How Brands Co-opted International Women’s Day

Remember the one where McDonald’s flipped its golden arches from an M to a W? Then KFC replaced its Colonel Sanders mascot with an image of his wife Claudia Sanders for a day. British retailer Ann Summers temporarily rebranded as WomAnn Summers. NBCUniversal-owned TV channel E! transformed into SHE! These and other past marketing stunts for International Women’s Day (IWD) received backlash from critics who called them "tokenistic" or "hypocritical" gestures. Far from its original intent, IWD has morphed into a marketing event akin to Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, sparking a flurry of activity from brands purporting to show support for women. But as IWD-themed advertising has intensified, so too has the scrutiny from those who say marketers are missing the point. Each year numerous websites and social media users call out the most cringeworthy or wrongfooted IWD campaigns. Since last year, an anonymous Twitter account called The Gender Pay Gap Bot has been quote-tweeting corporations’ IWD posts and comparing them to their internal gender pay gaps. The message from critics is clear: people are tired of companies only paying lip service to gender equality without taking real action. How did brands get IWD so wrong? And could marketers do anything to mark it meaningfully beyond one day? “To every brand I would say: forget the IWD campaign and take a long, hard look at yourself,” said Cindy Gallop, advertising consultant and the founder and CEO of social intimacy video site MakeLoveNotPorn. “If for the women within your own company, you’re not providing equality of opportunity, of pay, of promotion, of leadership and of support–then do not do anything on IWD. Fix yourself first.” 'Desperation' to be relevant Long before it was a branding exercise, IWD emerged from the early 20th century labor movements in North America and Europe. The Socialist Party of America organized the first “National Women’s Day” in 1909 to commemorate a garment workers’ strike. In 1975, the United Nations declared the official IWD to be held annually on March 8, and March later became Women’s History Month in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The period still inspires protests around the world advocating for women’s rights and gender equality. Fix yourself first.—Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO, MakeLoveNotPorn Ad industry observers estimate it was up to a decade ago when the marketers swept in. With the rise of social media, “the industry became obsessed with trends and being first,” said Amy Kean, founder and creative director of the organization Good Shout. “There’s been a domino effect, and what the industry has done since then is treat feminism like it’s a trend.” This shows a bigger factor at play among brands and their agencies, which is, according to Kean, a “desperation to be seen as culturally relevant”–sometimes resulting in the appropriation of a movement at the expense of its true intention. Increasing scrutiny Though IWD highlights this problem, it's not just feminism that has been co-opted by marketers. In recent years, many brands have been accused of "pinkwashing" (declaring themselves to be LGBTQ+ allies but not actually supporting those communities), "greenwashing" (exaggerating sustainability credentials to improve reputations or sell products), "wokewashing" and other similar behaviors that promote a social cause as a form of advertising without concrete action or systemic change. But social media has also allowed for greater scrutiny on these tokenistic gestures, as seen with the Gender Pay Gap Bot for IWD. Consumers are catching on to corporations that use IWD and other equality initiatives merely as marketing ploys. There is too often a big gap between intention and delivery.—Sophie Walker, communications consultant and feminist campaigner Last year, 47% of online mentions about IWD campaigns (which includes commercials and brand giveaways) were negative, according to social analytics firm Brandwatch. This was consistent with consumer sentiment in 2021, when 46% of mentions about IWD campaigns were negative–up from 36% in 2020. “One of consumers' key concerns is the authenticity and sincerity of these campaigns,” a Brandwatch spokesperson explained. “More consumers are also becoming critical of brands that engage in marketing that takes a performative stance on social issues without actually addressing the underlying problems … they expect brands not just to make statements about women’s rights but also to take concrete steps towards improving gender equality in their own organizations.” What marketers should do Therein lies the key for marketers who wish to observe IWD meaningfully, industry pros told Adweek. First, a marketer should ask themselves if their business is one that already “does genuine good for women,” said Lisa Thompson, business director at agency Wavemaker U.K. and president of Bloom North, a professional network for women in communications. She pointed to CoppaFeel, a breast cancer awareness charity that sends free monthly text reminders to people to check their breasts for signs of cancer, as an example of a brand that has a right to speak up on IWD. “The problem is too many brands try to make a vapid, static statement [for IWD] and don’t do anything to support women internally–so there’s no honesty in what they talk about,” Thompson said. “I have an issue with companies posting about it if they’ve got a gender pay gap or don’t provide support such as flexible working for mothers.” If a brand does an activation that is only speaking to a certain type of woman, that’s really problematic.—Jo Wallace, global executive creative director, Media.Monks Aline Santos, Unilever’s chief brand officer and chief equity, diversity and inclusion officer, cautioned that marketers “should be focused on driving equity for women all year round, not just on one date” and should make it “a priority in everything we do, from the makeup of our workforce and leadership, to ensuring the development of our products and brand experiences are fair and inclusive, as well as ‘unstereotyping’ our ads both in front of and behind the camera.” For example, Unilever’s “Act 2 Unstereotype” initiative commits to making the entire marketing process inclusive, from the research stage to creative development, casting choices and a diverse workforce across its agency and production partners. This Challenger Condom Brand Wants to Break Taboos Around Women's Sexual Health Another way brands can ensure more meaningful IWD campaigning is by collaborating with experts and community groups to guide the process, said Jo Wallace, global executive creative director of Media.Monks. She gave a shout-out to Nike for partnering with New York-based grassroots running group We Run Uptown for an annual IWD run. Importantly, marketers should also take an intersectional view of feminism and make sure they are being inclusive of all women, Wallace added: “If a brand does an activation that is only speaking to a certain type of woman, that’s really problematic.” On that note, Kean emphasized the ‘international’ part of the event’s title, suggesting that marketers use IWD as a learning opportunity within their own companies, “to ensure that people are thinking outside their bubble.” “What I would do is educate everyone about women outside of their immediate culture or country,” she continued. No more 'performative feminism' At the start of March, communications consultant and feminist campaigner Sophie Walker went viral with a Twitter thread about how to avoid “the corporate calamity” and “branding bun fight” on IWD. The reception to her posts reflected a wider frustration with brands’ “performative feminism,” as Walker said. Her advice to corporations included paying women speakers fairly, paying babysitting fees or providing on-site childcare at evening events, checking your organization’s pay gap, and “don’t make anything pink.” “There is too often a big gap between intention and delivery, with a preference to do things on the cheap and to tick the easiest boxes–which has led to a lot of cynicism,” Walker told Adweek. Why Masculinity Is the Elephant in the Room for Advertisers Ultimately, gender equality will never be achieved until businesses look inwardly first and do “uncomfortable” work within, said Walker–a process that is usually much more difficult than a marketing campaign or social media post. “To do this work, bosses have to get comfortable with the fact that it’s going to make them uncomfortable. Changing systems and processes that have been designed for one small group of people inevitably forces movement and change from that small group of people–and when they are the ones in charge, they are often also the sticking point,” she said.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

How Marketers Co-opted International Women’s Day–And What They Should Change

IWD has become tinged with cynicism, but there are steps brands can take to mark it meaningfully

Brittaney Kiefer

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Brittaney Kiefer