My name is Gabriela Solomacha, and I am studying Interaction Design Arts. As part of DPS I have joined a creative agency Not Actual Size, where we focus our practice on digital creation, as well as campaign visualisation and production. Our main client being Dove, our priority in representing Dove is aligning with the brands culture and tracking the social sphere to understand online behaviours and trending topics. With the brand slogan being “lets change beauty” and its ethos revolving around realistic beauty and diverse representation, we have to create content that advocates these ideologies and participates in change whilst listening to the social and political climate in order to maintain brand relevance and engagement. As a company we are always on the radar for headlines in politics, beauty as well as developments around the social sphere and Ai; in order for us to deliver insights for the safety and relevance for the brands we work with. With brand influence, comes a lot of responsibility. Specifically, with Dove where their brand purpose is so loud and impactful, the desire of participation in discussions requires a lot of resourcing and planning, to not tread in a politically controversial territory. For transgender day of visibility we needed to create a social media post in celebration of transgender women. As a brand who advocates for diverse representation, this field of identity was lacking, due to the limited and recycled assets we had available for this topical date.This evolved into a question of whether it is good enough just to post on timely dates or whether their participation only results in rainbow-washing when their content does not consistently embrace these cultures. By looking and comparing other brands’ efforts during transgender day of visibility we were able to find inspiration and examples of positive representation, but also how sometimes it negatively evolved to gender politics being discussed. One project really stood; the clothing company Both& created a simple campaign featuring transgender male models, in a campaign heavily inspired by the 90’s Calvin Klein campaigns. The execution was very simple and included no copy, and felt just as it should…a beautiful fashion ad. The photographs managed to capture their masculinity, and clothing in a way that doesn’t ‘other’ the individuals (Both&, 2023). But there is also a simple reason behind the success, the company is a transmasc clothing brand that also employs transgender individuals. The Creative Director of the project; Daniel Sea, said to Hunger Magazine “Making visible to the world how I see, feel and perceive myself is a generous gift that we as trans people offer.”(Sea, 2023) The goal was to make visible and not make spectacle of. But for brands whose purpose does not solely parallel the transgender identity, how can they showcase their solidarity within their branding? The common dilemma with representation and diversity is acknowledging the need for opportunities and accessibility. Mastercard became the most surprising ally, and in 2022 facilitated a banking system where transgender individuals can choose to display their chosen name on their cards. The initiative carried the name “true name” (Mastercard, 2022) and was released alongside a campaign that included a tv advert, interviews with Asher and Emme, two transgender individuals who reacted to their own mastercard with their “true name”. As a brand, Mastercard has discovered a barrier that they are in the power or taking down. Compared to other brands, they are not necessarily trying to sell a product through it, but are simply facilitating a system. Yet again, Mastercard is an equal opportunity employer and was listed by stonewall in their top 100 employers for LGBTQ+ people. So can good campaigns only be born through brands that already implement equal opportunities?
Well, recently Nike has received backlash for sponsoring a transgender influencer in modelling and advertising a sports bra. The campaign received a backlash of hate, with Olympic swimmer for team GB describing this as like “a parody of what women are.” (Davies, 2023) Similarly to Both&, Nike paid model Dylan Mulvey in the same respect they would any other Nike partner. Unfortunately, there has been an uproar in the debate of the ethics of inclusion of transgender athletes within female sport. The campaign could have been seen as Nike taking a stance in this political debate. However recently, Nike has also released it’s “one-leak” range, helping female athletes with periods perform their sport without the fear of leaking. Evidentially, Nike is not disrespecting women, it is facilitating a comfortable attire for female athletes in the same way Mastercard facilitated a more comfortable payment experience for transgender individuals. The marketing side of every company is a window to the companies fundamental morals and practices. Without a socially equitable inclusion goal the brand is bound to take missteps in commentating on socio-political subjects, as when they do, it is evident that their practice has the ‘-washing’ agenda. After we presented our client with this dilemma, they have agreed to take actions forward in casting more transgender women for their campaigns. Both&. (2023). Boys, boys, boys.[Advert]. [Online and Print]. [20 April 2022]. Available from: https://bothandapparel.co.uk/blogs/community/boys-boys-boys Sea, 2 (2023) Transgender men take centre stage in this Trans Day of Visibility campaign, available at https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/transgender-men-take-centre-stage-in-this-trans-day-of-visibility-campaign/ [25 April 2023] Mastercard (2022). True Name .[Advert]. [Online]. [20 April 2022]. Available from: https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/true-name-feature-for-transgender-community/ Davies, S. (2023) ‘Women Boycott Nike’. Interviewed by Dan Wootton, GBNews, 6 April 2022
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