Recent winner of three Grand Prix awards on the first day of the Cannes Festival and a constant source of conversation and conjecture, Fearless Girl is yet another brilliant example of the transition our industry is making from traditional advertising to cultural branding.
Its placement was timed to celebrate International Women’s Day and serve as an exemplar of female empowerment. It was initially heralded a success, by tourists and locals alike. Yet as time has passed, many have chosen to stare back and make a statement of their own. The Huffington Post labelled it “Wall Street pinkwashing,” while the New York Times declared it “false feminism.” But perhaps the most pointed critique came from Arturo Di Modica, the man who created the statue in the Fearless Girl’s cross hairs, the Charging Bull. “’Charging Bull’ no longer carries a positive, optimistic message,” he exclaimed, adding that his work “has been transformed into a negative force and a threat.”
Artists are intimately aware of the message they want to convey with their work, but the beauty of art is that the message is interpreted in the eye of the viewer, not the originator. The moment the Charging Bull, and indeed the Fearless Girl, left the confines of a private studio and were placed in a public space, the original message became open to interpretation. In a sense, the statue ceases to become a personal expression and starts to become part of shared culture.
Culture is what starts, enlivens and connects conversation. In a time of adblockers and cord-cutters, it stands to reason that brands would want to become part of this conversation, as the impact of paid media is increasingly threatened. This is exactly what State Street Capital, the commissioners of Fearless Girl, chose to do. “We placed the Fearless Girl there to be a partner to the bull, to represent the power of women,” explained Lynn Blake, an executive vice president of State Street. “We certainly never expected her to be a challenge; it wasn't intended to be confrontational, but to represent that she's there and she can face anything.”
Before siding with critics who reproved State Street and McCann for chasing headlines as opposed to effectiveness, it is worth considering the objective successes of the campaign. Between $28 to $37 million of exposure and millions of related tweets are incredible media metrics, but the real value comes from shifting business goals.
The firm’s SHE fund, established to support companies that invest in female leadership, saw its average daily trading volume increase 384% in the days following the release of Fearless Girl. Inbound calls from prospective institutional investors rose 15-fold in the four weeks after the company erected the statue, compared with the two weeks prior. To any measure, the statue was worthwhile, particularly considering the reported $250,000 investment.
As the Cannes International Festival of Creativity keeps moving and awards continue to be presented, it’s worth monitoring the campaigns that continue to dominate the conversation. Often, it will be those like Fearless Girl - the bold initiatives that trade on shared experiences and beliefs as opposed to paid impressions.
Mat Baxter is global CEO of Initiative. This article first appeared on Baxter's LinkedIn. AdNews is republishing it with his permission.