It’s Fun to Stay at the…

According to Stuart Elliot’s New York Times email column In Advertising, the YWCA is changing its image with a new, honest and bold marketing campaign — “Eliminating racism. Empowering women.” As the article states, it is intended to declare the modern-day goals of the organization, which was founded 147 years ago, and to highlight the problems of misogyny and racism in mainstream society.
One main part of the campaign is a television ad which will be played on BET, MTV and MTV2. As Elliot’s NY Times article reported, one of the TV commercials features scenes of girls innocently playing while the soundtrack plays a medley of rap, country and rock tunes (composed for the spot) with harsh lyrics using words like “ho” and “bitch.”
Two radio spots present confident young women discussing the contradictions of modern womanhood. “The best kind of success comes in both suede pumps and sneakers,” says one woman of the need to choose between motherhood and career. Being “both gentle and assertive,” another woman says, does not mean she likes “being considered inferior,” nor does she like “being called a bitch just because I know what I want.”
The final two radio commercials describe the YWCA as serving women’s diverse needs. In one, as the listener hears the sounds of a woman running, an announcer asks whether she is jogging, hurrying to pick up her child or fleeing abuse. The YWCA is “a finish line for all women on the run, regardless of the reason,” the announcer concludes.
Looks like the YWCA is revamping — and I like it. I like that it’s not afraid to be both Christian and feminist. This is a combination that certainly exists, but is rarely publicized. Right on.
Now if we could only get the YMCA to ban that Village People tune forever.
*Thanks to Narguess for the article.