In an open letter, 20-year-old South London creative Sophia Tassew opens up about her concerns on Boohoo’s latest ‘Inclusive’ All Girls Campaign. According to the Oxford Dictionary, inclusivity is “an intention or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalised, such as those who are handicapped or learning-disabled, or racial and sexual minorities.”
Today, the brand came under fire for not using actual plus size women to model their plus size clothing,the campaign is apparently all about girl power and inclusivity, but just not if you’re plus size, disabled, trans or over 30.
Read Sophia’s full letter below:
I was going to do an intro but I’d rather get straight to it. I’m all for intersectional feminism, girl-power and womanhood. I totally believe in making all types of women feel included and valued. I feel like your All Girlscampaign did the complete opposite of that. Watching the film, I couldn’t see any dark skinned women, plus sized women, disabled women, Asian women and brown women. If you’re going to be about girl power, you need to be for all girls. Feminism, intersectionality and women sticking together is something that should be taken seriously considering our current political and social climate.
As someone who is very vocal about under representation and feminism, I and many others on social media felt compelled to speak about this campaign and hopefully cause change or a redo. As someone who has worked in advertising before, I understand how long the process of creating a campaign can be. I also understand how important the delivery is as this represents your brand. It represents what you stand for and your ethos.
I would recommend a redo. I would recommend scrapping it. I would recommend casting women who are actual customers or women you scouted yourselves. I would recommend not shying away from putting dark skinned women in the front. I would recommend building a genuine relationship with your consumers. I would recommend creating campaigns that make young girls feel included and valued. I would recommend not being afraid to admit this mistake and making a change. We are willing to help you become better.
It upsets me to see fellow women not being represented in campaigns such as this one when they are the ones buying your product. Their existence is the reason for yours.
This is not an attack, but an observation and a call for change.