advert-body-2 by Y&R

The Miss America Organization is looking to change the way people think about the competition and its candidates, even as it tries to deal with disruption from its current Miss America.

The new social campaign, ‘#MissConceptions’ is designed to shatter the stereotypes about Miss America through the words of this year’s contestants.

As a lead-up to the September 9 competition on ABC, several short films created by Y&R New York are being rolled out on the Miss America Organization YouTube channel.

In the first, ‘Miss Conceptions,’ a title card states, “They aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer,” echoing what some may have thought of the pageant participants over the decades. That stereotype is followed by this year’s candidates talking about their ambitions and achievements, such as one woman aspiring to be a diplomat working on counterterrorism, another training to be a commercial jet pilot, while yet another talks of developing a prototype tile that generates electricity as you walk on it. All state that they are committed to making a difference in their communities and the world.

Two other videos show the candidates talking about the scholarship opportunities made possible by the competition, as well as how they use their positions to educate younger generations of girls on important subjects like human trafficking, sexual violence, mental health and other issues close to their hearts. In other words, this isn’t a ‘smile and wave’ crown.