Background

"In Her Shoes" is part of a broader global Lux campaign to inspire 50 million women by 2025 using content, partnerships and activations to help them rise above everyday sexist judgements and express their themselves unapologetically. Empathising with everyday casual sexism is hard, unless one has experienced it personally. It’s difficult to understand what could be so harmful or negative about a "compliment" causally passed by a bystander on one's appearance. Aren’t these women being “over sensitive”? These are all examples of what men and society have said in response to this topic, further emphasizing the inequality of women being expected to adhere to the standards set by men. Lux, a leading beauty brand needed to take this issue into the real world to allow men to experience it for themselves and understand how every single comment, when experienced daily, can leave a negative impact on women.

Describe the cultural / social / political climate in your region and the significance of your campaign within this context

Gender inequality is an issue that rightly deserves attention and particularly in the Middle East. Yet there is another more pervasive issue impacting women every day that has yet to be addressed – casual sexism. The constant barrage of casual sexism has a negative impact on women. 1 in 2 women said that it affects their confidence. More than 1 in 3 have found themselves questioning whether they should have done things differently. Casual sexism also sets a cultural norm that leads to more extreme issues like harassment and violence. It's important that we make perpetrators more aware of how their actions impact women, encouraging them to be allies rather than adversaries. "In Her Shoes" is part of a broader global Lux campaign to inspire 50 million women by 2025 using content, partnerships and activations to help them rise above everyday sexist judgements and express their themselves unapologetically.

Describe the creative idea

Lux "In Her Shoes" is an interactive experience built in partnership with existing platform ‘City Walks’, which enables anyone to explore the sights and walk the streets in big cities around the world. We added an additional feature to enable viewers to walk the streets either as a man or woman. When “man” is selected, nothing notable happens. You walk with little to no interaction from other pedestrians. However, when you switch to the female view, you suddenly experience a very drastic change. Men stop her, berate her, compliment her, follow her and intimidate her. It’s a sad but true reality that many women around the world face every single day, and we’ve captured it for all to live, feel and experience. Actual walks were captured and amplified in the platform to provoke a reaction and ultimately, urge viewers to think about their own behaviour.

Describe the strategy

Society constantly forces women to be the ones to change their choices and alter their lifestyle. Don’t wear that, don’t walk alone, don’t encourage interaction. But women shouldn't have to change – the perpetrators are the ones who need to change. Lux targeted men, who oftentimes make women feel uncomfortable walking the streets of their own cities. Lux wanted to turn what men describe as trivial and harmless “compliments” into powerful firsthand experiences that brought to life the compounded impact when a woman is the recipient of these comments not once, but at least 5 to 10 times a day. Experience the "In Her Shoes" walk yourself at http://citywalks.live/.

Describe the execution

Lux “In Her Shoes” was released at a time when the world is infuriated by the abduction and killing of Sarah Everard and Egypt’s burgeoning #MeToo movement that has exposed sexual assaults, spurred legal reform and emboldened hundreds of abused victims including celebrities to speak out, sparking a long-overdue debate about gender inequality. Launched during the time of Covid in 2021, it was set in a relevant platform citywalks.live, the perfect place to interact with a captive audience during a time of isolation and fatigue from lockdowns, being deprived of travel and social interaction. The campaign partnership with City Walks has been arranged for a long period of one year to be a reminder for men on the impact of the sexism and harassment that women suffer by doing something as simple as taking a walk. It was also hosted at Miraa.me, a leading publisher in the Middle-East that

Describe the results / impact

1. Traffic to citwalks.live has increased by over 100%. 2. Time spent on the site has increased by more than 20%. 3. Lux “In Her Shoes” walk delivered VTRs better than benchmarks indicating the content resonated well with the TA. VTR was 36% better than benchmarks for long digital films. 4. Campaign reached an audience of 25M on Miraa.me. 5. Qualitative research was done with men who visited the website and experienced walking “In Her Shoes” – and 90% of them said they would be more mindful / think twice before making sexist comments. Globally, the campaign garnered 8.43M online viewership, 84.6k estimated coverage views, and over 34 pieces of global press coverage in over 200 websites.