We Have A Take On PNC Bank’s Gender Equality Initiative

. . . A Few Takes, Actually

It’s 2024 and we’re sharing a thought piece about women’s equality. It’s 2024 and it still seems to be as necessary as ever. As a country, we’re a few months out from Harrison Butker’s infamous commencement speech. We’re also on the heels of the country advocating for America’s Sweethearts to make more than their current earnings, which is roughly half of what the average NFL waterboy brings home (as brought to light after the popular Netflix series). Now, for the first time in history, a female of color is about to be named the Democratic nominee for this year’s presidential election. Yes, our female-owned-and-operated agency continues to contribute to what’s become, over generations, an ever-prevalent conversation. As Women’s Equality Day approaches later this month, and we listen to other voices on the topic, we noticed one most compelling right now - PNC Bank.

A male-founded, male-led bank sitting in a male-dominated industry, PNC is making it its mission to close the economic gap between men and women. PNC’s greatest splash in this arena was the launch of its campaign, Project 257, “inspired by the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report, which found that at the current pace of progress, it would take another 257 years for women to catch up to men economically.” The campaign blew up digitally — making headlines and winning awards — and over the last few years alongside some powerful partners, it has created a space for real change, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase: “put your money where your mouth is.” As experiential marketers, our favorite campaign component: The 257-Year Calendar, a bound, beautiful coffee table book highlighting the milestones our society will make in the years before the gap closes. Our least favorite? This calendar has seemingly stopped with the bank and its stakeholders when it has far wider potential. It’s ingenious. It’s tangible. It’s the start of something really really good experientially, which got us thinking: What would we do with it? 

Credit: Deutsch NY; Limberish

Chief Creative Officer: Samira Ansari | Head of Design: Melatan Riden | Design: In collaboration with Joyce Shi, Elena Woznick | Illustration: Juan Ignacio Hervas | Copywriting: Shannon Murphy, Jeff Good | Associate Creative Director: Allison Navon | Printer: Steve Capellini, Vertical Group | Typeface(s) Used: PP Editoril Old Regular, Courier Regular

Maybe the obvious first choice - a roadshow exemplifying milestones featured in the calendar as that tried-and-true strategy has all but written itself. Since this is all hypothetical, though, we took an edgier tone and flipped the switch. (Men, we’re talking to you.) Maybe it’s under the false pretense of a traditional conference . . . “Surprise! Your PNC-sponsored general session isn’t going to be on the advertised topic.” Perhaps it’s a pop-up with a cheekier take on the struggle men have when women accomplish something they haven’t, headline reading: “Men, you doing ok?” Easy features there would be cramp simulators or matchmaking with female breadwinners. Another quick idea: secret bar takeovers - tabs with a mark-up for men that mirrors pink tax. The ideas flowed all too easily for us — not because this is about disgruntled pay-back, but because we got to imagine a world that embraces what it feels like for there to be pay equality — even if that means creating a bit of discomfort.

My personal favorite - a mobile exhibit featuring “surprising” inventions by women that have changed our world today. To name a few:

• Life raft

• Car heater

• Feeding tube

• Kevlar (bulletproof vest material also used in other protective equipment)

• Home security system

• Cataract treatment

• Stem cell isolation (critical to the development of cancer treatments)

• Fire escape

• Medical syringe

• Electric refrigerator 

• Computer algorithm 

• Fiber optics & caller ID (used in modern telecommunication)

• Wireless transmission (needed for Wi-Fi and GPS)

This exhibit could be masked under a single industry as part of a male-dominant tradeshow; it could be a pop-up exhibit within an art museum that, as is the norm, features predominantly males. It could go anywhere, a viral sensation. Most importantly, it could lead to more change. In short, PNC Bank, we’re talking to you: What new heights could your initiative reach with an experiential edge?

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