UN Women Australia Questions ‘She’ll Be Right’ Attitude in New Campaign via The Monkeys
To rally the country to get behind the UN’s goal of achieving equality for women globally by 2030, UN Women Australia has unleashed ‘When Will She’ll Be Right?’, a powerful campaign via The Monkeys, part of Accenture, that focuses the spotlight on gender inequality in Australia.
The campaign hijacks our popular saying, “She’ll be right”, to dismiss problems we think might be fixed in time, turning the motto into an important question of not only how, but also when.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #5 is for gender equality by 2030, yet according to the World Economic Forum, we will not reach equality for another 99.5 years. However, UN Women Australia is eager to push women’s equality to the top of the agenda and accelerate efforts, so we can do 100 year’s of work in 10.
Directed by Madeline Kelly with Rabbit Content, the campaign stars actor Miah Madden. It will air across broadcast television and will be supported by social, digital and out of home advertising.
Says Lizzie Wood, creative at The Monkeys: “Australians say ‘She’ll be right’ to dismiss problems we think will fix themselves with time; it’s a cultural complacency that things will sort themselves out, at some point. But for women’s rights, that point is still 100 years away.”
Says Belinda Drew, head of account management, The Monkeys: “Together, we can achieve a seismic shift and not wait around for the incremental change.”
Says Janelle Weissman, executive director, UN Women Australia: “Gender equality has been on the agenda for a long time; from the Suffragettes to the #metoo movement.
“With seemingly so much momentum, it is easy to think that equality is around the corner, just a generation away perhaps. Yet at our current rate of progress, it will take 99.5 years to achieve gender equality.
“That means your children, and your children’s children and even their children will not grow up in an equal world. That means that another six billion, nine hundred and thirty million girls will be born into an unequal world.”
Says Sunita Gloster, UN Women Australia advisor: “Gender inequality is the biggest human right’s issue of our time. It impacts all of us. This work enables UN Women Australia to sustain the campaign that is raging on this issue and call for accelerated action for the empowerment of women and girls, every day. That’s what it’s going to take.”
Client: UN Women Australia
Executive Director UN Women National Committee Australia: Janelle Weissman
Advisor UN Women National Committee Australia: Sunita Gloster
Creative Agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Interactive
Group CEO & Co-Founder: Mark Green
Group Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder: Scott Nowell
Head of Account Management: Belinda Drew
Executive Creative Director: Vince Lagana
Creative Team: Katie Kidd, Lizzie Wood, Connor Beaver & Scott Zuliani
Content Manager: Samantha Packham
Head of Production: Penny Brown
Senior Producer: Simone O’Connor
Senior Producer: Tanith Williamson
Senior Producer: Claudia Brookes
Senior Planner: Charlotte Marshall
Social Strategist: Charlotte Goodsir
Digital Design Lead: Eva Godeny
Senior Designer: Lauren Elliot
Designer: Tchaan Wilson-Townsend & Nano Palomares Pazos
Production Company: Rabbit
Director: Madeline Kelly
Executive Producers & Producers: Alex Hay & Lucas Jenner
DoP: Alex Serafini
Post House: ARC Edit
Editor: Phoebe Taylor
Colourist: Billy Wychgel
Online: Viv Baker
Sound Post Production: Sonar
Sound Producer: Haylee Poppi
Casting: Peta Einberg @ Peta Einberg Casting
Illustrators/Artists:
Kate Pullen
Cass Stevens
Janine Wareham
Minky Stapleton
Ben Leon
Serval Fandango
Kyle Bonzaier
The Tilbury Press
74 Comments
Such brilliant work. Great script, powerful visuals and awesome casting. Great to see this kind of work come out for IWD. Well done to everyone involved.
This ad is offensive, in Australia there are award wages, where is the fact checking. If I do exactly the same job for exactly the same amount of time, I get paid the same, I have bewen the boss many t9imes, much more than 18%
my apologies, *been and times
Shush, you are missing the point you ignorant twat.
This is truly world class
Brilliant.
The most important piece of communication you’ll see this year.
This is top shelf – well done to all.
This is excellent on all fronts. Well done.
Powerful work, and great to see a whole lot of women in the credits list as well.
