Dive Brief:
- Secret on Monday kicked off its #RaiseItUp initiative, an effort aimed at supporting women's equality programs in partnership with YMCA USA, per a press release. As part of the collaboration, the P&G brand will donate a $1 million to equality programs and establish a "Secret Missions" fund to provide direct assistance to women by supporting childcare, career development and other key areas.
- To launch the campaign, Secret unveiled a new TV commercial during the WNBA finals on Sunday, featuring writer and activist Jasmine Mans and WNBA plays A'Ja Wilson, Bria Hartley and Candice Dupree. Wilson and former WNBA player Swin Cash helped start the social media campaign by sharing their own personal #RaiseItUp images and encouraging women to share how they "raise it up" for others and themselves.
- The latest purpose-driven P&G effort, #RaiseItUp focuses primarily on alleviating gender but also on racial inequality, as women — especially Black women and women of color — are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis, per a McKinsey & Company study cited by the press release.
Dive Insight:
Secret's #RaiseItUp campaign continues the brand's long-running efforts to spur gender equality and female empowerment. This time around, the P&G brand is adjusting its messaging and targeting to focus on the effects the pandemic has had on women — particularly Black women and women of color.
Along with lay offs and furloughs that have affected women, one in three mothers has considered leaving the workforce or "downshifting" her career since the pandemic began. P&G describes this as "the biggest setback to gender equality in a decade," which it seeks to alleviate with direct assistance with its "Secret Missions" in partnership with YWCA USA.
"The 2020 pandemic has exacerbated many of the things women already face, and they have been shouldering the weight of the challenges brought on this year," Sara Saunders, senior brand director, Secret & Gillette, said in the press release. "Through our #RaiseItUp initiative, we aim to not only celebrate the strength and resilience of women but also take meaningful action to support them in the areas of their life that mean the most."
The charitable component of the campaign is reinforced with a TV commercial and social media effort driven by players in the WNBA. Along with featuring Black women in these efforts, the TV spot features poet Jasmine Mans and is directed by Chassidy Jade, who are both Black women. These representational efforts are part of P&G's larger push to dismantle racial inequality.
#RaiseItUp follows several other efforts by the P&G brand to address gender issues. At the beginning of the year, Secret included original music in a Golden Globes spot that highlighted female empowerment. In February, the brand teamed with Serena Williams as part of its equality push. Secret previously has run campaigns around the topic on Instagram, as part of music videos and with shoppable videos bolstering women-run businesses.