#MyFutureStartsToday: Why this Always Ad is our truth

#MyFutureStartsToday

#Femvertising they call it; but we call it the absolute truth. This #MyFutureStartsToday ad from Always.

For many years, girls have been groomed to accept second place. It is actually a norm now. It is okay to not play football or partake in any sports. It is news when a woman is an automobile engineer or a Keke Napep rider. It is an achievement when Lagos State Government employs a female LAWMA truck driver. All of these subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) reinforcements of the patriarchal system that has bedeviled the world for too long.

But not for much longer apparently. Always has launched a #MyFutureStartsToday campaign. You’ll see it before almost any video you want to watch on YouTube. It’s not one of those annoying ads that you actually Skip. From the first second, you get the idea of how something cool will happen.

Be it ‘Kids say the darndest things” or “Mom, why the sky so blue?” kids get us and Always has mastered the art of pulling our heart strings. Even when the message is one as heavy as the empowerment of the girl child.

Before we go on, watch the ad please. If you already have, watch it again.

This is no joke. Always is set to challenge the status quo and who better than pre-adolescent girls to convey the message. Did your heart not break when that young girl said she’d never met a female pilot before? It’s not that there aren’t but have we connected the young girls to them? This is what this campaign is about.

Actually it is not the first time Always has put out a powerful campaign aimed at challenging norms. In 2014, the brand launched its #LikeAGirl campaign which continued into 2015. #LikeAGirl featured young American kids who were asked to run, or fight #LikeAGirl. The younger kids just did without bias while the boys and older girls felt the need to act timid and weak. The goal of the campaign was to change the insulting undertones attached to doing things #LikeAGirl.

With #MyFutureStartsToday, Always is not just putting out an ad. It is the very thing that CSR should be. According to Always, 61% of girls do not feel that they have the right support to pursue the career of their choice. That should change soon because they haven’t just compiled #StoriesThatTouch here. Girls aged 11 to 16 are encouraged to send in essays about their dream careers for a chance to win scholarship grants, mentorship opportunities and more.

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