YWCA launches anti-racism & anti-sexism campaign

This week the the YWCA USA launched a national advertising campaign that points out the subtle and not so subtle existence of racism in society and how it affects people. Currently running on MTV, MTV2, BET and in various online venues. The campaign includes national television, online, radio and print.

Created by Bozell & Jacobs and directed by Bronwen Hughes (film director of Forces of Nature and Stander), two spots kick off the campaign.

The first, "Unspoken," illustrates the many subtle ways that racism occurs in everyday situations, from a man shunning another of a different race as they enter their identical apartments to a Native American child sitting alone as an outcast while other children play around him on a playground.

The second, "Little Girls," demonstrates the blatant ways that women and girls are routinely devalued in today’s society. This spot uses harsh music lyrics as a metaphor for the underlying opinions and attitudes that are still commonly accepted. Visually, the spot celebrates the enthusiasm, innocence and spontaneity of little girls, while the soundtrack emits jarringly derogatory rock, hip hop, pop and country music lyrics.

View the ads at YCWA.orgs website

Seeking to deliver its message to contemporary young women, the YWCA has launched an ambitious on-air, on-line advertising campaign on MTV, MTV2, mtv.com, BET, and BET.com. Created to appeal to the young women who stand to benefit the most from the YWCA's programs, the advertising spots reflect the provocative, brash look and feel of the networks on which they air.

The first adio ads confront racism, and they are a direct confrontation and a twist on one of the most common ways racism is expressed in today's society -- the joke that trades on racial stereotypes.

The next spots, like "running" above also deal with stereotypes -- those that place women into categories such as bimbo or bitch, mommy or working woman -- and don't allow us to be the multi-faceted and multi-talented individuals we truly are.