Sexism was rife in the past. But it’s much better now. This widely held view is wrong. In January 2023, the French High Council for Equality published a damning report about sexism in France. The report showed how young generations have gone backwards in terms of gender equality. Sexist clichés are still everywhere, verbal violence has become ordinary, and it brings us to a situation where “Sexism: we don’t necessarily know where it starts, but we know how it ends.”
Today, in France, a woman dies from femicide every 2.5 days.
One of the causes of this rampant sexism, that includes young people particularly, lies on social networks that act as a hotbed for degrading content towards women. Nowadays, on social networks, it is not hard to stumble upon hyper masculinity and misogynistic rhetoric that is boosted by algorithms and lead users to manosphere rabbit holes.
We are moving backwards on gender equality and so BETC Paris has created an ad campaign for the French High Council for Equality that highlights the frightening reality and aims to fight the growth of sexist content online.
The power of the film lies in a comparison between comments made during the ‘70s and what can be found online today. Sexist comments are the same or even worse. The cultural shock allows anyone to see for themselves how damaging sexism content is becoming online.
Mercedes Erra, founder of BETC Paris, commented, “The worst thing is that – instead of getting reduced – the amount of sexism among young people is growing and we are witnessing violence that was previously unseen in our era. We were shocked by the report from the French High Council for Equality. I believe that we need to be radical and not let anything slide.”
Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, president of French High Council for Equality, added, “9 out of 10 women say that they’ve faced some sexism. It is an important issue that needs to be tackled right away because sexism leads to horrible violences. We hope that these shocking lines and images will help people understand that we need to act quickly. Thank you to BETC Paris for their creativity and the commitment of Mercedes Erra for this excellent PSA.”
The campaign is running on TV in France and online with a radio spot in support.
Credits:
Client HCE
Creative Agency: BETC Paris
Executive Creative Director: Antoinette Beatson
Creative Director: Chrystel Jung
Copywriter: Marianne Desgrandchamps
Art Director: Romain Ducos
Executive Creative Producer: Guillaume Denecker
Agency Management: Mercedes Erra, Catherine Emprin, Emmanuelle De-Montesson
Production Company: General POP
Director: Anna Gardere
DoP: Darius Michaud
Post Production: General POP
Post Producer: Ines Brianceau
Sound Production: Capitaine Plouf
Sound Producer: Guillaume Le Guen
