P&G’s Whisper promotes girlpower
Whisper, a feminine care brand owned by global household giant Procter & Gamble Co, is seeking to expand the influence of its LIKEAGIRL campaign by donating over 758,760 sanitary pads to 4,187 girls in China who were leftbehind while their parents went to work in big cities.
Initiated in 2014 in the United States, Whisper’s LIKEAGIRL campaign aims to renew the meaning of the phrase “like a girl” in order to break down negative stereotypes held by young women, boys and girls worldwide, as well to draw greater attention from society as a whole to gender issues.
“Instead of promoting Whisper products, the campaign draws on emotions and sentimentality by directly confronting a topic that so many people can relate to personally,” said Eileen Wang, communications associate director at the unit of P&G GC Baby, Feminine and Family Care.
With a message of restoring pride to young women, the campaign specifically targets girls in puberty making their transition to being young women — a time that typically brings with it a drop in self-confidence.
Whisper reinvigorated its campaign message at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil with the LIKEAGIRL and “Keep Playing” initiative this year.
Leading up to the Olympics, Whisper organized a large “Keep Playing” and LIKEAGIRL sporting event in China in July at Beijing’s Olympic Park to promote women’s participation in sports.
The event was well attended by athletes of all ages, including the goalkeeper of the China Women’s Soccer Team and Olympics Ambassador Zhao Lina. It culminated in the airing of the new LIKEAGIRL campaign video, with all in attendance shouting LIKE A GIRL to echo the Olympic spirit.
It also garnered tremendous support from popular Chinese actresses and sportswomen, such as Guan Xiaotong, Yuan Shanshan and Zhao Lina via Weibo, the popular Chinese micro-blogging site.
“We were excited to see so many girls come and join our event. This strong support helps Whisper to make a difference. We hope that the ‘Keep Playing’ and LIKEAGIRL campaigns can encourage girls to keep playing sports and build up their confidence during sports,” said Wang.
Thanks to the success of the LIKEAGIRL efforts in the US over the past two years, Whisper also deployed its resources to young women and girls to encourage them to engage not only in sports, but also in other fields, such as charities and education.
In addition to the event in Beijing, Whisper launched a crowdfunding event in March to help over 10,840 left-behind girls who lack family care because they are in modest financial conditions.
A total of 758,760 sanitary product packages were sent to girls in a number of schools across China. More such events will either be launched or planned in the second half of this year, to support the LIKEAGIRL campaign nationwide.
Zhang Yaxin, deputy director of the market development department of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said donations from multinationals such as Whisper play a vital role in helping different areas of society in China. He encouraged more companies, organizations and people to offer help to improve the lives of young females in Chinese society.
“We also hope companies and society can pay more attention to these girls whose parents are working in cities or those without parents in poor rural areas,” said Zhang.
...the campaign draws on emotions and sentimentality by directly confronting a topic that so many people can relate to personally.” Eileen Wang, communications associate director at the unit of P&G GC Baby, Feminine and Family Care the number of sanitary pads Whisper, a feminine care brand donated to a large number of left-behind girls in China