2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

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.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

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’. 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.