Stop Female Death In Advertising
Case Overview
An award-winning awareness campaign challenging the passivation and objectification of women in advertising. What started as a graduation project evolved into a global movement, reaching hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, featured in international media and exhibitions, and sparking conversation across the advertising industry about how we portray women.
Challenge
I had begun to see a recurring and unsettling pattern in advertising: women portrayed as passive, lifeless or objectified for aesthetic effect. I wanted to dig deeper into why this imagery felt so normalized and what it said about the industry. The challange was to see if a graduation project could do more than just comment on the problem and instead engage the industry in meaningful reflection and change.
Outcome
Hundreds of thousands of global website visitors
Featured in major media including: Vogue Spain, BUST, Radar Magazine, RealStars, DN, Resumé, Dagens Media, P3 Stil, SVT Debatt, Eskilstuna-Kuriren, and more
Featured exhibition at Hälsinglands Museum (October 2013) selected as the inaugural exhibition in the museum's new "idérum" as part of their permanent exhibition "De brutna mönstren"
Supported by ambassadors from Stockholm’s leading advertising agencies
Scholarship recipient: awarded for excellence in visual communication and social impact
Solution
I created Stop Female Death in Advertising — a visual protest platform designed to turn individual frustration into collective action. The campaign invited people to contribute by adding examples of problematic advertising and take a stand for improved representation.
The campaign worked across three levels:
Digital Platform
A website functioning as a visual protest list. Visitors could explore collected examples, learn about the issue, contribute and share the campaign globally.
Industry Engagement
Ambassador kits were sent out to 50 influential communicators at leading advertising agencies in Stockholm. Each kit included a letter, t-shirt and badge, inviting recipients to publicly support the campaign and advocate for change within the industry.
Cultural Movement
At its core, the campaign challenged industry norms with a clear message:
“There are far more original, interesting and exciting ways to portray women”.
The goal was to push the industry forward by encouraging more diverse, creative and responsible portrayals.
Deliverables
Hundreds of thousands of global website visitors
Scholarship recipient: awarded for excellence in visual communication and social impact
Featured in major media including: Vogue Spain, BUST, Radar Magazine, RealStars, DN, Resumé, Dagens Media, P3 Stil, SVT Debatt, Eskilstuna-Kuriren, and more
Featured exhibition at Hälsinglands Museum (October 2013) selected as the inaugural exhibition in the museum's new "idérum" as part of their permanent exhibition "De brutna mönstren"
Supported by ambassadors from Stockholm’s leading advertising agencies
Website functioning as a visual protest list where people could contribute by adding examples to the list
Ambassador kits were sent out to 50 influential communicators at leading advertising agencies in Stockholm.
Degree piece at Beckmans College of Design
2013
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