Wonderful and important work. Well done The Monkeys
this is a beautiful piece of work, no doubt, but i question whether it’ll actually do anything to solve the very problems mentioned in the film.
it’d have been great to see the time, effort, and money from this go towards doing something about the very real problems women face.
i hope they’re putting efforts in place within the agency to actually create change through tangible efforts, because this self-serving work definitely won’t do it.
Having freelanced at the Monkeys I can honestly say they have one of the most diverse creative departments I’ve had the privilege to work in.
This is brilliant.
This. 100% This. Self serving on the band wagon bullshit that looks great; sounds great but just won’t do a god damn thing for change.
Fucking love it!
Absolutely sensational. The casting and performance is brilliant.
Congrats Lizzie, this is huge – incredible work.
Powerfully told. Well done to all involved.
Her performance and her words could have been powerful. Well done otherwise. A worthy message. Could have been as good as “dear daddy” though.
I got chills, brilliant work by all
This is ok at best and will not solve any of issues mentioned. All a bit average and performance was over cooked. Why is she chopping wood?
so good to see so many women in the credits list too. Happy International Women’s Day!
SUCH lovely work. Congrats Katie and Lizzie xx
Beautifully written, word people.
I like it
this was great. powerful stuff.
Sensational writing
Strong, simple, thought-provoking. But as others have noted; will it make any difference?
And why is she chopping wood?
Did I miss something?
Am I stupid?
I found myself wondering what other visual metaphors might accompany the same words.
And I came up with…
This is the sort of work I hope to make one day. Well done all!
great work though I thought it would make a better 60 and not 2 mins.
Maybe something is escaping me but why is she chopping wood? Is that suppose to symbolise something? Or is that just a throwaway setting? I get the message but why chopping wood? genuinely asking.
Finally something which actually captures the actual purpose of IWD. Amazing work.
@Help
When watching, the wood chopping was empowering to me.
It’s shows a young woman doing an old school behaviour perceived and normally reserved to be an act of men only. Which works with the idea of the old school “She’ll be right’ attitude.
It shows strength. It helps land every point. It gave me goosebumps.
Job done.
I love this so much. Thank you Monks.
Post-rationalising at its best.
You call yourself a creative. But you can’t come up with one reason why she is chopping wood. Think about it. And then go back to your banner ads.
This is great writing ,great insight ,beautifully made well done
Miah Madden is a great actor. A future star. So strong. So powerful. Representing all women and the indigenous community.
🖤💛❤
Love it. I have no idea what the wood chopping is though unless as hinted at above it’s seriously a euphemism. Is it?
Let’s cross the line like every single shot and give no damns about genuine craft.
Comments are agency just puffing themselves up.
I disagree – as a filmmaker I resent being called an agency puffer. and line crosses -PLEEEZZ whats geography got to do with it ?one girl chopping wood-and strong writing – whats not to like ?
So.. great that the ladies are gracing the credits but anyone mention all the boss dogs are all still men ? Feels like an attempt at “getting the girls on the tools” when really the guys at the top are the men who make so so much more money than them. They’re even credited higher !!
They have just hired a female CCO.
I hope all creatives are making the same $$$ otherwise, she’ll be right, right?
Powerful. All Aussies need to start having more conversations about all of these issues. Well done guys, executed brilliantly.
This made me feel again. Proud to be an Aussie chick watching this perfect production. Team Kidd Wood!
Actress was a bit too Home and Away. Her pacing and lack of feeling was just someone reciting the words. Not feeling them. And as a woman I bloody well feel them. But great to see these issues being talked about though. Wonderful.
@ Bit to H&A,
Oh, how I disagree.
This young lady performed this brilliantly. So raw. Gave me goosebumps.
Just superb.
Awesome work and really well written.
Hell yeah Lizzie!!
That was too long
Great work Katie Kidd!
Sent to me by my daughter. True emotion that builds with shocking facts and an undeniable call to action. More Monkeys magic.
@Lol at the guys at the top
So when an agency, which happened to be started by some guys, backs this issue, supports the women in the agency to make a statement, (or maybe they just left them to it and stayed out of the way, I don’t know), they’re still doing the wrong thing? (credits are always listed senior people at the top). Your comment sounds like you’re saying they enslaved the women to work for them. That kind of attitude makes people stop listening to you.
