It Takes Boobs to Show Real Women - Cocogun Didn’t Shy Away
“Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace yet have we some revenge?”
Those words were first uttered in the 1600’s by Emilia, a character in Shakespeare’s Othello when attempting to convince the sweet Desdemona to stand up for herself.
If it was written today, it would be: “Have some balls, go tell him to get fucked”
It is always astonishing to see how some things never change. Women are still being told in many capacities to ‘have some balls’ or ‘it takes balls to do what you did’ or are being described as ‘ballsy’. They are phrases that are shrouded in feelings of bravery, triumph and pride.
Stella, an insurance company made by women for women of all kinds have chosen to challenge these sets of phrases. Coining the term ‘it takes boobs’ and partnering with the advertising agency, Cocogun, the pair have put together a campaign that emphasises female empowerment and focuses on the brave and daring things women do every day.
Ant Melder, co-founder of Cocogun spoke with LBB’s Casey Martin on the hope to have a positive impact on the language we use day-to-day.
LBB> Firstly, what a fantastic campaign! What was it like presenting the idea?
Ant> It was a lot of fun! We’ve been working with Stella for a few years now and there’s a lot of shared values and creative ambition. As a brand, Stella is about more than just selling the maximum amount of policies, they want to make a positive impact on the world. And they get that challenging, thought-provoking comms are a key part of this. Wallpaper advertising’s not going to inspire anyone to change their mind, behaviour or insurance provider. So we pushed hard in the creative process to come up with ideas that’d really stand out and get people talking. The first concept meeting may have involved me performing a grime-inspired rap and presenting a script involving Stella founder, the fabulously inspiring Sam White, walking down a busy Oxford Street naked. I think ‘IT TAKES BOOBS’ seemed tame after that…
LBB> What was the inspiration behind the concept and messaging of the campaign?
Ant> Prior to Stella’s launch in 2020, Sam found that if a policyholder’s car was damaged by someone they knew, most insurance companies wouldn’t pay out. But this was a scenario many victims of domestic abuse found themselves in. It was just one example of how women’s specific needs and situations haven’t been fully considered by the insurance industry. And beyond insurance, when you think about it, the wider world is the same. Everything from power tools, police uniforms and smartphones to car safety systems, voice recognition software and air conditioning systems have been designed with men in mind. There’s a brilliant, eye-opening book called Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez that dives into the data. And the more we thought about it, the more we came to see that one of the most powerful influences on how we see and perceive the world is language. It reminded us that if you can change the language people use, you can change the world. So in this case, coining another term to describe bravery. We didn’t want to replace ‘it takes balls’, but to introduce an additional phrase into the vernacular.
LBB> Talk us through the challenges and highlights during the production of this campaign.
Ant> The process was epic and definitely challenging. We wanted to represent a broad array of different women in the campaign, which meant multiple scenarios and locations. Our production partners, Photoplay, seriously stepped up to the plate. Permissions for things like the cliff jump went down to the wire. It definitely kept our producer, the ever-positive and endlessly resourceful Chris Thompson, on his toes. But ultimately, working with the amazingly talented director and photographer, Sarah Adamson, a majority female crew and a brilliantly diverse cast of talented women was incredibly energising and inspiring - an absolute career highlight.
LBB> Did the campaign undergo any changes or iterations during the development and production stages? If so, what were they and how did they impact the final outcome?
Ant> Surprisingly few. The Stella team are the kind of people who know what they want, and aren’t afraid to make bold choices. The biggest conundrum was deciding which scenarios, from a long-list, would resonate most strongly - we used research to help inform this. And, of course, which ones/how many we could do logistically. For example, at one point the script included a scene which I loved, with a woman giving evidence in a courtroom. That didn’t make it to the final list - it was a matter of curating the most interesting, diverse and powerful combination of scenes.
Another key challenge during development was navigating the grey area of permissions to use the word ‘boobs’ in mass media. We knew this would be a tricky one when, at the start of working on the campaign, emails kept getting stuck in quarantine (and the firewall-dodging acronym ‘ITB’ was born!). However, through diplomatic, transparent negotiations with media owners, common sense and creativity prevailed!
LBB> How did Cocogun work collaboratively with Stella to find the balance between the provocative and the emotional/inspirational aspects of the campaign?
Ant> The process was hugely collaborative. A key consideration was exactly how to use the phrase ‘IT TAKES BOOBS’ within the various media formats, from moving image to press and out of home. We had to balance the desire to be provocative and drive conversation with the need to provide context around who Stella are, why they’re putting this message into the world and why you should switch to them for your insurance. To create a campaign that grabs people’s attention and celebrates a broad spectrum of female bravery while delivering product reasons to believe in a relevant, appropriate way. In this case - and I think this is always the way with projects that have a strong societal point of view baked into them - it worked because of those shared values, authentic personal passion, and because the agency and client teams actually like and respect each other.
LBB> How has the campaign been received thus far?
Ant> The response has been overwhelmingly positive. There’s been a 30% increase in requests for quotes since the campaign went live, which is awesome. But that’s definitely not to say it’s been without its critics. Something like this is always going to be polarising - intentionally so. As Ricky Gervais - a guy who knows a thing or two about being powerfully polarising - once said, “If you try to please everyone, you'll please no one.” As an agency, just like the Stella brand, we’re here to deliver fresh, provocative ideas and messages that inspire our audience and move the world forward. The keyboard warriors, anonymous commenters and social media trolls simply serve to tell us we’re doing our job right. Having said that, beyond the campaign, a great measure of success would be to see and hear the term ‘IT TAKES BOOBS’ being used more widely. By radio DJs, newspaper headline writers, sports commentators and so on. Now that’d have a real impact on culture.
