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By Katie Deighton | Senior Reporter

November 28, 2018 | 2 min read

State Street’s Cannes Lion-winning Fearless Girl statue has temporarily disappeared from New York’s financial district as the campaign-cum-artwork prepares to change location.

The bronze statue, which was positioned to face down the Charging Bull near Bowling Green on Broadway, was removed from its location of nearly two years last night (27 November). A plaque featuring two footprints has been installed in the place she once stood, encouraging visitors to take up her plucky pose and #StandForHer.

The statue’s creative agency, McCann New York, designed the tablet. Meanwhile State Street confirmed Fearless Girl will reappear outside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street at some point before the end of the year.

Agreed in partnership with the City of New York, the move aims to prevent tourists from spilling out onto the road and disrupting traffic on Broadway. Both Fearless Girl and the Charging Bull were located in the middle of the road in the south of Manhattan.

“This move to a new location will ensure that her message and impact will continue to be heard, as well as improve access for visitors,” said New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this year. “We’re grateful to State Street for their partnership in keeping the Fearless Girl here in NYC.”

Kristen Visbal’s Fearless Girl was first unveiled by State Street on International Women’s Day (8 March) in 2017. The below-the-line campaign aimed to convey ‘the power of women in leadership’ and promote the investment management firm’s gender diversity index fund.

Analysts estimated the statue resulted in $7.4m in free advertising for the financial firm via earned media in its first month. However it has been criticized by Charging Bull’s creator, Italian artist Arturo Di Modica, for commercially exploiting his artwork.

State Street was also accused of hypocrisy when it was revealed the firm had underpaid 305 of its top female employees.

Fearless Girl McCann Marketing

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