Scotiabank makes an International Women’s Day commitment to action, not words

Who: Scotiabank, with Bensimon Byrne, OneMethod and Narrative PR.

What: “Said Before,” a new campaign timed for International Women’s Day.

When & Where: The campaign launches today, led by broadcast and complemented by Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Why: Scotiabank says it is committed to “dismantling the barriers faced by women,” noting that while progress has been made, there’s still work to do.

How: The campaign is built around a video directed by Caitlin Cronenberg showing a women uttering statements such as “A world in which men and women are completely equal is still far from being realized,” “What we plead for is equality of chance, equality of opportunity” and “Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.”

The payoff comes when viewers are informed that all of these powerful words have all been spoken before, in speeches from famed women’s advocates including Gloria Steinem and Canada’s Nellie McClung dating from as far back as 1915 to as recently as 2013.

The video drives to a microsite highlighting Scotiabank’s female-focused initiatives, including a commitment to allocating $3 billion to women-owned and women-led businesses, as well as increasing the representation of women in senior leadership roles (VP and higher) to 40% globally.

The campaign also includes a social giving component, with Scotiabank donating $1 to the Canadian Women’s Foundation for every retweet, repost, share or using the hashtag #SaidBefore.

Chris Powell