Memac Ogilvy & Mather Join Forces with UN Women to Shed Light on Gender Inequality

Memac Ogilvy launches viral campaign that is taking the world by storm

Dubai, UAE,19 September 2013: To compliment the international viral success of the UN Women's recent advertising campaign “Auto-complete Truth”, agency Memac Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai, have launched a video to help maintain the dialogue on gender equality: The Autocomplete Truth.

This advertising campaign aimed to start a conversation on the major barriers that are in place of women's economic, political and social empowerment across the globe – issues that UN Women is working to address. The creative idea began, as many searches naturally do, on an auto-correct search engine. The team was so shocked by what was found when typing in terms such as “women should” and felt the findings needed to be shared.

The results are symptomatic of the embedded sexist attitudes that are prevalent globally. Ogilvy & Mather's strategy to display these results was on a woman: the target of the oppression. A dramatic element was added by placing the search bar across women's mouths, as the team metaphorically highlighted how the words being used to describe women were in fact silencing them on a social, political and economic level.  The Google search results left the agency speechless, so they definitely leave women's empowerment equally as mute.

The message echoed loudly, transcending geographical boundaries and facilitating the opportunity for people from all over the world to join in the conversation, by sharing the campaign, discussing it via twitter #womenshould or on UN Women website.  International press extended their far fetching support and the campaign was eagerly received by worldwide media, from The Guardian, to Huffington Post, to Times of India and Folha de S. Paulo.

The powerful campaign utilizes this un-altered data to spark a dialogue. With the release of the video footage, Memac Ogilvy & Mather hope to continue this conversation branching out into more extensive debates. 

“We have been overwhelmed by the instant enthusiasm and support that our campaign has gained. This has encouraged us to develop it even further, after the global acclaim that is has received” Ronald Howes, Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai.

Nanette Braun, Chief, Communications & Advocacy, UN Women commented that “UN Women is very heartened by the discussion the campaign has sparked. Very obviously there is a demand for a global conversation on women's rights, empowerment and gender equality, which is exactly what the ads were intended to generate.”

Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai will continue showcasing their support through campaigns on compelling topics that they can raise awareness of.  The growth of the UN Women campaign had a great impact globally and has set a precedent for future campaigns.