Hidden in almost every website and every digital image you’ve ever seen is Lena, a Playboy centrefold. She is the most used test image in the world. She is also a symbol of the exclusion of women in tech. A film, Losing Lena, by Clemenger BBDO Sydney, Finch, Kamber and Facebook for Creatable & Code Like A Girl is asking that one image, Lena’s image, be removed to make millions of women feel welcome in tech.
Lena’s story began in 1972, when the Swedish model posed as the Miss November centrefold. The next year, her centrefold was chosen by some men at the University of Southern California (USC) as an ideal test image for the algorithms they were working on to turn physical photos into digital bits. This research laid the groundwork for what would later become the jpeg, an image standard that revolutionised our digital world.
46 years on, Lena is still the most infamous test image in the world. She is symbolic of how women were left out, and pushed out, of the industry.
Clemenger BBDO Sydney and its partners have created a documentary, Losing Lena, that asks why wasn’t Lena retired years ago and explores a thread that binds together so many similar challenges and biases women in tech have experienced around the world.
Watch the trailer:
In a first for the Australian film industry and Facebook Watch, Losing Lena will be available to view at a series of events hosted by Code Like a Girl or exclusively on the Facebook Watch platform from November 26 onwards.
In addition to the film, a campaign has been launched that calls on members of the tech industry, businesses, universities and organisations to commit to Losing Lena, as well as find substitute images that can be used for image processing testing.
People can also commit their support via Code Like a Girl’s Facebook Messenger chatbot, which was launched to support the campaign.
Clemenger BBDO Sydney chief creative officer, Ben Coulson, noted, “The future is being written right now in dark rooms by a group made up of predominantly men. If we want a better, more diverse world, many more talented women are needed in technology. We hope the story of Lena acts as a wakeup call and a catalyst for positive change.”
Finch director, Kyra Bartley, stated, “I was struck by how succinctly Lena’s story demonstrates the impact of small, seemingly inconsequential actions on the generations who come after – and of course the spotlight that throws on our current attitudes to recognising and addressing problematic practices within STEM industries.
“Far from being a finger-pointing exercise though, the film encourages people to engage with these ideas as part of a broader conversation on diversity, and to consider the ways in which their own actions could contribute to moving us all forward.”
Code Like a Girl founder and chief executive officer, Ally Watson, added, “The role of Lena’s image in tech’s history is representative of so many of our industry’s shortcomings. Tech is used by everyone – no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity. But when our tech is developed by a small subset of homogenous individuals, it’s impossible for the end product to be without bias.
“This documentary illustrates just how much effort is still needed to increase diversity in the teams building tech. It’s a call to the leaders of our industry to commit to Losing Lena. Because with the removal of one image, we’re better positioned to welcome millions of women to the table.”
Lena added, “I retired from modelling a long time ago. It’s time I retired from tech, too. We can make a simple change today that creates a lasting change for tomorrow. Let’s commit to losing me.”
Credits:
Client: Creatable
Co-Founder: Greg Attwells
Client: Code Like A Girl
Founder & CEO: Ally Watson
Chief Marketing Officer:Josephine Colson
Creative Agency: Clemenger BBDO Sydney
CCO: Ben Coulson
ECD: Paul Nagy
Creative Director: Brendan Willenberg
Head of Creative Technology: Brendan Forster
Senior Copywriter: Chris Pearce
Senior Art Director: Rowan Foxcroft
Creative: Dave Lidster
Head of Craft: Daniel Mortensen
Digital Design Lead: Ivan So
Senior Digital Designer & Developer: Jay Young
Front End Developer: Dale Emrose
Head of Integrated Production: Denise McKeon
Interactive Executive Producer: Claire Bisset
CEO: Nick Garrett
Group Account Director: Cath Bosson
Senior Account Director: Smaran Jworchan
Communications Planner: Rebecca De Beer
Editors: Joe Maurici, Alex Guterres & Emily Cornelius
Online Editor: Jess Morgan
Sound Engineer: Robbie Balatincz
Production Company: Finch
Director: Kyra Bartley
Produced By: Francesca Walker
Producers: Michael Hilliard & Luke Mazzaferro
Executive Producers: Rob Galluzzo, Corey Esse & Loren Bradley
Director Of Photography: Anna Howard
Editor: Kris Rowe
Media Partner And Film Distribution: Facebook
Creative Strategists, Facebook Creative Shop: Andy Blood & Karen Maurice-O’leary
Digital And Bot Development: Kamber
Bot Ux Design & Production: Jonathon Bink
Producer: Rebeccah Churchward
Tech Platform: The Bot Platform
CEO & Co-Founder: Syd Lawrence
PR (Australia): Clemenger PR
Head Of Clemenger PR: Nick Zonnios
Senior Account Manager: Sophie Truter
Pr & Social Coordinator: Georgia Randall
PR (USA): Porter Novelli
Los Angeles:
Project Lead, Managing Director: Strahan Wallis –
Project Lead, Account Manager, Diversity & Inclusion Champion: Sarah Lewis
Media Relations Lead, Account Supervisor: Kylie Banks
Media Relations Co-Lead, Senior Account Executive: Rosie De Queljoe
Account Executive: Sarah Vasquez
Assistant Account Executive: Gladys Cardenas
Account Coordinator: Mirna Gorgy
Account Executive, Porter Novelli Seattle: Heidi Dehart
Account Manager, Cone Communications (A Porter Novelli Company): Caroline Regan
US Panel Moderator, Global Lead Of Innovation & Impact Practice, Porter Novelli San Francisco: Sandy Skees
NOTES:
Who Has Featured In The Film:
Ally Watson, Founder and CEO of Code Like A Girl
Alicia Morris, Computer Science Teacher, Mendez High School in California
David Lowe, Deputy Dean of Engineering, University Of Sydney
Deanna Needell, Professor of Mathematics, At University Of California, Los Angeles
Debbie Sterling, Founder and CEO Of Goldieblox
Emily Chang, Author ‘Brotopia’ & Bloomberg News Anchor
Greg Attwells, Co-Founder of Creatable
Jane Margolis, Senior Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles, Author And White House Champion Of Change
Kára McCullough, Nuclear Scientist and Former Miss USA 2017
Lena, 1972 November Playboy Centrefold
Tok Thompson, Professor of Anthropology, University Of Southern California, Los Angeles
Losing Lena Film Production Credits:
Production Company: Finch
Director: Kyra Bartley
Produced By: Francesca Walker
Producers: Michael Hilliard &Luke Mazzaferro
Executive Producers: Rob Galluzzo, Loren Bradley & Corey Esse
Director of Photography: Anna Howard ACS
Editor: Kris Rowe
Post-Production: Atticus
