Wunderman Thompson: LUX’s Change the Angle

Research shows that women are 10 times more likely than men to be objectified in sports. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, over 17% of photographic shots were coded as buttock shots and more than 20% were chest shots. Even as recently as the 2021 Summer Olympics, there were 2,500 images objectifying women reported. What’s worse – once these footage and photos are published – they also find their way to hundreds of websites dedicated to sexually exploitative images.

As a beauty brand that aims to support women against everyday sexism, Unilever’s LUX partnered with Wunderman Thompson to call attention to this issue and change the angle of photography that could result in sexist imagery.

LUX and Wunderman Thompson teamed up with Volleyball South Africa and sports broadcaster SABC on a bold new initiative whereby they hacked a live tournament and highlighted potentially sexist camera angles. In so doing, they flipped the male gaze back on itself.

As part of the Change The Angle initiative, female players wore QR codes on their bodies – in the same areas sports broadcasters tend to focus. When scanned, the code directs the viewer to a film in which leading sportswomen call on broadcasters to change how female athletes are portrayed by focusing the camera on their strengths and aiming the lens on their sporting prowess, rather than on their physical attributes.

Change The Angle received 4.7 billion impressions and was picked by more than 377 publications worldwide, including Yahoo, Telegraph, Washington Daily News and Boston Herald. These articles have also been viewed 1.54 million times so far. The campaign generated $500,000 in earned media.

LUX will continue to work with media companies and SONKE Gender Justice Organisation to combat sexism aimed at women in sports and elsewhere.