Edelman France Wins Silver in Creative Strategy at the Cresta Awards

Edelman France shows the power of strategic thinking in earned creative, taking home a silver at the Cresta Awards. 

After being shortlisted at Cannes Lions and picking up a bronze at the Gerety Awards, Edelman France was awarded its second international award, a silver in ‘Creative Strategy’ at the Cresta Awards for their campaign ‘The Cost Of Inequality’.

A new category which highlights the important role of strategy development to open up innovative creatives thinking, the integrated campaign ‘The Cost Of Inequality’ calculated how much gender inequality is costing France every single year and sent the bill to the government, demanding action on the 118 billion euro deficit.

A deep-dive into the strategy behind ‘The Cost Of Inequality’

Fondation des Femmes (FDF), France’s foundation for women’s rights, has been fighting for gender equality since 2014. During the Presidential election, the foundation needed a way to cut through all of the political debates and make sure that women’s rights were at the top of candidates’ and society’s minds. 

Strategically, this was a tricky task, as almost everyone supports gender equality on paper: 79% of French people consider themselves feminists and 81% agree that the country is still far from gender equality. But in reality, there is still a serious lack of funding, attention, and action on women's rights. Through movements like #MeToo, #BalanceTonPorc, and #DoublePeine, women have become increasingly willing to share their stories with the world. But when you consider that women's pain is under-estimated compared to men's pain in medicine, that less than 2% of rape cases that go to court find the accused rapist guilty, that the pay gap continues to increase despite wide awareness of the issue, and that the covid economic boost plan of 35 billion euros allocated only 20% of the funds to female-dominated fields – it’s clear that gender equality isn’t being taken seriously. 

There is still a major lack of understanding on the grave, long-term consequences that women face because of discrimination, harassment, and all forms of violence. It’s difficult for people to wrap their heads around and actually see those consequences in different areas of life, whether it’s women’s health, the effect on their children, their self-worth, or their mental load. 

There is a clear societal and human cost to gender inequality that's largely invisible. 

So in order to get France’s politicians and key stakeholders to finally act, we had to reframe gender inequality from a women’s problem to a society problem – one that affects everyone. And because no one really pays attention to a problem unless it’s communicated in terms they understand, we had to show politicians the real cost of ignoring women in all aspects of society. By representing this cost in all areas of life, we could make them to see and understand the impact of inequality. 

‘The Cost of Inequality’ is the first invoice demanding action on the annual financial impact of gender inequality. Together with the public the invoice was sent to all political candidates in the 2022 national elections, a petition was launched supporting 10 actions to reduce this colossal cost, and 50 feminist organizations mobilized for the first time. By illustrating the real financial impact of ignoring women and representing this cost in all areas of life and for everyone, we were able to reach people not necessarily sensitive to gender equality issues.

The combination of this wider audience together with a tangible calculation enabled us to hold those in power accountable for the first time. Because ignoring the number would mean choosing to spend 118 billion euros per year just to maintain discrimination against women.