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By Imogen Watson, Senior reporter

June 27, 2019 | 3 min read

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is continuing the conversation on racial bias by releasing a follow-up to its Emmy award-winning film 'The Talk.'

It's been two years since P&G rolled out a heart-wrenching video that centred around 'the talk' - a conversation that black parents often have with their children to educate them about racial prejudices and bias they may face because of the colour of their skin.

Now, P&G is endeavouring to make more ground on the fight against racial bias via its new film 'The Look.'

In a similar vein to 'The Talk,' the film gives an insight into the experiences that black people face due to prejudice.

The film homes in on what it is to be a black man and the looks they get every day, because of that. Whether that's micro-aggression or more overt prejudiced looks - many of which are unintentional but nonetheless have an impact.

It opens with the protagonist - an African-American man - waking up, and as soon as his eyes open, the viewer feels he's battling internal anguish.

He then walks his kid to school, who spots a pal in a car and the pair wave friendly to each other - before her mother gives them a look and rolls her window up.

As he enters the elevator lobby at work, he waves at the people in the lift to hold the door - but they close it in his face.

In other scenes, a couple are seen entering a restaurant, but as soon as they see the protagonist, they turn and move away. As he teaches his boy to swim, another father and son leave the pool, and when he enters a shop, the shop attendant looks to the security man for support.

Nothing is spoken, only through body language does the racial prejudice seep through. We then swap sides and see the look our protagonist responds with; defiant and questionable.

'The Look' ends in a courtroom, where we are led to presume that he in trouble with the law. In fact, he is the barrister - provocatively highlighting how stereotyping affects the way you look at the world.

It ends with a simple, but a poignant request: "Let's talk about the look so we can see beyond it."

To create the film, P&G worked with a collective called Saturday Morning, the creative collective founded by figures in the ad industry who wanted to conceive ideas designed to shift perceptions on racial bias and injustice.

Following the preview at Cannes Lions last week, P&G made the film available on a dedicated site.

P&G: 4C @ dmexco

By P&G

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