UN Women campaign wins at the Ad Black Sea International Festival of Creativity

The UN Women campaign Women Who Don’t Exist received two gold, one silver and one bronze award at the 2023 Ad Black Sea International Festival of Creativity. The campaign, the idea and execution of which belonged to the creative agency Watergunz, ran from 4 April to 10 May and reminded the public once again that professional choices in Georgia are often limited by gender stereotypes, industries are divided into ‘male’ and ‘female’ jobs, and, because of such views, a large proportion of women have no way to realize their potential.

Ad Black Sea is the largest marketing event in the region. Speeches, masterclasses and other initiatives held within its framework bring together representatives of the creative industries from different countries. The festival traditionally also recognizes the outstanding work produced in this field. The campaign Women Who Don’t Exist received two gold medals in the Creative Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals categories, one silver medal for the use of non-standard media, and a bronze medal for reaching its target audience.

“It’s important when campaigns of this type are rewarded, because a lot of resources are spent on communication, the biggest part of which serves the cause of promoting and selling the product,” says one of the members of the jury, marketing specialist Nuka Shevardnadze. “I think that brands should think about the fact that the topics of social responsibility and general well-being are closer to people’s hearts, and in this way they will get the attention and love of consumers much more easily.”

The main partner of the campaign was beauty company The Body Shop, and the campaign’s supporters were Business and Technology University and car dealership Toyota Center Tegeta. It should be noted that all of the private sector representatives involved in the initiative are signatories to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, and their association with the campaign was part of their support of these principles. Tbilisi City Council, which was also involved in the implementation of the project, responded to the campaign. On its initiative, several streets in the capital were renamed after Georgian women who played an important role in the development of various fields in the country.

The campaign was part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment component of the project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia”, which is implemented by UN Women with the support of the Government of Norway.