Plan International and Mr. President help Girls Get Equal with a campaign that became a movement

Plan International and Mr. President help Girls Get Equal with a campaign that became a movement

A campaign by Mr. President

Fighting for girl’s equality around the world, this campaign, that began in 2018, is still empowering girls to smash gender stereotypes a year on.

Back in 2018, Plan International had been working tirelessly for years, creating a huge network of programmes to educate and empower girls around the world. But they struggled with low brand awareness. Now, at this critical time for girls rights and the challenging of gender norms, Mr. President woke up the sleeping giant.

They knew it was time for them to change tone and set a new, unapologetic girls' rights agenda. 

To create a Brand Defining Idea that could inspire and drive support for the fight of courageous girls worldwide. 

An idea that could break down gender barriers and smash outdated stereotypes.

The idea is a rallying cry for girls worldwide. Girls take the lead in ‘Girls Get Equal’, so instead of speaking for them, they amplified their voice.

This is our fight

The campaign launched with a manifesto film in collaboration with Plan International activists in eight countries including Ecuador, Uganda and Australia. The campaign contains powerful shots of activists showing what getting equal means to them.

It introduces an iconic warpaint-style equals sign, used across campaign imagery and on girls faces as a sign of solidarity and empowerment.

Music powerhouse Paloma Faith led the charge at the Global Girls Summit in Brussels on the eve of International Day of the Girl, calling for increased investment in girls power, activism and leadership. Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Campbell and Anil Kapoor also gave their support.

Girls Get Equal

"It’s girls turn to take the lead - to be seen, heard and valued as equals. We will never move forward as long as girls are held back. None of us will be equal until girls get equal,” said Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Plan International CEO

“We need a world that values girls - and where girls value themselves - equally to boys. Too much time has been wasted and we just can’t afford to wait any longer. The world needs a game-changer and young people have the power and ideas to make this happen.”

“Plan International gives girls and young women the backing to smash the status quo in the race for equal rights. When united, their voices and actions have the power to change everything,”
  said Laura Jordan Bambach, chief creative officer, and partner at Mr. President. 

She adds, "This is a critical time in the world where girl's rights and the global challenge of gender norms have been brought to the fore. Girls Get Equal is the start of a multi-year campaign envisaged as a rallying cry to inspire and support the courageous fight of girls worldwide to break gender barriers.”

Plan International and Mr. President help Girls Get Equal with a campaign that became a movement

This campaign continues to fight for girl’s equality, globally

Girls in 72 countries - from Brazil to South Korea - have been given the stage to stand up for their rights. And we are so in awe of everything they have done. They have taken their voices mainstream, with the Girls Get Equal message being heard on MTV, Teen Vogue and even X Factor Bolivia. For this year’s International Day of the Girl, we’ve seen one thousand girls in over 60 countries take on roles for a day as TV presenters, news reporters and government officials. All places where they’re rarely seen or heard. 

And now, in collaboration with CatCallsNYC, we’ve seen girl activists advocating to #StopStreetHarassment in Nairobi, Kampala and Delhi. They are currently ‘chalking back’ the harassment hurled at them in public spaces to raise awareness of the issue as part of 16 Days of Activism.

Girls Get Equal is just the creative platform. It is the incredible girls and young women worldwide that are turning it into a movement with 32,000 mentions across the world.

Credits

Agency: Mr. President
CEO: Claire Hynes
CCO: Laura Jordan-Bambach
COO: Shahla Lalani
Head of Brand Planning: Kenny Nicholson
Head of Connections Planning: Naomi Dunne
Connections Planner: Melia Malmquist
Business Director: Jamie Longstreet
Account Director: Vicky Mockler
Producers: Harriette Wright, Jon Clarke
Production Assistant: Hananha Willers
Creatives: Sarah Hardcastle, Stefan Dezou, Naomi Taylor
Head of Design: Dan Vivieros
Senior Designer: David Clulow
Editor: Simon Jefferis, Olly Starkey
Sound: Pure Soho
Head of Audio: Josh Younger
Production: Ellie Gibb, Mikey Laws
Music Composer: Simon Bass
Grade: Big Bouy
Producer: Emma Shuter
Colourist: Jonny Tully
VO Artists: Tariye Peterson, Marie Alvares, Hanna Luna
DOPs: Kyle Parsons, Quinn Neely, Max Greenstein, Fabricio Morales
Client: Plan International (International Headquarters)
Head of Communications: Carla Jones
Executive Director - Global Influence and Partnerships: Sean Maguire
Head of Campaigns: Adam Vink
Campaigns Consultant: Naomi Williams
Video Producer: Rachael Chilton
Digital Manager: Danny Plunkett

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