‘Normalising’ gender
The campaign challenges the portrayal of women as emotional beings incapable of taking tough decisions
Which is your favourite campaign and why?
I have the Nike Dream Crazier campaign at the top of my list. I chose it primarily because as a woman I think it's important that we portray women in the most authentic manner. I have a twoyear-old and when I think about what she will be watching, I am reminded of the ads that I would watch while growing up and the kind of impression those left on me. I'm not going to get into all those advertisements but some of them were outright misogynistic; others just portrayed women doing only a certain kind of job or put all of the responsibilities of the household or childbearing and childcare only on the women.
It is important that we show women as human beings that they are. I mean they're capable of so much more than just taking care of the house and the children. They have dreams and aspirations of their own and it is important that we don't restrict them or make them appear like emotional beings who are not going to be able to take tough decisions. And because this campaign challenged those norms, it stood out for me. The way Nike has consistently shown women is something I respect and I want more of us to be able to have these conversations.
What is the campaign about?
It comes from the point of all the negatives that have been told about women — like you are emotional or weak or you're having a bad day... It talks about helping you break free, coming into your own and using all of the negatives that have been told to you to make something fantastic for yourself and pushing yourself harder and not listening to the bad voices that pull you down.
What are the parameters on which you based your decision?
The most crucial for me is the authenticity of the campaign. For every big moment — be it mother ’s day or women’s day — many brands and so many of us are guilty of just putting out creatives that are not necessarily true. It's very important for brands to have authentic conversations with the audience and show whatever they might be talking about, not just because you have to promote a particular day.
The second point is putting out positivity because there is so much of negativity around us. Since you're actually spending money to put out a thought, you have to make sure that it makes a difference to young people who are watching it. Then comes responsibility — we are working with businesses that are responsible and take care of things like environment etc.
What was the key idea behind the campaign?
That will be normalising gender or how one half of the world feels. Look at the number of times women are told you are emotional and you’re not going to be able to do this and so on. Nike just took all these things, gave it a positive spin and made it into a great campaign.
Sometimes the emotional element in a campaign is so strong, there's a greater call for the story then the product or the service at the end. Do you think this was the case with this campaign or Nike resonates well?
Hundred per cent and that is why it has stuck with me. It induces the thought that when I need something and it’s functional and works for me, I will go buy this particular brand. Brands create messages because you believe in what they’re telling you, you've been convinced to have a dialogue with them.