BBDO NY has launched a public awareness campaign called “Put Her on the Map” and the goal is to encourage cities and corporations to name streets, statues and buildings after influential women. The hope is that by changing the face of our communities, we can inspire future female leaders.
The campaign is being unveiled, appropriately, at the MAKERS conference, one of the leading gatherings of trailblazing women. And the announcement is being made in tandem with Amy Elaine Wakeland, the First Lady of Los Angeles (L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s wife). Already, Niantic Inc., creators of the Pokémon GO mobile app, has committed to help support this effort.
Gender equality is an issue on many people’s minds. Audi’s Super Bowl ad addressed the issue of equal pay; GE has committed to hiring 20,000 women in technical roles by 2020…now BBDO is doing its part.
A short film–directed by Jonathan Krisel of Caviar Content–features a series of vignettes in which young girls are asked to describe things named after women and what these girls want to be when they grow up. Their answers reference superficial items such as the “Lazy Susan,” a “Bloody Mary” and “Mary Jane” shoes. The film ends with a call to action: “Women make up 50% of the population, but most streets, monuments and landmarks are named after men. We should change that. Let’s inspire girls by honoring great women.”
“Who better to help magnify this point than young girls?,” said Lauren Connolly, Executive Creative Director, BBDO New York. “Once you hear it directly from their mouths, you can understand the immediate reason why we need to honor women around our cities.”
The “Put Her on the Map” campaign will be hosted on a new website, www.putheronthemap.com, where viewers can learn more about the mission and take action by contacting their local state representatives. The campaign is also promoting the #putheronthemap hashtag to encourage people to share the video and spread the word.
Niantic, Inc., creators of mobile apps Ingress and Pokémon GO, has already expressed its support for this initiative. Commenting on its decision, Niantic issued a statement which read, “Storytelling has the power to positively impact and inspire the community. Putting women on the map and highlighting the stories and history of locations is something that Niantic cares about. We will work with the MAKERS and BBDO teams to help put on a walk that highlights the history, art and culture behind impactful women,using our apps to guide people to unique, real-life locations.”
