Viral Now: Gillette breaks down one-dimensional labels

The company's Venus brand urges women to not be contained by stereotypes or limitations.

Can you be wise and pretty? Can you be warm and smart? Social perceptions often make women choose either one of the options, making them feel that it is not possible to be more than just that.

With insights from a new global survey by Gillette Venus, the brand has released a video which has quickly gone viral. The 2-minute-long film urges girls to not be limited by one-dimensional labels and instead urges them to #UseYourAnd and unleash their hidden potential.

Viral Now: Gillette breaks down one-dimensional labels

The survey revealed that more than half of the women around the world (70 per cent) have felt labeled by others. Those labels can be assigned to someone as young as 10 and nearly half of those surveyed say those labels have had a negative effect on their lives (43%). Despite the advances of women in the work place and home, the survey shows that girls still feel being labeled affects their self-perception and life choices.

The idea was to show that women are not just supermodels or brainy. They are a fabulous mix of everything. In the video, a spoken-word poet takes to the stage and describes how people often feel that girls can only be this 'or' that. She urges, demands and pleads with the viewers to not be limited by these perceptions with words such as "You are warmth and wisdom. And grace and guts. No 'ifs' or 'buts,' just 'ands." The 'and' here represents everything a woman can be.

The video #UseYourAnd was uploaded on YouTube on January 6, 2015 and has so far garnered over 3.5 million hits.

Gillette Venus has also partnered with Claudia Chan, founder of S.H.E. Summit Global Conference & Women's Empowerment Expert, to educate women in identifying their stereotypical labels and support them to use their 'ANDs'. The brand plans to promote the campaign by using several social media executions which will enable women to share stories on how they 'UseYourAnd'.

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