Australia’s Fck The Cupcakes ad urges men to call out misogyny
Australian gender equality organization Fck The Cupcakes (FTC), supported by major marketing and advertising agencies in the country, has launched a new campaign appealing to men to be proactive in combating sexism and misogynistic beliefs.
Innocean and Razorfish collaborated to launch a new film highlighting workplace misogyny / Innocean
FTC is led by Innocean Australia chief exec Jasmine Bedir and supported by a team including professionals from media agency Hearts & Science, PR shop Edelman and digital agency Razorfish. Staff representing media owners such as JCDecaux, Yahoo and Media are also active with the campaign, which is formally supported by DHL and Omnicom Group.
The new campaign, ‘Be the Change,’ aims to shift the debate on misogyny in Australia from an issue affecting only women to one that impacts society as a whole.
The group cites research from Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership that suggests sexist political and social beliefs are particularly prevalent among Australian men compared to other countries; a survey of 20,000 men in the country found that 32% believed men had collectively suffered economic setbacks because of feminism (the global average was 23%).
The campaign features a three-minute film shot in the style of The Office, which features a chauvinistic business leader discussing his female staff; it highlights the inaction of his male colleagues in the face of open misogyny and urges them to take a stand in the future. Viewers are encouraged to spot over 30 instances of discrimination and sexist behavior in the film.
Bedir said: “If the election has taught us anything, women do not want men to stand by in the struggle for equality. But we also acknowledge that many men want to help but don’t know how – so we have created a safe space for men to learn the tools and given permission to contribute to the fight for gender equality 365 days a year.”
The film was created by Innocean, with Wesley Hawes as executive creative director and Effie Kacopieros, Damon Porter and V Wassim Kanaan as creative directors; the website and digital assets to go along with the campaign were produced by Razorfish.
Rod Prosser, chief sales officer Paramount Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), said: “The truth is many men have disengaged from the conversation. For the vast majority of men, they do not relate to the stories of extreme sexual assault, unfair dismissal or domestic violence so often covered in mainstream media. We have no lived experience of what the average woman goes through in their daily workday, nor our unconscious contribution to it.“