Advertising market size (US$): 2.75 billion
Launch date: February 2020
Strategic priorities: Addressing stereotypes in advertising with a focus on women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, harmful masculinities, youth, race and diversity, equality and inclusion.
Strategic industry events: AdWeek Africa and Loeries Awards
Members: Diageo South Africa, Facebook, Google, Kantar South Africa, Nando's, Ster-Kinekor, Unilever
Allies: Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), Loeries, Red &Yellow Creative School of Business, The Marketing Association of South Africa, Women in Marketing Africa
Milestones
South Africa National Chapter launches the #OutTheGenderBox film at the #OutTheGenderBox awards
To commemorate Youth Month and encourage young creatives to eradicate harmful stereotypes, the South Africa national chapter launched the #OutTheGenderBox film at the OutTheGenderBox awards. The #OutTheGenderBox campaign was created by UN Women South Africa and Prejudic•tionary to take creative thinking out of the ‘gender box’. The campaign collaborates with diverse thought leaders and creative pioneers around the country on a series of conversations about the journey to think beyond traditional gender roles, tropes and conventional portrayals. Running alongside this series is a partnership with top creative schools around the country, challenging their students to create social media content that is #OutTheGenderBox. The awards were an opportunity to showcase their creative work and highlight the imperative of creating unstereotyped advertising.
South Africa's founding ally, The Loeries, launches 3rd round of Loeries Youth Committee
In the continuous effort to enrich the brand communication industry and support youth empowerment the Loeries launched the Loeries Youth Committee in 2021. The committee comprises 15 dynamic young professionals selected from across the African continent via an application and interview process for brand communication professionals under 30 years old. The role entails being a voice for the youth of the creative industry in matters that impact the youth. The Loeries Youth Committee’s objectives include the amplification of positive societal messaging amongst the committee’s peer group and a structured platform for networking & the transfer of skills with the view of ensuring that top talent remains in the industry. The committee has a one-year tenure post-which selected members will retain a life-time membership to the body as advisors to the next round of committee members.
UN Women speaks on Unstereotyping at the Loeries Creative Week in South Africa
Aleta Miller, UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office Representative, was profiled at The Loeries Creative Week in a session on ‘Unstereotyping Creativity’. The Loeries Creative Week is the largest gathering of its kind in the region, bringing together the very best in the industry for a festival of networking, celebration, and recognition of great work. Aleta delved into the pivotal role advertising can play in reshaping social norms that perpetuate power imbalances between women and men. She highlighted the transformative potential of the creative sector in driving positive social change, including brands’ untapped opportunities to transform the harmful norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls.
Announcement: During the 2019 Loeries Creative Awards for Africa and Middle East, UN Women South Africa announced the creation of the Unstereotype Alliance South Africa Chapter in collaboration with Loeries and the Marketing Association of South Africa. Facebook Africa, Google South Africa and Unilever joined as founding members.
Unstereotyping Masterclass
UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office held an Unstereotyping Masterclass at the 2019 Loeries, attended by more than 100 participants.
Launch: On 11 February 2020 the South Africa National Chapter officially launched in Johannesburg at an event hosted by UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office and attended by over 50 CMOs and advertising industry leaders.
Women's Month 2020
During Women's Month (August) 2020 in South Africa, the Unstereotype Alliance South Africa National Chapter collaborated to raise awareness about GBV. Unilever and Facebook partnered with UN Women to raise awareness about domestic violence through social media. Both partners donated space to amplify a campaign working to accumulate 20,000 messages of strength and support for survivors of domestic violence. The Loeries also donated advertising space, mounting digital billboards in the major cities of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town with GBV messaging. As part of the country's National Strategic Plan, Google South Africa worked with the UN Women's Multi-Country office to develop a dynamic heat map to track the number of reported GBV cases. Google also held a series of digital events about managing family violence in the workplace, microaggressions, an allies discussion with men and a panel on GBV which UN Women's South Africa Multi-Country Office representative, Anne Githuku-Shongwe, participated in along with industry experts.
Webinar: Kantar South Africa and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) hosted a webinar with Unilever and UN Women in September 2020 about using advertising as a force for good. The discussion centered on how the industry can work to dismantle race and gender bias. Tune in to the recording here to learn insights from our Unstereotype Alliance South Africa partners.
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