Skip the slogans—real Women’s Day campaigns create impact that lasts
Updated
March 6, 2026 1:23 AM
Mother Armenia monument in Victory Park, Gyumri city, Armenia. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Women’s Day offers brands an opportunity to show what they stand for through meaningful action. But the strongest International Women’s Day campaigns do more than say “thank you”. They speak to women’s everyday lives.
Instead of big, vague empowerment slogans, some brands focus on small moments that shape confidence and wellbeing. Think about how we compliment young girls, how safe public spaces feel, what comfort really looks like and how friendship plays help women grow. When a campaign is built on a real insight and backed by something practical, it lands harder and lasts longer.
If you’re a startup planning a Women’s Day initiative, there’s value in studying what actually works. The examples below show how clarity, credibility and usefulness can turn International Women’s Day into something that feels meaningful and on-brand.
To celebrate the International Day of the Girl on October 11, 2025, Dove launched #ChangeTheCompliment—a campaign that asked parents and caregivers to rethink how they praise girls. Instead of defaulting to looks-based comments, Dove encouraged adults to acknowledge qualities like resilience, intelligence and determination alongside beauty.
The idea was grounded in data from Dove’s 2024 Real State of Beauty report, which found that more than 60% of girls feel pressure to be beautiful. Dove brought the message to life through a digital film showing parents broadening their praise in everyday moments.
In Canada, the campaign expanded through a partnership with psychologist Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, who helped anchor #ChangeTheCompliment in expert insight. She linked the campaign’s core message to Dove’s long-running Self-Esteem Project, launched in 2004 to provide free, evidence-based tools developed with psychologists and body image experts. Some of these tools included “Confident Me”, a classroom workshop on body confidence and “Amazing Me”, age-appropriate lessons designed to support self-esteem at school.
What worked here is that it didn’t stay inside a brand video. Parents, teachers and creators joined in by sharing their own examples online, posting revised compliments, building quick classroom activities or filming short clips where they swapped appearance-based praise for character-based words. From social posts to simple at-home conversations, the idea travelled beyond the original film and made participation easy.
Startup takeaway: Don’t build a Women’s Day campaign around a fuzzy theme. Focus on specific, everyday behaviors your audience relates to and design your campaign to shift them. Specificity makes your message practical and memorable.
In March 2024, Tetley Green Tea Immune launched the “I Am More Than My Nickname” campaign in India to challenge a common social habit: labeling someone’s fitness based on how their body looks. In many communities, body-type nicknames are used casually. Some of them might sound harmless, but they can chip away at confidence and self-worth over time. Tetley’s point was simple: fitness isn’t a body size. It’s strength, health and well-being.
The campaign centered on a digital film featuring a young girl nicknamed “Golu”, a Hindi term often used to describe someone as chubby. Throughout the film, she’s judged before she even tries, with people deciding what she can and cannot do based on her appearance. As the story unfolds, she pushes back. The film closes with women of different body types holding placards displaying various nicknames, ending with a clear line: “My Body Can, Your Body Can, Every Body Can”. It’s a strong example of a brand taking a familiar social habit and giving people a new way to see it.
Startup takeaway: Look for one small, common behaviour your audience sees every day. Then give people a simple way to engage with it, whether that’s sharing a story, rethinking a phrase or calling out a habit. When participation is baked into the idea, the campaign spreads naturally.
For International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2025, L'Oréal Paris launched its “Never Your Fault” campaign as part of its Stand Up Against Street Harassment program. The campaign drew on L’Oréal Paris research with Ipsos showing the scale of the problem: 75% of women reported experiencing harassment, and 60% said they adjust their clothing or appearance in public.
The message was clear: harassment is never the victim’s fault, and public spaces should feel safer for women. That matters because a lot of women still end up internalizing blame and changing how they dress just to lower the risk.
The campaign also came with a clear next step. It builds on L’Oréal’s partnership with Right To Be, an international NGO focused on stopping harassment, which began in 2020. Through Right To Be’s 5D framework—Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay and Direct—the program teaches bystanders simple, practical ways to intervene safely in the moment.
Startup takeaway: If you’re addressing a sensitive issue in a Women’s Day campaign, don’t go about it alone. Work with experts who bring trust, depth and real tools. It makes your message stronger fast.
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In 2025, Van Heusen Innerwear marked Women’s Day with a single visual that many women immediately recognized. The poster showed a crumpled shirt with a bra placed over it, capturing that end-of-day moment of relief.
The slogan on the poster—“Happy Women’s Day has nothing to do with us”—makes the point that real comfort is personal, not performative. The message wasn’t really about taking off a bra, but about the pressure women carry all day, including the expectation to look a certain way, feel a certain way and still keep going. By leaning into a real, everyday experience, Van Heusen positioned itself as a brand that listens rather than lectures.
