Libra has never been afraid to push against the boundaries of societal norms when it comes to their advertising campaigns. It has been doing so for decades and has been a major force in creating a shift in how women and menstruation are portrayed. Following on from the international campaign, #bloodnormal, which ran in Australia last year, Libra has launched #LiveLiberated, an unapologetically female-driven campaign made by women, for women. The campaign strives to make women feel powerful and authentic while defying the pressures to conform to unattainable standards of perfection.
The Australian campaign was created by Cummins&Partners, which was appointed by Libra as its creative agency earlier this year, and produced by The Producers.
The spot, a montage of five women, each with their own distinct character, expressing confidence, determination, power, defiance and playfulness, while the confines of what society deems “normal”, gets its power (and it has a lot of that) from the production – great moments captured and underlined by a kick-ass soundtrack.
The Australian-made campaign was created in Melbourne and shot in Sydney with all-female heads of department and a predominantly female crew, led by director, Gemma Lee, who has directed campaigns for Mazda, Lexus and the Australian Defence Force. Lee, who is known for her skill as a performance director working closely with talent, teamed up with cinematographer, Zoë White, to achieve a masterful 60-seconds. White has shot two episodes of HBO’s Westworld, and 12 episodes of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the latter earning her a PrimeTime Emmy nomination.
“It’s so important who your collaborators are,” Lee stated. “Zoe has come from shooting drama, which means we talked a lot about how to design the shots around character.
“I wanted my shooting style to be bold and unapologetic, like the message of the campaign. That’s why we went for strong colours both in the wardrobe and lighting, and camera moves that are striking and energetic. The casting had to be women who were representative of each of the characters we envisaged. We wanted to represent women of all shapes and sizes, ensuring we had a broad cross-section.”
The TVCs are set to the classic track, You Don’t Own Me, remastered by Australian artist SayGrace. The track was chosen because of its evocative spirit, empowering message and historic context – it was originally released in the early 1960s and is a throwback to a time of revolution, and struggle for social change and equal rights.
The #LiveLiberated campaign is also encouraging an essential dialogue on Libra’s social media through the #AskGem platform, offering women a safe (and anonymous) space in which to ask questions they might otherwise be too embarrassed to put forward.
“As a woman growing up in Australia, and growing up in Australian advertising, the opportunity to work on an iconic Aussie brand like Libra was a bit of a dream come true,” commented Sarah McGregor, creative director at Cummins&Partners. “This felt like a chance to not just win a piece of business and make a campaign, but a responsibility to do the right thing and create a positive conversation, not another piece of noise that makes women doubt themselves and their bodies.
“We wrote something that we ourselves would have loved to have seen as young women, something that told us it’s OK to love yourself, believe in yourself, and, of course, live liberated.”
View Gemma Lee’s Reel
Credits
Creative: Cummins & Partners
Creative Director: Sarah McGregor
Senior Copywriter: Leah Dunkley
Senior Art Director: Chay O’Rourke
Executive Producer: Karley Cameron
Strategy Director: Bec Alexander
Group Account Director: Georgie Bugelly
Senior Integration Manager: Juno Forster
Film Production: The Producers
Director: Gemma Lee
Executive Producer: Victoria Conners
Executive Producer: Esme Fisher
DOP: Zoë White
Editor: Raechel Harding
Colourist: Trish Cahill
Social Media: Overport
Account Director: Leah D’Sylva
Creative Director: Channelle Calderwood
Designer: Nasia Syrakis
Social Media Manager: Georgia Donaldson
Media: OMD
Client: Libra
Executive General Manager – Retail: Caitlin Patterson
Libra Marketing Manager: Laura Demarchi
Libra Senior Brand Manager: Julia Spargo-Ryan
Libra Brand Manager: Taylah Johnson
