Everyone has a name–and from birth through a lifetime of introductions, it becomes the cornerstone of our identity. For many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), their given names carry an even deeper history and significance. But bias, indifference, and unintentional mistakes can lead to misidentification and mispronunciation.

In line with its ongoing advocacy for equality and inclusion, Procter & Gamble has initiated a campaign to address this problem at a time when bias against the AAPI community is on the rise. Conceived by agency R/GA, the integrated campaign aims to inspire  conversation and encourage people to learn how to say AAPI names, because feeling a sense of belonging in society starts with one’s name. The campaign includes this film, titled The Name, which quickly chronicles the life of a Korean American girl named Yeong Joo (yUHng-ju) taking the audience on a journey from the day she is born, to an uncomfortable situation at school. While completely unintentional, the simple action of having her name mispronounced causes Yeong Joo to feel alienated and dismissed. However, the meaning of Yeong Joo’s name comes to life in the actions of her friends, allies and herself.

The Name was directed by Goh Iromoto via production company Sanctuary.

Credits

Client Procter & Gamble Agency R/GA Alex Sehnaoui, global chief growth officer; Tiffany Rolfe, global chief creative officer; Gabriel Cheung, global executive creative director; Xavier Teo, group executive creative director; Leah Alfonso, creative director; Woohyun Lim, art director; Maya Shaddock, Nathalie Tigua, Linda Yang, copywriters; Samuel Kim, Esther Lee, designers; Meghann Mackenzie, executive strategy director; Ashley DAmour, group strategy director; Aaron Harridge, strategy director; Amanda Wu, Clinton Wong, Jo Hayes, director of marketing sciences; Preeti Nadgar, executive director, connections; Daniel Morosi, group director, media & connections; Sonal Heda, executive producer; Satoko Iinuma, Carol Powley, executive content producers; Greg Netter, Rosie Ollero, sr. content producers. R/GA’s Asian Voices Culture Collective  Production Company Sanctuary Goh Iromoto, director; Farhad Ghaderi, DP; Claire McGirr, line producer. Postproduction Cartel Sophia Lou, editor; Kaitlyn Battistelli, color. Music & Sound Andrew Seistrup, music; Jeremy Siegel, sound mixer.

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