Fck The Cupcakes (FTC), an industry movement established last year to help address gender inequality, is launching its first major campaign, ‘Be the Change’, an initiative motivating men to help women drive change.
FTC, led by Innocean Australia CEO, Jasmin Bedir, and a team within the agency, has brought together a powerhouse of communications professionals to help develop and implement the campaign. The FTC committee includes creative (Innocean), Media (Hearts & Science), PR (Edelman), digital (Razorfish), and publishers Paramount Australia & New Zealand, JCDecaux, ARN, yStop, Hoyts, Seven Network, Nine Network, Nova, News Corp, as well as Mamamia, Yahoo, Meta, SCA, and Val Morgan, supporting organisations Never Not Creative, shEqual, The ManCave, Line & Length, Omnicom Group, and DHL as a sponsor of the campaign.
Jasmin Bedir
The ‘Be the Change’ campaign was created to help shift the gender conversation from being a women’s issue to one that aims to engage men and give them permission to enter the conversation and actively support women, in the workplace, in circles of friends, in families, and with strangers.
Australian men hold some of the most misogynistic views in the Western world, with the cohort ranking well above the global average in a research study from Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL).
The recent shEqual Advertising Equality report confirmed that men were disengaged from the subject, with more than half (54%) believing that gender equality is already prioritised, while only 29% of women agreed.
The national campaign features a short-form sitcom as its centrepiece that helps Aussie men recognise spoken and unspoken casual misogyny in the workplace. The script was written based on results and answers to numerous equality surveys, as well as using the many lived experiences of Australian women. Although shot in a sitcom style like The Office, the sad reality is, for many women the film isn’t a parody. The viewer is deliberately drawn to the main character’s obvious displays of sexism and misogyny, when what takes place behind him is just as important. It’s the lack of reaction to the seen and unseen moments that the campaign aims to draw attention to, and guide men on how they could better respond in those situations.
The film lives on the Be the Change website, where men can unpack the moments to motivate behaviour change, then take action in the form of tools, information, workshops from male organisations. All communications are written in a language to get everyone on the same level, not play the blame game.
“If the election has taught us anything, women do not want men to stand by in the struggle for equality. But we also acknowledge that many men want to help but don’t know how – so we have created a safe space for men to learn the tools and giving permission to contribute to the fight for gender equality 365 days a year,” Bedir said.
Rod Prosser, chief sales officer Paramount Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) said: “The truth is many men have disengaged from the conversation. For the vast majority of men, they do not relate to the stories of extreme sexual assault, unfair dismissal or domestic violence so often covered in mainstream media. We have no lived experience of what the average woman goes through in their daily workday, nor our unconscious contribution to it.”
The multi-channel initiative has support from the production industry and media partners, including Paramount Australia & New Zealand, JCDecaux, ARN, yStop, Hoyts, Seven Network, Nine Entertainment, Foxtel, Nova, as well as Yahoo, SCA, oOH!media, and Val Morgan.
Creative credits:
Client: Fck The Cupcakes
Creative Agency: Innocean Australia
CEO: Jasmin Bedir
ECD: Wesley Hawes
CDs: Effie Kacopieros, Damon Porter, V. Wassim Kanaan
Copywriters: Laura Parker, Charlotte Berry
Account Management: Carly Pelham
Strategy: Charlotte Berry, Gual Barwel
Producers: Sue Hind, Gabe Hammond, Esmé Fisher
Senior Designer: Michael Macgregor
Agency Editor: Dave Anlezark
PR: Edelman PR, Matthew Ellenby
Media: Hearts & Science, Wendy Gower
Digital/CX: Razorfish
CEO: Jason Tonelli
ECD: Vaughan Townsend
Senior Copywriter: Jacque Kennedy
UX Lead: James Winchester
Creative Designer: Madison Chan
Strategic Projects Director: Maria Galang
Production Company: Filmgraphics
Director – Scott Walker
EP/Producer – Anna Fawcett
DOP – Daniel Ardilley
Post – Vandal
Sound – Rumble
Production support:
Wellcom
Media companies/partners:
ARN
Foxtel
Hoyts
JCDecaux
Nova
oOH!media
Paramount Australia & New Zealand
SCA
Seven Network
Val Morgan
Yahoo
yStop