Demand Equal Pay
YWCA Auckland
Issue 26 | March 2013
Agency
DDB Group New Zealand / Rapp Tribal
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Andy Fackrell Creative Director: Aaron Goldring Copywriters: Jonathan McMahon, Lisa Fedszyn, Matt Webster, Ben Barnes, Simone Louis, Toby Morris Art Directors: Jonathan McMahon, Lisa Fedszyn, Matt Webster, Ben Barnes, Simone Louis, Toby Morris
Production Team
Account Director: Jenny Travers Executive Producer: Trevor Reid Producer: Paul Shannon Designer: Sam Schrey Developers: Robbie Boyd, Jarrad Edwards, Simon Crocker
Date
December 2012
Background
On average, women in New Zealand are paid 10% less for doing the same job as men. To even out this inequality, YWCA Auckland suggested that men should be charged 10% more than women. This was to highlight the absurdity of two genders being treated differently and to start a debate, encouraging New Zealanders to go online to show their support for the Pay Equality Bill.
Idea
Men needed to be subjected to the same sort of discrimination that women face daily to truly appreciate the situation. So, wherever possible, they were charged 10% more than women. At the coffee stall outside Parliament and in local restaurants, men had to pay more for their coffee.
A television ad showed a man being charged extra ‘for having a penis’, while hard hitting print ads tackled the issue head on.
Online banners directed people to the website, which reflected the inequality in its design. After the opening message, the entire right half of the page dropped down to a lower position. All the content, logos and even the video player were split to amplify the message of discrimination. When visitors were asked to donate to the cause, men were requested to give an extra 10%.
Results
The debate received national and international media coverage, on TV news, radio and online. Every touch point led to www. demandequalpay.org.nz where visitors could donate money and sign up to support the Pay Equality Bill. The signatures collected online from men and women were used to take the bill to Parliament.
Our Thoughts
The first thing to understand is that this campaign was to drive awareness of an issue that was being debated by Government. The Prime Minister (a man) had been dragging his feet on the issue and the Pay Equality Bill looked as if it would disappear without trace. The ambition was to get 10,000 signatures to the online petition and apply pressure. It probably won’t work. But at least the matter was on the political agenda in New Zealand, even if there were plenty of people who wished it wasn’t. In most other countries the disparities are greater and so too the silence.
What I love about the idea is it personalises the discrimination. When you have to pay extra for a cup of coffee for no other reason than your sex, you do begin to realise how unfair it is that people get paid differently for the same work.