PROJECT #SHOWUS

“Show us more women who look like me”

70% of women still don’t feel represented in media & advertising. And research continues to prove that stereotypical representations limit them in countless ways, from their health and relationships to their opportunities in life. 

That’s why we developed Project #ShowUs. An ongoing alliance between Dove, Getty Images and Girlgaze to build the world’s largest stock photo library created entirely by female-identifying and non-binary individuals to shatter beauty stereotypes. To date, the collection includes nearly 6,000 photographs from 39 countries (and counting!), depicting women exactly as they are, not as others believe they should be. Every photo in the bank has been tagged with keywords personally written by the subject, so they can be defined on their own terms.

And this is just the beginning. 10% of every image licensed supports female photographers, so the collection – and commercial opportunities for female-identifying photographers – continues to grow. Every day, industry change makers worldwide continue to pledge their support by using the images in their campaigns. 

18 months in the making, we worked with 116 photographers, 179 female identifying & non-binary people photographed in 39 countries. 

As a female creative working in an industry known for perpetuating stereotypes, I am so proud of this work - when my partner and I first thought of this concept over two years ago I could never have imagined the scale and impact such a project could have.

– RESULTS –

879M Global reach
100% Social positive sentiment
15,175K new followers 
70,000K Hand raisers 

– GETTY IMAGES STATS FOR LAUNCH MONTH –

600 companies downloaded #ShowUs images.
These companies were a mix of Fortune 500 brands across Advertising agencies (68%), Corporations (15%) and Media Companies (17%).
20,000 Image Downloads
17,000% increase page views to site during launch week

– AWARDS –

Cannes Glass Lion For Social Change - Silver
Effie Awards (Global): Positive Change, Social Good - Winner
Effie Awards (U.S.): Media Content Partnership - Gold
Jay Chiat Awards: Global Strategy - Silver
Adweek Project Issac Awards: Best Partnership Invention - Winner
Shorty Social Good Awards: Fashion, Beauty & Luxury - Category Winner
Shorty Social Good Awards: Social Movement - Gold
Shorty Social Good Awards: Integrated Campaign - Gold
Shorty Social Good Awards: Diversity & Inclusion - Gold
Cynopsis Best of the Best: Best Diversity Awareness Campaign - Winner
The Drum Awards: Most Innovative Use of Content - Winner
The Drum Awards: Best Integrated Cross-Channel Media - Winner
The Drum Awards: Best Charity Content Marketing Campaign - Highly Commended
The Drum Awards: Best CPG Content Marketing Campaign - Highly Commended
The Drum Social Purpose Awards: Best Content Marketing Campaign - Winner
The Drum Social Purpose Awards: Best Content Marketing Campaign - Winner
The Drum Social Purpose Awards: Best Video Campaign - Winner
The Drum Social Purpose Awards: Best Integrated Marketing Campaign - Highly Commended
The Drum Social Purpose Awards: Best Cause Related - Shortlist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Collaborations & Partnerships – Gold
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Social Good/Environment & Sustainability – Silver
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Social/Environmental Good: Brand – Silver
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Integrated Marketing – Silver
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Unique Partnership: Brand – Finalist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Women – Finalist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Social/Environmental Good: Brand – Finalist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Community Building – Finalist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Civic & Social Education: Brand – Finalist
New York Festival Advertising Awards: Audience Connection – Finalist
One Show: Creative Effectiveness – Merit
One Show: Global Campaign – Merit
Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards: Social Good – Honorable Mention
ECHO Awards: Best Integrated Campaign - Silver
ECHO Awards: Best Campaign for CSR/Social Good - Bronze
D&AD Awards: Equality & Diversity – Finalist
Epica Awards: Public Interest - Shortlist
Digiday Awards: Best Social Good Campaign - Shortlist
Jay Chiat Awards: Nonprofit - Shortlist

– FEATURED IN –

Ad Age (Top 5 ads)
Ad Week USA
All Things Hair USA
Bandt (AUSTRAILIA)
Biz Community SOUTH AFRICA
Bustl USA
Cosmetics Design USA
Cosmo
Creative Insights USA
Dazed Digital USA
Digital Agency Network
Dove PR WIre UK
ELLE Magazine
Fast Company USA
Fastmoving SOUTH AFRICA
Global Cosmetics News
Glossy USA
Harper’s BAZAAR
HuffPost USA
INC USA
Marie Claire France FRANCE
Marketing Dive USA
Marketing Interactive MALAYSIA
MediaPost USA
Medium USA
Modern Marketing SOUTH AFRICA
Newswire CANADA
NYLON USA
O Magazine
PR Newswire USA
PR Week USA
Romper USA
Shemazing USA
Shondaland
SmartBrief
Strategy Online CANADA
Stylist UK
The Drum USA
UK Evening Standard UK
Austrailian Photography
Mumbrella Industry Blog AUSTRAILIA
SBS Australian News
Grazia MIDDLE EAST
W Magazine USA
Cosmo PHILIPPINES
YouTube Top 6-Second Ads