Media stereotypes about women are often discussed, and the needle on that barometer seems to skid into the red about every Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. It reaches a pinnacle about the end of awards season in Hollywood — brutal commentary is at an all-time high, and flawless celebrities are crucified mercilessly for wearing the wrong hairstyle, color or style of dress. If you’re thinking these sorts of beauty standards and role models for women are about as realistic as a “Supermodel Astronaut,” you wouldn’t be far off. In fact, a song and social media campaign by that title is the focus of today’s blog, ending our 3-part “trend watcher” series on the topic.
Ellen Tift, one-half of the Nashville electronic music duo, Worldwide Groove Corporation, was so inspired to create change in this area, she and her husband created the catchy “Supermodel Astronaut” ditty, along with the subsequent music video and social media challenge that have taken a life of their own.
According to Tift, the song came first, but then it dawned on her: “This is really about something bigger.” The campaign prompts women to stop the cycle of negative thinking and comparing themselves to others, by asking women to photograph themselves with the words — “I am enough. #SupermodelAstronaut.” They challenge women to share their photograph via social media and tag their friends who should partake in the challenge with them.
Tift added, “I am truly passionate about this, and it’s not some gimmick I came up with to sell our songs. I had to do my own Supermodel Astronaut challenge to even be able to finish this song. I’m self-conscious just like every other woman out there. I’m doing this challenge along with everybody else. Not that other people haven’t sought to empower women in this way, but I’m glad to affect change and contribute in my own little way with a fun pop song.”
She and her husband have been surprised at the attention the music video and social media piece have received, including coverage in everything from Huffington Post to dozens of talk radio interviews and blogs around the country.
Their storytelling via the music lyrics and video was such the perfect summation of all the questions we’ve prompted over this series…
e.g., Have we (as a society) created a successful dialogue to question or change traditionally held standards of beauty?
What role has social media played?
How does the visual content — honest or not — affect our ability to tell an authentic and compelling story within our objectives as content marketers?
…that we just had to share! Enjoy!
(By the way, we believe the answers to the above questions are “yes;” “quite a hefty role;” and, “it forces us to be more authentic — and more creative in some instances — when creating content marketing strategy and executing it.”)
Pictured is my take on their “Supermodel Astronaut” challenge. I encourage you to join me!
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