CREATABLE & CODE LIKE A GIRL PARTNER WITH CLEMENGER SYDNEY, FINCH, KAMBER AND FACEBOOK, TO LAUNCH LOSING LENA ~ REMOVING ONE IMAGE TO MAKE MILLIONS OF WOMEN FEEL WELCOME IN TECH
There’s a secret hidden in almost every website and every digital image you’ve ever seen. That secret is Lena, a Playboy centrefold. She is “a face more studied than the Mona Lisa’s” and has been called Tech’s Original Sin. But how did a centrefold from the 70’s become the most used test image in the world? And what impact has it had on women studying or entering tech industries?
Introducing Losing Lena, a new film and campaign developed for Creatable & Code Like a Girl by Clemenger BBDO Sydney, FINCH, Facebook and Kamber, that asks us to help remove one image to make millions of women feel welcome in tech.
Lena’s story began in 1972, when the Swedish model posed as the Miss November centrefold. The next year, her centrefold was chosen by some men at the University of Southern California (USC) as an ideal test image for the algorithms they were working on to turn physical photos into digital bits. This research laid the groundwork for what would later become the jpeg, an image standard that revolutionised our digital world.
Incredibly, 46 years on, Lena is still the most infamous test image in the world. She is symbolic of how women were left out, and pushed out, of the industry.
Losing Lena is a compelling documentary that questions the very tenets of the tech industry and leaves us pondering: Why wasn’t Lena retired years ago? It explores a thread that binds together so many similar challenges and biases women in tech have experienced around the world.
In a first for the Australian film industry and Facebook Watch, Losing Lena will be available to view at a series of events hosted by Code Like a Girl or exclusively on the Facebook Watch platform from November 26 onwards.
In addition to the film, a campaign has been launched that calls on members of the tech industry, businesses, universities and organisations to commit to Losing Lena at www.losinglena.com, as well as find substitute images that can be used for image processing testing.
People can also commit their support via Code Like a Girl’s Facebook Messenger chatbot, which was launched to support the campaign.
Says FINCH’s Kyra Bartley: “I was struck by how succinctly Lena’s story demonstrates the impact of small, seemingly inconsequential actions on the generations who come after – and of course the spotlight that throws on our current attitudes to recognising and addressing problematic practices within STEM industries.
“Far from being a finger-pointing exercise though, the film encourages people to engage with these ideas as part of a broader conversation on diversity, and to consider the ways in which their own actions could contribute to moving us all forward.”
Says Ally Watson, founder and CEO, Code Like a Girl: “The role of Lena’s image in tech’s history is representative of so many of our industry’s shortcomings. Tech is used by everyone – no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity. But when our tech is developed by a small subset of homogenous individuals, it’s impossible for the end product to be without bias. ”This documentary illustrates just how much effort is still needed to increase diversity in the teams building tech. It’s a call to the leaders of our industry to commit to Losing Lena. Because with the removal of one image, we’re better positioned to welcome millions of women to the table.”
Says Ben Coulson, chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO Sydney: “The future is being written right now in dark rooms by a group made up of predominantly men. If we want a better, more diverse world, many more talented women are needed in technology. We hope the story of Lena acts as a wakeup call and a catalyst for positive change.”
Says Lena: “I retired from modelling a long time ago. It’s time I retired from tech, too. We can make a simple change today that creates a lasting change for tomorrow. Let’s commit to losing me.”
CLIENT: CODE LIKE A GIRL
ALLY WATSON – FOUNDER & CEO
JOSEPHINE COLSON – CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
CLIENT: CREATABLE
GREG ATTWELLS – CO-FOUNDER
CREATIVE AGENCY: CLEMENGER BBDO SYDNEY
BEN COULSON – CCO
BRENDAN WILLENBERG – CREATIVE DIRECTOR
BRENDAN FORSTER – HEAD OF CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
CHRIS PEARCE – SENIOR COPYWRITER
ROWAN FOXCROFT – SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
DAVE LIDSTER – CREATIVE
DANIEL MORTENSEN – HEAD OF CRAFT
IVAN SO – DIGITAL DESIGN LEAD
JAY YOUNG – SENIOR DIGITAL DESIGNER / DEVELOPER
DALE EMROSE – FRONT END DEVELOPER
DENISE MCKEON – HEAD OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION
CLAIRE BISSET – INTERACTIVE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
NICK GARRETT – CEO
CATH BOSSON – GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
SMARAN JWORCHAN – SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
REBECCA DE BEER – COMMUNICATIONS PLANNER
JOE MAURICI – EDITOR
ALEX GUTERRES – EDITOR
