Lux's web experience gives men first-hand feel of sexism that women face

Unilever beauty brand, Lux, is launching a campaign to highlight the impact of casual sexism faced by women in their everyday lives by inviting men to experience it first-hand for themselves. Whether on the street or in the workplace, women are constantly judged on the way they dress, walk and speak. From catcalls to inappropriate compliments, everyday sexism is shockingly commonplace – and is causing women to self-edit their beauty and how they express their femininity as a result.  

Although the problem exists on a global scale, many men don’t consider that they are doing or saying anything wrong. Nor are they aware of the damaging impact that seemingly offhand comments like ‘Cheer up, you look prettier when you smile’ may have on women’s self-worth.

Created by WPP’s Wunderman Thompson Singapore, the new LUX campaign aims to spark a conversation and bring about real behaviour change by giving men the opportunity to – quite literally – walk in women’s shoes. The campaign cleverly leverages City Walks – a quickly growing platform where users can take a virtual stroll around different cities around the world – to offer men a glimpse of the sexism that women suffer by doing something as simple as taking a walk.

The campaign has been kicked off in the Middle East. When users visit the platform, they can click on “In Her Shoes”, a special button allows them to toggle between experiencing the walk as a man, or as a woman. While men can enjoy an uninterrupted ramble, soaking up the sights and sounds of the city, the female perspective is very different. Crossing a bridge or wandering down a side street attracts unwanted attention from groups of men, with users subjected to casually sexist remarks like “Why this red lipstick?”, or “Stop here, I wanna talk to you!”

To build on the campaign and transform the perpetrators of sexism into allies, feedback was collated from male users who have experienced the Lux “In Her Shoes” as a woman, encouraging self-reflection through a series of questions asking how the ordeal made them feel, and how they think women feel as a result.

“In Her Shoes” is underscored by Lux’s pledge to inspire women using content, partnerships and activations to help them rise above everyday sexist judgments and express their beauty and femininity unapologetically.

In March 2021, Unilever launched a new Positive Beauty vision and strategy globally, which aims to champion a new era of beauty which is equitable and inclusive. Lux seeks to inspire women to confidently embrace their beauty and appearance as their own, as opposed to it being dependent on the opinion of others thus making their interpretation of their beauty their strength.

Speaking on behalf of Lux, Severine Vauleon, Global Vice President - LUX at Unilever, said, “Lux has been celebrating beauty and femininity since 1925. We understand that beauty is a woman’s armour, her source of strength. It is hers to express, unapologetically. We will continue to help women everywhere fight casual sexism at home, in the workplace and in wider society. Hence, this campaign is in line with the brand’s purpose. At Lux, we believe that beauty should be a source of strength rather than a source of judgement.”

Marco Versolato, Chief Creative Officer - WPP@Unilever/Wunderman Thompson Singapore, said, “It’s one thing to be aware of sexism, but to actually experience it, is a whole other thing. That’s why this idea is about experiencing it for yourself. Because changing how we see and feel can change how we behave and act on this issue.”

Aristomenis Georgiopoulos & Artemis Stiga, creators of the City Walks platform, added here, “Casual sexism is prevalent in many countries, and conversations about this serious issue are now increasing. It’s great that global brands such as Lux are raising awareness to drive positive action on it. We are all for gender equality and wish to eliminate all the discriminative behaviours, so that men and women can equally experience security and confidence in their everyday lives.”

Campaign credits:

Agency Creative – Wunderman Thompson

Bas Korsten, Global CCO Wunderman Thompson

Marco Versolato, CCO WPP@Unilever/Wunderman Thompson, Singapore

Facundo Paglia, CCO Wunderman Thompson, Puerto Rico

Ricardo Tronquini, Creative Director Wunderman Thompson, Singapore

Andres Aranguren, Wunderman Thompson, Puerto Rico

Javier De Bourg, Wunderman Thompson, Puerto Rico

Agency Account Management - Wunderman Thompson, Singapore

Hinoti Joshi, Business Director, Global Lux

Ricca Teotico, Account Director

Deeksha Siwach, Account Manager

Agency Strategy - Wunderman Thompson, Singapore

Rebecca Nadilo, Chief Strategy Officer

Agency Production - Wunderman Thompson, Singapore

Gerri Hamill, Head of Integrated Production

Zakee Talib, Production Coordinator

Team Chameleon

Production

Production House: SMC, Dubai

Producer: Shamim Kassibawi

PR

Jessica Hartley, Global PR

Platform

Citywalks - Aristomenis Georgiopoulos & Artemis Stiga,

Clients

Unilever, Lux

Severine Vauleon, Global Brand Vice President

Swarnim Bharadwaj, Global Brand Director, Lux

Vivien Ng, Assistant Brand Manager, Lux

Experience the ‘In Her Shoes’ here: https://citywalks.live/inhershoes

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