BMO: advert-body-1 by FCB Canada

We often hear about the lack of female leadership in business, whether in corporate boardrooms or entrepreneurial startups. While it’s true that the face of leadership is predominantly male, that isn’t the complete picture.

BMO is challenging Canadians to rethink ingrained biases with a new campaign that shines the light on successful women who are already excelling in their respective fields. The two new spots begin by outlining the successes and achievements of business owners like “Sam” or “Jamie”. The assumption is that these leaders are powerful men; at the end of each spot, “Sam” and “Jamie” are revealed to be women. Created by FCB Canada, the campaign creative was led by, created and produced by a predominantly female team, including the director and editor.

That attention extends beyond online videos and into the real world, as well. Launched in 2012, BMO’s ongoing Celebrating Women platform is a grassroots recognition program that brings attention to successful women in business and in the community across Canada. This year, to support the initiative, a Google Search campaign was launched to disrupt the male-dominated search results that come up for common leadership words like CEO, Boss, Entrepreneur, Chair or President. Instead of the usual results, honourees of the Celebrating Women initiative are brought to the top of the search page as a way to bring attention to their accomplishments.

The BMO Celebrating Women program recognizing women in the community is part of the greater BMO effort focused on supporting women business owners and women investors.