK. Moreover, then, they ask 8-10-year-old girls to “run like a girl,” and they show how they would NORMALLY run. The insight is that somewhere between 10 and 15, girls start to see “like a girl” as an insult. The Always brand challenges us to re-define “like a girl.”
Always "Like a girl"
As a dad of an athletic girl, I can see this insight. I remember playing football in the backyard when my daughter was around 10, and she picked up the football and threw a perfect spiral about 20 yards. I just stood in awe. In 6th and 7th grade she was the regional shot put champion. Also, then in 8th grade, she didn’t even go out for her school team. She was fighting those stereotypes at a tough age to “be a girl.” In today’s world of Instagram and Twitter, from what I see every day, it’s harder than ever to get to 20 feeling good about yourself.
P&G advertising
It’s one more example of where Procter and Gamble are moving to connect emotionally with consumers.
Dove advertising
Always "Like A Girl" builds on the work by Dove
Getting on the side of your consumer makes your consumer say “this brand is for me” and “this brand gets me.” Unilever was the first CPG brands to get on the side of consumers with the Dove “real beauty” campaign–still, a gold standard that many of us aspire to.
Nike advertising
Always "Like a Girl" feels inspired by Nike's "If you let me play"
However, in reality, CPG brands should still look beyond CPG to push themselves. You are watching Nike’s “if you let me play” ad from 1995, you can see the inspiration of this work. This ad is for all the women who kick ass in sports, including my daughter.
Doing this type of advertising takes guts. At this point, the video is viral and gaining momentum. This type of work comes straight out of insights gathered by the team. Insight is not something that consumers never knew before. That would be knowledge or news, but not insight. It’s not data or fact about your brand that you want to tell. Real insight goes a layer or two deeper to help with the cause and effect. Oddly enough, Insight is something that everyone already knows. Here is my definition: Insight comes to life when it’s told in such a captivating way that makes consumers stop and say “hmm, I thought I was the only who felt like that.”
Always "Like a Girl" definitely strikes a chord and connects with women.
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