2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

A new generation of women is making change in the Arab world. From conquering Everest to making history at the Olympics, Arab women are making headlines and breaking stereotypes every day. But despite these changes, they are still stuck with the stereotype- ‘women belong in the kitchen’. For almost a hundred years Betty Crocker has proudly supported women. Or so we thought, until an 8-year-old boy named Sultan, took to twitter and challenged us with a question, “Why are the baking instructions on Betty Crocker’s packs only addressed to women?” The twitterverse exploded in support. It was a moment that made us realize, we needed to make a change. We needed to answer this young boy, and once again show the world that Betty Crocker supported not only women, but chefs of any age and gender. It was time to change the regional stereotype.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Sultan’s question compelled us to look into our brand’s most fundamental values. We asked ourselves, “Are we the same brand that has reflected women’s progress and supported them over generations? Are we listening to their needs?” While we kept our focus on their needs in the kitchen, we ignored the fact that their life had blossomed outside the kitchen. We may have noticed that more men were putting on the apron, but inadvertently we had restricted the kitchen to being a domain only for women. And now we didn’t just owe an explanation to Sultan, but to every home chef who looked up to Betty Crocker for culinary inspiration. We had an opportunity to set the standard for brands in the region.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

We looked at over a hundred products in our market and realized Sultan was right. Arabic cooking instructions were addressed only to women. Working with an Arabic linguist, we found that gender neutral terms do exist in the Arabic language that can address both men and women. But cooking instructions follow the regional stereotype and only speak to women. That was the starting point for Betty Crocker to become a champion of change. We had a way to reach millions of home chefs and let them know that the kitchen is for everyone-through our packaging. We created a brand-new set of gender-neutral Arabic cooking instructions that addressed all cooks, regardless of gender. Over 20 million packs have the new instructions on them and are in the market spreading a message of equality in the kitchen. Making every pack a symbol for change.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

It began by coming up with brand-new gender-neutral instructions. Working with a linguistics expert we discovered that gender neutral terms do exist in the Arabic language. But cooking instructions follow the regional stereotype, ‘only women cook’, and therefore only address them. We created new, progressive gender-neutral baking instructions in Arabic to let the world know that the kitchen is for everyone. Betty Crocker has actually been a pioneer of new media for her nearly 100-year history. Using the packs gave us reach to an audience of millions, so we changed over 20 million Betty Crocker products. We made sultan the voice of our campaign and spread the message of gender quality to schools, talk shows, cooking shows, influencers, news channels and on social media, and in supermarkets, opening eyes and sparking real conversation about equality in the kitchen. Because the kitchen is for everyone.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

We didn’t create a campaign. We created a movement, sparking real conversation about the role of men and women across the region. The main outcome? Over 20 million packs of Betty Crocker products were changed with new Arabic baking instructions. The packs can be found in the following supermarkets: Carrefour, Spinneys, Waitrose, Danube, Lulu, Panda and Choithrams. In just the first three days our campaign reached millions organically. • A total print circulation of 231,300 was secured. • A total reach of 34,239,976 was secured • The total add value secured was $128,345 • The total PR Value of $449,208 was secured.