EMILY CORNELIUS- EDITOR
JESS MORGAN – ONLINE EDITOR
ROBBIE BALATINCZ – SOUND ENGINEER
PAUL NAGY – ECD
PRODUCTION COMPANY: FINCH
KYRA BARTLEY – FINCH – DIRECTOR
FRANCESCA WALKER – FINCH – PRODUCED BY
MICHAEL HILLIARD – FINCH – PRODUCER
LUKE MAZZAFERRO – FINCH – PRODUCER
ROB GALLUZZO – FINCH – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
COREY ESSE – FINCH – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
LOREN BRADLEY – FINCH – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
ANNA HOWARD ACS – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
KRIS ROWE – EDITOR
MEDIA PARTNER AND FILM DISTRIBUTION: FACEBOOK
ANDY BLOOD – CREATIVE STRATEGIST, FACEBOOK CREATIVE SHOP
KAREN MAURICE-O’LEARY – CREATIVE STRATEGIST, FACEBOOK CREATIVE SHOP
DIGITAL AND BOT DEVELOPMENT: KAMBER
JONATHON BINK – BOT UX DESIGN & PRODUCTION
REBECCAH CHURCHWARD – PRODUCER
TECH PLATFORM: THE BOT PLATFORM
SYD LAWRENCE – CEO & CO-FOUNDER
PR (AUSTRALIA): CLEMENGER PR
NICK ZONNIOS – HEAD OF CLEMENGER PR
SOPHIE TRUTER – SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
GEORGIA RANDALL – PR & SOCIAL COORDINATOR
PR (USA): PORTER NOVELLI
STRAHAN WALLIS – PROJECT LEAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PORTER NOVELLI LA
SARAH LEWIS – PROJECT LEAD, ACCOUNT MANAGER, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPION, PORTER NOVELLI LA
KYLIE BANKS – MEDIA RELATIONS LEAD, ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR, PORTER NOVELLI LA
ROSIE DE QUELJOE – MEDIA RELATIONS CO-LEAD, SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, PORTER NOVELLI LA
SARAH VASQUEZ – ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, PORTER NOVELLI LA
GLADYS CARDENAS – ASSISTANT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, PORTER NOVELLI LA
MIRNA GORGY – ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, PORTER NOVELLI LA
HEIDI DEHART – ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, PORTER NOVELLI SEATTLE
CAROLINE REGAN – ACCOUNT MANAGER, CONE COMMUNICATIONS (A PORTER NOVELLI COMPANY).
SANDY SKEES, US PANEL MODERATOR, GLOBAL LEAD OF INNOVATION & IMPACT PRACTICE, PORTER NOVELLI SF
46 Comments
Well done Dave. Hope this gets more support.
Bit early for Cannes.
Made me think.
Made me question.
So often, nothing is ‘wrong’ until someone questions a tradition or points out an unconscious (or sadly, conscious) bias.
Well done.
In years to follow, my 9 yo daughter who loves coding will thank you.
All men working on this? Even a legacy credit to the former ECD?
Yeah totally. Well, apart from the Director, the DOP, one of the EPs, a couple of Producers, Head of Integrated Production, Interactive EP, Group Account Director, Senior Account Manager, Communications Planner, one Offline Editor, Online Editor and a Creative Strategist and a bunch of others from the States but yeah, almost totally all men
The creative team is all male, ya drongo.
A lot of people worked on this, men and women. All of whom wanted to do something to inspire change in a vital field. Bravo to all involved.
Big, simple and beautifully crafted. Can’t wait to see the full doco.
Interesting story. Surprised I’ve heard of it before either. Well done to all involved. Question is, what happens next?
Kudos
Genuinely wowed by this – the real Lena, that that image was used for so long with complete indifference to women in the coding industry, the move to remove it, the craft, everything. Love it.
What a genuinely original idea to promote equality. So much more compelling than the normal corporate band wagon stuff we are used to. Shooting a doco around the world like this can inspire and will get the conversation going with the next gen of young women considering jobs in tech science. Can’t wait to see the feature length film.
It’s not the giant leap the world needs but it is a great start.
This is excellent. Congrats to all involved.
Palau pledge for women.
Just really beautiful work
This story is crazy, I can’t imagine how they even knew about Lena. Very few ideas these days are actually able to uncover a real new idea, this one does and does it in a memorable way. I did a quick google of Lena, it’s a story that hardly even existed on the internet, let alone in advertising. Bravo to the smart people who discovered this story and brought it to life in such an original way.
Excellent. Would loved to have seen the ‘Lena today’ image using the same pose – but would it make it any better as a piece of communication? Probably not. Well done to all involved.
Sorry, this is flimsy, virtue signalling crap.
To all the agency and production company employees posting comments on their own work. Hah!
Um, to start with, Marcie is wearing a top. Maybe even a bra. And pants. Did you miss the whole point of the idea?
Surly this is only relevant if they are still using this image today….
@Kodak’s marcie. It’s a great story…. but they make a point in the film of saying the coders used the ‘cropped and scanned’ image of Lena, which, if you hadn’t seen the dusty old copy of Playboy where the uncropped version appeared, seems of its type, fairly innocuous.
