White Ribbon is turning the lens on its male audience and challenging them to try some introspection with its latest campaign.
Called “I Knew All Along,” the campaign features a new father holding his daughter while anxiously envisioning the struggles that women face because of men at every juncture of their lives – before revealing that the scenes he is picturing aren’t of his daughter’s future life, but rather reflections from his own past of mistreating women. While some men have leaned on phrases like “as a father/husband/son” to shield themselves during discussions related to misogyny and assault, the campaign instead tries to use it as a trigger for self-reflection and betterment.
“There’s been a bit of a ‘holy shit’ moment for people when they see this film, because it’s not an insight that’s been played with a lot before,” says Joseph Bonnici, CCO for Tadiem – the creative collective comprised of member agencies Bensimon Byrne, Narrative and OneMethod, which developed the campaign as White Ribbon’s agency partner. “When you tackle topics like toxic masculinity, it’s really difficult to find a new way in. We’re hoping that what this does is start a different conversation than men are used to hearing, and that it might be the one conversation they need to hear.”
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The campaign launched Monday at a media event with the Government of Canada, alongside an announcement of new funding for the non-profit, which is a male-driven organization that aims to end both violence against women and girls and toxic masculinity.
“Displays of harmful gender norms and stereotypes are so ingrained within our culture that it often takes personal experience, such as having a daughter, for many men to recognize these unhealthy behaviours,” Humberto Carolo, White Ribbon’s executive director, added. “‘I Knew All Along’ sheds light on the gender-based aggressions that men may have engaged in, whether verbal or behavioural, intentional, or unintentional, and reveals why they should not be ignored or minimized.”
The film is the fourth effort from White Ribbon and Tadiem, which in the past has focused on different aspects of toxic masculinity and the deconstruction of it. Last year, this resulted in the PSA “Day After Day,” which took a snapshot of society during the COVID-19 pandemic and challenged men to take a look at their own behaviour in those circumstances amid a staggering rise in domestic violence statistics across the country.
But while that work was very specifically tied to a moment in time, “I Knew All Along” is more of a return to the strategies that Tadiem and White Ribbon employed in previous campaigns such as “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Uncomposed,” both of which sought to make men examine the forces in their lives that drove them to behave in negative ways, and to challenge those forces moving forward. What’s different this time is that the project turns the lens inward, urging men to examine their own actions and to change their behaviours more immediately, before they do harm themselves.
“We’re making the exact point that self-examination and the examination of masculinity can’t only wait for these life moments, such as when you’re confronted with a baby daughter,” explains Bonnici. “Masculinity is learned, and learning a healthy version of it is a huge part of these films.”
