With public-health experts gathering in for the London Summit on Family Planning, the United Colors of Benetton and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation are introducing new ad campaigns meant to raise awareness about global access to birth control.
Called “Power Her Choices,” one campaign, created by Fabrica,
Benetton’s in-house communication center, centers on a light bulb shaped like a womb, as well as a light installation with lit bulbs spelling phrases, changing the words “I am
pregnant” to “I am not ready to be pregnant.” GIFs from the video are also being distributed on social
media.
“The idea behind the campaign is raising awareness,” Omar Gharzeddine, a media specialist with the United Nations Population Fund, tells
Marketing Daily, “especially about access to contraceptives in the developing world.”
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More than 214 million women don’t have
access to modern contraceptives, and he says that in 2016, about 770,000 girls, some as young as 10, had children, often with “devastating effects on their health and future,” the UNFPA
reports. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, an estimated 25 percent of young women leave school due to an unintended pregnancy.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a
co-host of the summit, is also running a video on social media, featuring a young British woman denied birth-control
bills—and even condoms—by her doctor, clinics and pharmacists. “Imagine if it was this hard to get the contraceptive advice, support and access you need,” the dystopian spot
asks, adding that’s it’s a reality for many women. “Access to contraceptives enables women to make informed decisions about their health and future, unlocking a cycle of
prosperity that benefits everyone,” the foundation says about the ad. “It's time to give every woman and girl the opportunity to plan for #HerFuture.”
It’s the second women’s empowerment campaign from Benetton this year.
Earlier this spring, it made a splash with its global “United By Half” ad, a gender-equality effort linked to
International Women’s Day.