This black-and-white spot from Bozell & Jacobs, Omaha, shows little girls engaged in fun, constructive activities at YWCA centers–dancing, playing guitar, studying together, reading in the dark by flashlight, playing with bubbles, bike riding and socializing.
This in and of itself would make for a feel-good PSA that promotes the services, resources, recreational opportunities and the sense of community that can be experienced at the YWCA. But the piece takes on an added thought-provoking dimension when these scenes play against a soundtrack of hip-hop and rap tunes that fade in and out, all of them referring to the girls in negative demeaning language (“bitches,” “hos” and telling them to “get out of my face.”).
Seeing the images of the girls in a positive light juxtaposed with the music lyrics makes the songs sound absurd and bizarre, which coincides with what the YWCA does to negative sentiments, as reflected in the spot tagline: “Eliminating racism, empowering women,” accompanied by the Web site address, www.ywca.org.
“Little Girls” was directed by feature filmmaker Bronwen Hughes (Harriet the Spy, Forces of Nature, Stander) of Santa Monica-based Independent Media. Susanne Preissler executive produced for Independent Media. Max Malkin was the DP.
Music producer Nicole Dionne of Primal Scream, Los Angeles, had composer Billy West create seven separate melodies for the spot, turning out music that helps to drive the creative.
The creative team for Bozell & Jacobs consisted of creative director/copywriter Cliff Watson, art director Erica Rowe and producer Nan Pike.
The spot was cut by Meg Kubicka of The Whitehouse, Chicago. Audio post mixer was Dave Gerbosi of Chicago Recording Company, Chicago.