The Brief

On average, women in New Zealand are paid 10% less, for doing the same job as men. To even out this inequality, and put a stop to this blatant sexism, YWCA Auckland decided that men should be charged 10% more than women. This was to highlight the absurdity of two genders being treated differently when it comes to money, as well as to cause debate, and encourage New Zealanders to visit www.demandequalpay.org.nz to show their support for the Pay Equality Bill.

Creative Execution

Worldwide, YWCA’s mantra is ‘Empowering Women’, so it makes sense that they would be champions of the pay equality cause. And because women in New Zealand are paid 10% percent less than men, we decided that men should pay 10% more. In everything we did we showed the imbalance and just how this 10% affected everyone. We fought absurdity with absurdity, created a conversation, and drove all who came in contact with the campaign online to support the Pay Equality Bill.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Men needed to be subjected to the discrimination that women face daily to truly appreciate the gravitas of the situation. By charging men 10% more in the real world, as well as letting women know just how this 10% they weren’t earning affected them, we created controversy to get politicians, media and the general public talking and awaken this sleeping giant of an issue that has plagued women in NZ for decades. At every touch point we highlighted the imbalance and showed just how this 10% difference affected us all. Most importantly we drove people online to support the Pay Equality Bill.

Results

The Direct campaign was hugely successful, achieving all its objectives. In launch month, visitors to the site increased by 9,000%, and donations increased by 22% on the previous month. And it was the most debated topic in the NZ Herald in November. It received national and international awareness earning media coverage valued at over $1.4 million (broadcast TV, news, radio, press, editorial, PR, social media). It had a phenomenal 1,750% return on investment ($17.50 for every $1 spent). Most importantly, we gathered the signatures we required to support the Pay Equality Bill. Which has now been put forward to Parliament to become an Act.