Startup takeaway: Skip the predictable in Women’s Day slogans. Find an honest, lived moment and build around it. When your campaign reflects real life, it feels relevant instead of seasonal.
In 2025, Mattel celebrated International Women’s Day by honoring real-life female friendship duos with one-of-a-kind Barbie Role Model dolls made in their likeness. The campaign focused on the idea that strong friendships help women grow, succeed and support each other. Instead of spotlighting individual achievement, it highlighted collective strength—women empowering women.
By featuring duos such as Alicia Keys and Ann Mincieli, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey and other global pairs across sports, entertainment and advocacy, the campaign framed friendship as a source of confidence and ambition from girlhood onward. To make it practical, Mattel partnered with psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Marisa G. Franco, who shared simple advice for girls: take initiative in making friends, assume people will like you, express appreciation openly, try new activities together and prioritize quality over quantity in relationships.
Startup takeaway: If your Women’s Day campaign is built on a social insight, make it actionable. Storytelling helps, but tools, education and frameworks are what make it useful.
Across these International Women’s Day campaigns, the playbook is consistent: choose one real, everyday behaviour and shift it. Whether it’s the way we compliment girls, the labels we use, how bystanders intervene, what comfort feels like or how we nurture friendships, each brand anchored its message in something tangible and built action around it.
For startups, the lesson is straightforward: be precise in what you’re addressing, be credible in how you show up and make your message usable. Attention is easy to grab, but relevance is harder to earn and far more valuable.
Keep Reading
How the high-profile trial of the music mogul offers lessons for entrepreneurs on accountability, ethics, and leadership.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:35 PM
Sean "DIddy" Combs. PHOTO: NPC NEWS
Sean “Diddy” Combs—hip-hop icon, entrepreneur, and cultural force—has built a career on his larger-than-life persona, business acumen, and ability to dominate industries ranging from music to fashion to spirits. But his recent trial, which involves explosive allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, has cast a shadow over his legacy.
The federal trial, which began after his arrest in September 2024, has revealed shocking claims, including coercion, manipulation, and the abuse of power in both personal and professional settings. While Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, the case offers valuable lessons for small business owners about leadership, ethics, and the responsibility that comes with power.
Here’s what entrepreneurs can learn from the allegations and fallout surrounding Diddy’s trial.
Diddy has been accused of creating a toxic environment that involved coercion, manipulation, and abuse of power—both in his personal relationships and his professional dealings. The trial has highlighted allegations of “freak-offs,” elaborate sexual encounters with escorts that were reportedly coerced, as well as threats of financial and reputational harm to control others.
In business, leaders hold significant power over employees, partners, and collaborators. whether through coercion, intimidation, or favoritism—can lead to toxic environments and long-term damage to the organization.
The case has shown how Diddy’s alleged actions went unchecked for years, with accusations of violence, threats, and even financial control over his accusers. Testimonies from former employees and partners reveal a pattern of behavior that created a culture of fear and silence around him.
For small business owners, this is a reminder that accountability begins with leadership. If you fail to hold yourself and others accountable, you risk fostering an environment where misconduct is ignored or accepted.
A recurring theme in the trial is how Combs’ personal actions—both alleged and confirmed—have affected his professional reputation. From footage of him physically assaulting Cassie in a hotel hallway to allegations of coercion during drug-fueled parties, the courtroom revelations have tarnished his public image and cast a shadow over his brand.
For small business owners, this reinforces an important truth: your personal behavior can have far-reaching consequences for your business. Customers, employees, and partners often associate the values and reputation of a business with its leader.
The case has also highlighted the dangers of power imbalances. Testimonies from accusers like Cassie allege that Diddy used financial control—such as threatening to withhold rent payments—to coerce others into complying with his demands.
In a small business setting, power dynamics are also present, particularly between employers and employees or business owners and partners. Misusing that power, even unintentionally, can lead to resentment, distrust, and legal challenges.
The allegations against Diddy span more than a decade, with claims of abuse dating back decades. Had there been systems in place to address grievances or hold him accountable earlier, the damage to his brand—and to the individuals involved—might have been mitigated.
For small businesses, neglecting proactive measures to address workplace issues can lead to larger crises later. Waiting until problems escalate is not only costly but can also permanently harm your business’s reputation.
The Sean “Diddy” Combs trial is a cautionary tale about the consequences of unchecked power, unethical behavior, and a lack of accountability. For small business owners, it underscores the importance of leadership that prioritizes transparency, fairness, and integrity.
Running a business isn’t just about profits—it’s about creating a legacy founded on trust and respect. By learning from the mistakes and controversies of others, entrepreneurs can build companies that inspire loyalty, foster positive relationships, and stand the test of time.