NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, BBDO New York launched a new public awareness campaign to encourage cities and corporations to put women on the map by naming streets, statues and buildings after influential female figures. Andrew Robertson, President and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, unveiled the "Put Her on the Map" campaign at the MAKERS Conference, one of the leading gatherings for trailblazing women of today and tomorrow. The announcement was made in tandem with Amy Elaine Wakeland, the First Lady of Los Angeles.
Women make up 50% of the population, but most streets, landmarks and monuments are named after men. "Put Her on the Map" challenges cities and corporations with influential ecosystems to disrupt this cycle.
"When successful women are not visible in our world, there is no precedent for female potential," said Mr. Robertson. "By changing the map, cities and companies can change the face of our communities and inspire future female leaders."
A short film features a series of vignettes in which young girls are asked to describe things named after women and what these girls want to be when they grow up. Their answers reference superficial items such as the "Lazy Susan," a "Bloody Mary" and "Mary Jane" shoes. The film ends with a call to action: "Women make up 50% of the population, but most streets, monuments and landmarks are named after men. We should change that. Let's inspire girls by honoring great women."
The film can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQZ5HyOO7kw
"Who better to help magnify this point than young girls?" said Lauren Connolly, Executive Creative Director, BBDO New York. "Once you hear it directly from their mouths, you can understand the immediate reason why we need to honor women around our cities."
The "Put Her on the Map" campaign will be hosted on a new website, www.putheronthemap.com, where viewers can learn more about the mission and take action by contacting their local state representatives. The campaign is also promoting the #putheronthemap hashtag to encourage people to share the video and spread the word.
Niantic, Inc., creators of mobile apps Ingress and Pokémon GO, has already expressed its support for this initiative. Commenting on its decision, Niantic, Inc. noted that "Storytelling has the power to positively impact and inspire the community. Putting women on the map and highlighting the stories and history of locations is something that Niantic cares about. We will work with the MAKERS and BBDO teams to help put on a walk that highlights the history, art and culture behind impactful women, using our apps to guide people to unique, real-life locations."
"We're so thrilled to have BBDO join us at the 2017 MAKERS Conference, making such a bold statement with their initiative to 'Put Her on the Map'," said MAKERS Founder and Executive Producer Dyllan McGee. "By honoring leading females across the U.S., we help to inspire the next generation of trailblazing MAKERS."
ABOUT BBDO
BBDO's mantra is "The Work. The Work. The Work." Every day, BBDO people in 289 offices in 81 countries work day by day, job by job and client by client to create and deliver the world's most compelling commercial content. For eleven years in a row, BBDO has been the most creative agency network in the world in The Gunn Report. In addition, BBDO was ranked the most awarded agency network across all marketing communications in the Directory Big Won for the 12th time in the 13 years since this ranking was first published. BBDO has also been named Network of the Year at Cannes five times and has been chosen Agency of the Year multiple times by every leading industry trade publication.
BBDO is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.
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