Timed again to International Women\u2019s Day.<\/b>
Little girls dream big in this short film from Microsoft, talking about their passion for curing breast cancer, cleaning up the environment and bringing fresh water to the world. Doctors, inventors, entrepreneurs\u2014it\u2019s easy to envision these determined, articulate and thoroughly woke kids stepping easily into any of these roles.
But hold up. The statistics say otherwise.
Only 6.7 percent of U. S. women and 16 percent of women globally graduate college with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees, the mini-movie tells its participants. Pulling no punches, it continues: \u201cOdds are you won\u2019t solve these problems.\u201d
The youngsters\u2019 faces fall, and their resolve, it would seem, falters. Or does it?
There\u2019s no denying the impact of watching pre-teens full of promise and intellectual curiosity get smacked with brutal reality. It\u2019s heartbreaking. And that\u2019s no accident, according to Microsoft, which wanted to \u201cinject a sense of urgency and scale\u201d to this year\u2019s #MakeWhatsNext campaign, dubbed \u201cChange the Odds\u201d and timed to International Women\u2019s Day.
The 90-second video, from m:united\/\/McCann, sends out this plea: \u201cChange the world. Stay in STEM.\u201d In effect, it\u2019s asking young women to buck the current system, recalibrate the numbers and make a mark in traditionally male fields.
The girls in the video, as it turns out, are undeterred. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be someone who says you can\u2019t do it. I think I can,\u201d says one, while another declares, unequivocally, \u201cI will discover a cure for breast cancer.\u201d
This is the third year of #MakeWhatsNext, with last spring\u2019s video focusing on female inventors. Science-loving girls in the campaign could identify Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and other famous inventors but came up empty when questioned about their female counterparts. Microsoft and m:united launched a series of digital shorts focused on specific women inventors and their work.
For the new campaign, the brand kicks off MakeWhatsNext.com, a resource for girls interested in STEM that includes an experiential tool with LinkedIn that will show youngsters how to pursue their goals across industries and social causes.
\u201cChange the Odds\u201d will run on broadcast TV and digital channels, and on social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, with a new \u201cconversational ad\u201d on the latter.
CREDITS
Client: Microsoft
Kathleen Hall \u2013 CVP, Global Advertising & Media
Deana Singleton \u2013 GM, Global Advertising
Jenny Leahy \u2013 Director, Global Social and Media Partnerships
Ron Schott \u2013 Senior Mar Com Manager
Markus Weickenmeier \u2013 Senior Manager, Global Advertising
Vivian Lee \u2013 Manager, Global Advertising
Agency: m:united\/\/McCann
Creative:
Sean Bryan \u2013 Co-Chief Creative Officer
Tom Murphy \u2013 Co-Chief Creative Officer
Susan Young \u2013Executive Creative Director
Daniela Vojta \u2013Executive Creative Director
David Cappolino \u2013 Copywriter
Julie Koong \u2013 Art Director
Kelly Kim \u2013 Designer
Elina Rudkovskaya \u2013 Copywriter, Social
William Montgomery \u2013 Art Director, Social
Creative Technology:
David Cliff \u2013 Director of Creative Technology
Alicia Foor \u2013 Creative Technologist
Production:
Aaron Kovan \u2013 Director of Integrated Production
Carolyn Johnson \u2013 Executive Producer
Rebecca Magner \u2013 Producer
Jeremy Adirim \u2013 Director of Interactive Production
Charlotte Popper \u2013 Interactive Producer
Music Production:
Eric Johnson \u2013 Executive Integrated Music Producer
Sam Belkin \u2013 Music Coordinator
Account:
John Dunleavy \u2013 President
Kevin Nelson \u2013 Managing Director
Tina Galley \u2013 Executive Account Director
Rosemary Calderone \u2013 Group Account Director
Sarah Keiber \u2013 Group Account Director, Social
Courtney LeBlanc \u2013 Account Director
Sam Schmidt \u2013 Account Executive
Ellie Choi \u2013 Account Executive, Social
Project Management:
Stella Warkman \u2013 Director of Project Management
Vinny Tran \u2013 Senior Project Manager
Strategy:
Michelle Kiely \u2013 Global Director of Strategy
Justin Ballheim \u2013 Strategy Director
Production
Tool of North America:
JJ Adler \u2013 Director
Oliver Fuselier \u2013 Managing Partner, Live Action
Brad Johns \u2013 Executive Producer
Greg Jones \u2013 Producer
Laura Merians \u2013 DP
Cosmo Street Editorial:
Tessa Davis \u2013 Editor
Josh Berger \u2013 Assistant Editor
Becca Reil \u2013 Producer
Yvette Sears \u2013 Executive Producer
Framestore VFX:
Sarah Hiddlestone, Head of Production\/EP
Karen Czukerberg \u2013 Senior Producer
Raven Sia \u2013 Senior Producer
Karl Woolley \u2013 Head of VR Andy Rowan Robinson \u2013 Creative Director
Steve Drew \u2013 Compositing Supervisor
Raul Ortego \u2013 Head of Flame
Beau Leon \u2013 Colorist
Jonah Braun \u2013 Color Assist
Designers
Marc Smith
Abram Seaman
3D\u2028Patrick Ross
Georgios Cherouvim\u2028Georgios Papaioannou
Jacob Slutsky\u2028Glory Zheng\u2028Mohamed Echkouna
Sean Curran\u2028Shayne Ryan
Will Frazier
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http:\/\/adweek.it\/2mFnMop copy
T. L. Stanley
@TLStanleyLA
T. L. Stanley is a contributor to Adweek.<\/p>\n

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