To say women are oppressed in some society is probably an understatement.
To illustrate this, Ogilvy & Mather Dubai created a campaign for UN Women last year, using the world’s most popular search engine, Google’s autocomplete feature to show how gender inequality is a worldwide problem.
The adverts show the results of genuine searches, highlighting popular opinions across the world wide web.
Each ad’s fine print says “actual Google search on 09/03/13.”
We did a simple search from Google Singapore yesterday, and similar results popped up:
Since its creation, autocomplete has become a popular device for social debate, as it reflects actual searches from users globally.
“When we came across these searches, we were shocked by how negative they were and decided we had to do something with them,” says Christopher Hunt, Art Director of the Ogilvy creative team. The idea developed places the text of the Google searches over the mouths of women portraits, as if to silence their voices.
“The ads are shocking because they show just how far we still have to go to achieve gender equality. They are a wake up call, and we hope that the message will travel far,” adds Kareem Shuhaibar, copywriter.
As the campaign by Ogilvy mentioned, women should be seen as equal by now. Apparently, Google searches still suggest otherwise.
Also read: This video will make you think twice the next time you see a child alone