#WomenNotObjects is trying to change the advertising industry’s landscape. Via mashable:
On Nov. 18, 2015, ad executive Madonna Badger Googled “objectification of women” as part of a campaign called #WomenNotObjects, turning up years’ worth of sexist ads that hypersexualize and objectify women’s bodies for marketing. In a new video released this month, the campaign spotlights some of these ads, with women sarcastically confronting the images for their harmful depictions.
Created by advertising executive Madonna Badger, who lost her daughters in a house fire, Badger mentioned to the WSJ that she wanted to honour her daughters by improving industry awareness of sexist ads and of using women as props. She acknowledged that she was part of the problem in the past – having been part of the team that created the Calvin Klein ads. Badger has stated that her agency, which counts Avon, Vera Wang and Nordstrom among its clients, has pledged to no longer create ads that objectify women, and will also stop airbrushing women in their ads “to the point of perfection”.
Badger isn’t the only voice in this space. Proctor and Gamble’s highly successful #LikeAGirl campaign drew waves when it launched in 2014, for example. Regardless the #WomenNotObjects campaign has been well-received, and UN Women tweeted about the video in January.