What if the fight for gender equality didn’t just come from women but from the voices of young men, too? That was the bold question posed by Aurora, the purpose-driven agency led by Dawn Paine and Valerie Bounds. Without a client brief or budget, the duo launched a grassroots campaign that flips toxic masculinity on its head, inviting real young men, from students to champion boxers, to celebrate the women in their lives and advocate for change.
In collaboration with charities like Weapons Down Gloves Up, and with the unexpected support of figures like Tony Bellew (and possibly even Ryan Reynolds), the campaign sets out to shift the narrative on social media from hate to hope. We caught up with Aurora CEO & Co-Founder Dawn Paine to find out how it all came together and why allyship must start young.
What was the brief?
There was no client brief or client budget!
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
As a long-time member of WACL, I have been involved in campaigning for gender equality, so that has always been in the background. And indeed, with my Co-Founder, Valerie Bounds, we are both creating a diverse and inclusive company at Aurora so thinking about ways to support other women is part of our DNA. Moreover, our purpose is to unleash breathtaking creativity to solve society’s and business’s biggest problems – so again, it’s simply what can we do to make a difference.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
The genesis of the idea was very organic. The idea and the concept weren’t from a client brief but from a place of lived experience and seeing a problem we wanted to solve first-hand. Valerie and I are both parents of teenage boys, and we have been talking to them about the rise of misogyny and toxic masculinity, especially with younger men.
We have been on our own learning and discovery into this world to better understand what is happening and the unprecedented and frankly terrifying narratives which are now so pervasive. We decided to come up with the antithesis of that hate and create a new, positive and celebratory conversation about women, from the voices of young men. Rather than take perhaps a more conventional IWD approach, we decided it might be more powerful to tackle the issue in the places where a new conversation is needed most.
One of our key goals was to scale the initiative through high profile support from men, so we simply leveraged our network and brought in incredible purposeful organisations to give us access to men who are comfortable talking positively about women. We have partnered with various anti-violence and young men's charities, such as Weapons Down Gloves Up, with World Champion boxer Tony Bellew’s support. We loved the idea of having such a positive message from a boxer, such as a stereotypical and previously seen bastion of toxic masculinity and turning it on its head.
What was the production process like?
This campaign, given no client brief, has been a case study in leveraging resources and building momentum amongst like-minded people and partners. “Production” per se has been the production of real-life, authentic pieces to camera from a range of young men from all walks of life, from students to influencers, from DJs to World Champion boxers.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
Honestly, to get men to actually create the content. None of the men featured are being paid, so quite the opposite of a typical influencer-oriented campaign. But as we scale the campaign, we have witnessed first-hand the challenge of getting male allyship talked about more openly from men themselves.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
Mobile phones!
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
We heard that Ryan Reynolds might get involved pro bono – it might still happen!
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
Male allies play a vital role in supporting gender equality, and we need young men to be advocates from an early age.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
One month – we move fast at Aurora.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
We hope simply to change the conversation and create positivity and optimism on young men’s social media feeds.
Credit list for the work?
Aurora team - Ben Potts
Partners – Weapons Down Gloves Up, The Learning Foundry, Thrive, Buttermilk Influencer Agency and Persuasion PR
