P&G, Always

Responsibilities

Over multiple years I had the fortune of playing various creative roles for Proctor and Gamble’s various brands, from concept through execution. I was responsible for crafting compelling creative pitches for the business development and organic growth teams to expand the depth and breath of our client engagements, develop new creative executions for tentpole moments, craft experiences that would connect consumers closer to the brand, pull insights and strategy with the research teams to formulate foundation shifting ideologies upon which to build communication platforms, and design and expand brand look, feel, sound, and storytelling across various brands. The opportunity to work with Always was unexpected, but when presented with the idea, I felt we could shift not just sales, but social ideology around the way society thought about and engaged young women.

context

Proctor and Gamble’s Always, the leader in global feminine care, has long represented female empowerment, and is a brand that has looked to buttress, embolden and bolster the self-esteem and self-confidence of women around world. In 2013, they sponsored a Research Now study to discover the largest pain points for female confidence. They discovered that more that half the women surveyed claimed to have experienced the greatest drop in confidence near puberty.

Using this insight, as a executive creative consultant with many of Proctor & Gamble's brands, I helped Always in partnership with Leo Burnett and documentarian Lauren Greenfield to conduct a filmed social experiment striking at the heart of what caused this drop: phrases, insinuations and aphorisms such as "...like a girl."

the challenge

Research conducted by Always in 2013 revealed a startling insight: more than half of women experienced a significant drop in confidence during puberty, with societal phrases like “...like a girl” perpetuating negative stereotypes about female strength and capability. This insight became the foundation for a bold campaign to challenge and transform these perceptions, while strengthening Always' commitment to empowering women globally.

Creative Strategy & Execution

My role spanned multiple creative dimensions, including:

• Strategic Ideation: Collaborated with research teams to distill insights into a compelling narrative. This narrative became the backbone of a filmed social experiment, exploring the impact of the phrase “like a girl” on young women’s confidence.

• Content Creation: Partnered with Lauren Greenfield to develop authentic, emotional storytelling that highlighted the disconnect between societal stereotypes and the resilience of young girls.

• Social Media Activation: Designed and implemented a robust multi-platform strategy to amplify the campaign message:

  • YouTube: The cornerstone video achieved viral status, with over 75 million views across 150 countries.

  • #LikeAGirl Hashtag: Unified campaign efforts globally, inviting users to share their own empowering stories and redefine the phrase.

  • Influencer Engagement: Secured endorsements from high-profile advocates such as Maria Shriver, Chelsea Clinton, Sarah Silverman, and Cindy Crawford.

• Super Bowl Launch: Recognizing the cultural significance of the Super Bowl, we debuted the campaign during this traditionally male-dominated event, reinforcing the message that female empowerment belongs everywhere.

Impact and Results

The #LikeAGirl campaign evolved into a global movement, achieving unprecedented success:

• Global Reach: Garnered 75 million views in over 150 countries, with 4.5 billion earned media impressions.

• Cultural Shift: Inspired schools to adopt #LikeAGirl as a theme for sports days and other activities, embedding the campaign’s message into everyday life.

• Community Engagement: Over 35 million people joined the conversation, with 13% creating their own user-generated content to celebrate and redefine the phrase.

• Media Coverage: Featured across top-tier outlets including Good Morning America, TIME, Huffington Post, BBC The One Show, and Marie Claire.

• Performance Milestone: Set new brand engagement records for P&G, establishing Always as a leader in social empowerment.

Key Campaign Elements

1. Insight-Driven Content Creation:
   The campaign was rooted in a critical insight from a Research Now study—more than half of women experienced the greatest drop in confidence during puberty. This data informed the social experiment that challenged the phrase "like a girl," turning it into a rallying cry for empowerment.

2. Social Media as a Catalyst for Change:
   We designed a robust multi-platform strategy to amplify the campaign’s message:

   • YouTube: The cornerstone video featuring the social experiment quickly became viral, garnering over 75 million views across 150 countries.

   • Hashtag Activation: The #LikeAGirl hashtag unified the campaign across social channels, encouraging organic participation and content creation by users.

   • Influencer Engagement: High-profile advocates such as Maria Shriver, Chelsea Clinton, and Cindy Crawford used their platforms to amplify the message.

   • User-Generated Content (UGC): Encouraged by the campaign’s empowering narrative, 13% of engaged users created their own #LikeAGirl content, helping shift the phrase’s meaning globally.

3. Super Bowl Spotlight:
   To maximize cultural impact, the campaign launched a major spot during the Super Bowl—one of the most male-dominated events in the world. This placement emphasized that female empowerment belongs everywhere, earning widespread media attention and sparking conversations across platforms.

4. Community Engagement and Amplification:

   • Partnered with schools to adopt #LikeAGirl as a sports day theme, embedding the campaign’s message into real-world activities.

   • Engaged with media outlets and cultural influencers to amplify the campaign across Good Morning America, TIME, Huffington Post, BBC The One Show, Marie Claire, and more.