Agree, we need more male leaders supporting the cause and leading by example.
I know a few people who work at the Monkeys and it seems the creative leaders have done a great job in creating and maintaining a diverse creative department – beyond just gender.
Practising what they preach.
Would have like to see an old face here.
Over hearing from the next generation what they think, this girls still in high school. What does she know about the issue we’ve been exposed to all our lives. But yeah, looks great in a singlet chopping wood. Ageism.
My take is that she is cutting off the metaphorical dicks of men. It’s dark but I like it.
@Pretty young girl lectures woman on the changes they need to make
Interesting take.
Is she telling women? Or men? Or everyone?
I guess we’re getting used to young people – think Greta Thunberg – telling adults how the world works.
Great to see some Aussie language in an ad for Australians beyond the stereotyped British cliches.
I give this a 4 out of 13
Mansplaining
One of the male creatives used to say to me “ssshhhh a man is speaking now” – not as a joke. She’ll be right though lol
The U.N and WEF, pushing the idea that men and women are not equal, just as they do with racism and moronic people, who cannot see the agenda behind this campaign (and the racial devide that is ever growing because of these same people), lap it up, in fear of not being “woke” enough.. Dig a little deeper into the WEF and their “great reset” (great for whom) and you will see my point.. and before you all start in with your “white male privalage” BS, I am a woman and I am not white..
I thought it was extremely clever to align a much-loved Aussie expression to the shame of progress around gender equality. Let’s hope the positive action at the end of this ad, along with our Aussie pride, spurs people into tiny actions they can do every day to help get us there.
Great idea, poorly executed. The actor is not authentic and there’s no call to action. Alot of people have said it’s powerful.. i have no idea why. As a woman i find it confusing and pointless. What a missed opportunity to showcase why women should have equality…
It sent chills down my spine and every chop of the axe drove the point home, powerful stuff, and a necessary wake up to our lack of progress as a society.
This is a hard hitting ad. I found this to be very powerful. I hope this ad can gain some traction and be shown further throughout free to air.
What A brilliant commercial.
Brilliant setting & action.
Brilliant casting & acting.
Brilliant script.
Amazing.
Perfect in so many ways.
Bless & Thank you,
Sar
Absolutely love this add. Hits the home and heart for me.
Absolutely stunning!
Exceptionally written and exceptionally delivered.
I believe it will make a difference.
Should immediately be written into the school curriculum.
This is a disgusting ad, no words can describe how wrong and misleading this is, and I truly believe it can actually cause more harm than good. I endeavour to do a counter ad for Men to address the issues Women harmfully can and generally do to them. Horrible just horrible and I pity all who support this stupid non truthful message, especially those who have encouraged and assisted with this being aired to the often uneducated public. Absolute idiots, time wasters, oxygen thieves, waste of sperms! Go and visit sick kids in Hospitals, help the needy and poor, share a smile (it’s free!) infect the world with good positive thoughts and actions and don’t bother to bother us with your ill untruthful non educated splatter..!
There are reasons these stats exist. Not every woman wants to give up having children to the be the CEO of a an ASX200 company. These choices are almost always voluntary. Should we make an ad highlighting the grossly disproportional rates of male suicide? Or insanely higher rate of death on the job? Or the rate of males losing in custody battles?
It’s give and take people. Don’t get blinded by the spin.
This ad is disgusting. It depicts all men as rapists and abusers. If people came out and made an ad about being offended by trans people they would be screaming bloody murder. Just divisive and woke.
Good job! Great actress.
How this is still a ‘mans world’ is beyond me. What a bloody mess they’ve made.
Women have to help other women rise to the top for there to be rapid change.
I think the fact that some of the angry commenters above just don’t understand that this is actually what women feel when they walk alone at night or that women getting paid less is a real problem or that violence at home is a common occurrence. Things will never change if the world as a whole doesn’t recognise that there is a big inequality between the sexes. Maybe instead of flaring up over this issue, take a real look at it and see if your own actions could be contributing in either a positive or negative way to the women in your own life. If positive, pass on to your mates and kids, if negative, support and commit to change.
This is amazing and empowering!!!!Love it!!