This bloke did that as with the pinky about tiny wangs and now this.
Proper stayer.
Book Cannes, ledge
A quote from Lena. Wired magazine 31.01.2019
Lena doesn’t harbor any resentment toward Sawchuk and his imitators for how they appropriated her image; the only note of regret she expressed was that she wasn’t better compensated. In her view, the photograph is an immense accomplishment that just happened to take on a life of its own. “I’m really proud of that picture,” she said.
https://www.wired.com/story/finding-lena-the-patron-saint-of-jpegs/
Great start Clems. Now how about hiring some senior women in your creative department? You know, the important bit of the agency where the ideas are created. Ideas like this one are well and good, but it can be seen as virtue-signalling if you don’t back it up with change in your own organisation. Just look at Fearless Girl.
I hated the V work but this is good.
Credit where credit is due.
shameful manipulation of a non-story for selfish narcissistic motives (Cannes).
get on with some real work.
Wow, Code like a girl has a serious budget to get 50 people involved.
Good on her for blowing a fortune on this.
How did we go from Lena’s image being used as a tester decades ago to addressing gender imbalance in the work place now? Bizarre.
Like two ideas glued together with feel-good ooze. Makes no sense.
I’m pissed off. Why didn’t they use my image.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/jack-thompson-reveals-he-had-a-special-celebrity-visitor-at-his-iconic-nude-shoot/news-story/e30102214c4d554cf782a957d235a634
Oh, it’s good.
Would love to see how it’s amplified (crap marketing word but you know what I mean) because it would be a shame if the only place it really comes to life is in this video.
This is not a back handed compliment – I really think this is a winner.
This image is still widely used in the computer science field.
On Google Scholar you can find over 1,000 published papers this year alone that used it as the test image for their alogorithm documentation. Still very much a prevalent issue hence the call to action to use an alternative image for these tests.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2019&q=%22lena+image%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
I still don’t see the issue with the image being used. As somebody else mentioned, the model didn’t mind her image being used. What has this got to do with women in the work place?
You just need to look at the right-hand column on CB’s home page to see the imbalance in our industry. And you just need to read the credit list of creatives and developers on this project to re-enforce it.
Cool.
Where to now?
Make the industry more accepting of Mums would be a huge step forward.
Maybe even something as simple as making fewer mums redundant on maternity leave?
Could we go as far as getting the senior ranks of Men in the above mentioned Right Hand Column to acknowledge the well-formed biases that have served them well and got them thus far and make changes in their behaviour? You’d think in an industry that is all about identifying insights and creating behaviour change, we could do it with ourselves.
Let’s start with the next round of interviews, the next office fit-out, the next round of redundancies, even how you treat the people in the room at the next internal review.
High Fives for raising the issue. Let’s give it more than lip service and not just be about winning awards off an issue that affects people outside of this agency’s current creative and digital departments. Let’s make a change!
One last thought. Could Clems be so bold to not enter this into awards to demonstrate that you are genuine in your efforts here? Let the legacy be the difference it makes in ours and similar industries.
Good job, legends.
Maybe Clems don’t have as many senior female creatives, but it did hire Carmela Soares as ECD two years ago, don’t forget. It doesn’t fix everything but that was a substantial win for industry equality And @Wait, what? – the use of Lena’s image was obviously completely sexualised, misogynistic and objectifying in its boy’s-club heyday when all coders were 99% men, and there it went unchallenged and accepted for decades, and into 2019. Highlighting, addressing and removing it from its current use is the PERFECT metaphor for actioning much-needed behavioural and attitude changes across all industries in regards to women. It’s about saying, ‘hang on, that thing we’ve been doing forever is actually not ok’. This campaign is a standout for me.
Ok Boomer
Is gender diversity an issue in agencies? Yes.
Is this a good idea? Yes.
A solution without a problem, but it ticks so many award boxes it had to be made right guys? Pffft
Putting aside the obvious diversity issues in our industry, from what i gather, this idea is just about the STEM field which is also plagued with gender diversity issues. It won’t solve our boys club but hopefully it clears the way for more young girls to feel comfortable in coding classes and stick with it as a career. For that. It gets a tick from me.
It’s motivating to people in our business get together and make something that actually helps progress society. I love this project, have signed the partition, have asked my company their position on Lena, and look forward to seeing her finally able to retire from use. More women in tech will make for a better world, no doubt. If this inspires one brilliant young woman to code, we all win.
Is the problem that Lena was a seventies playboy centrefold? Or that the tech industry has studied a cropped version on the image that reveals nothing but her face and right shoulder? I’m genuinely confused?
Please post on Campaign Brief when this initiative is actually materialising into something more than an enormous agency and production company capitalising off the halo of quite serious social issues..
There is a documentary and it’s coming out next week
I don’t think this would stop women from following a digital career or make them feel awkward at all. And if you look at it another way, it’s extremely empowering.