By Julia Forman, Account Executive
Super Bowl ads have become a cultural phenomenon as more than 100 million viewers are watching their TVs in the United States to watch the best brand advertisements and campaigns. Unless the New England Patriots are playing, I shy away from watching the game and focus on the million-dollar advertisements in between plays. According to CBS, brands pay on average $5.5 million dollars for a 30-second spotlight for their ad.
Throughout the years, there have been many impactful commercials, but the most groundbreaking ad was done in 2015 by Always, a popular feminine product brand. Always created a cultural impact by approaching a social issue through their #LikeAGirl campaign.
During Super Bowl XLIX, when the New England Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24 (Go Brady and Gronk!), Always introduced their #LikeAGirl campaign. Always shifted their 60-second commercial to focus on empowering young girls across the nation. Confidence is the core of the Always brand, whether in Always’ products or within their customers, but now confidence has become a sensitive topic and issue for girls during puberty and beyond. Studies have shown that a girl's self-esteem drops two times more than a boy going through puberty, and in fact, women never regain this pre-puberty level of confidence. Always worked to change this through their #LikeAGirl campaign by empowering females.
Source: PR Week
Always launched their campaign #LikeAGirl and was one of the first companies to shift their ad focus to their loyal customers, rather than promoting the brand's products. Viewers continuously watch the #LikeAGirl ad because it focused on empowering girls. This led to the ad being watched more than 70 million times!
Always’ ad shows real people across different ages and races acting out stereotypical “girly” behaviors when asked to do the action #LikeAGirl. The viewer sees clear answer differences between young girls versus older girls going through puberty. For example, when being asked to “run like a girl” the younger girls run as fast as they can, while older girls do the stereotypical “girly” run by kicking their legs out and flapping their arms in the air. The progression of the video also worked extremely well. For example, Always filmed the responses to the same question from an older and then a younger participant back-to-back to clearly show the audience the difference in their answers due to their age.
Source: Wordpress.com
In fact, I still remember watching this commercial when it aired in 2015. I remember that after viewing the commercial, I began to feel confident in myself. The fact that I clearly remember these feelings and the campaign shows just how impactful the campaign was.
According to a case study done on the campaign, the results of Always #LikeAGirl campaign led to 4.4bn+ media impressions and 177,000 #LikeAGirl tweets in the first three months. After the campaign, 50% of women chose to purchase Always brand over competitors. Read more results here.
Source: Wordpress.com
Through approaching the issue of confidence, Always made a cultural impact. Always definitely evolved and the impact of the campaign is still talked about today. They sparked a much-needed conversation in society and for that, I will forever be grateful that this campaign exists. Also ask yourself, what do you do #LikeAGirl?