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Dove, Lena Waithe, ATTN: and BBH Entertainment Premiere First-of-its-Kind Scripted Series, Girls Room, to Address Self-Esteem and Body Image with Teen GirlsENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Watch the Trailer Here Young people are deeply impacted by on-screen images; what they see shapes their relationship with their bodies and beauty standards. In fact, young people today report feeling anxious about their appearance more often than about career prospects or money.1 The resulting low body confidence and beauty anxieties keep them from being their best selves, affecting their health, friendships, and even performance at school. That's why the Dove Self-Esteem Project and ATTN: have joined forces to present Girls Room, a new five-episode scripted series from Emmy-award winning writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe. Girls Room tackles the pain and power of female adolescence through the eyes of a group of 5 girls as they face the challenges of growing up in today's social media world. The shorts are designed to reach girls in the ways that they're connecting today – peer-to-peer and digitally-fueled through the content they're consuming on their phones. The series is based around those moments spent in bathrooms – the 'Girls Room' – an everyday space, a space where we experiment with our appearance and shape our sense of self but also a place of vulnerability, where we come face to face with the mirror, the weigh scales and our insecurities. The series follows each character from the school bathroom back home to their individual bathrooms where they confront barriers to self-esteem that teen girls are facing every day, from the pressures of social media, teasing and bullying to dealing with body dissatisfaction. The content is based on the Dove Self-Esteem Project's academically validated research into body image and was co-created with academic experts from the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, to ensure educational impact – and brought to life by the voice of Lena Waithe. Girls Room is produced by Dove, Unilever Entertainment, and ATTN: in partnership with Hillman Grad, Lena Waithe's production company, and is directed by Tiffany Johnson. BBH, a leading creative agency, co-created the idea for the series and serve as Executive Producers. "Growing up can be such a discordant experience – you can spend one moment feeling like you can conquer the world and the next full of self-doubt throughout this journey to define who you are every day," said Lena Waithe. "Girls are facing very real issues that influence how they see themselves in the world, but what I hope comes through in Girls Room is that we have the power to lift each other up and encourage one another to feel freedom in being ourselves." "Girls Room is the kind of unique storytelling that speaks to a generation in a way that's culturally relevant and authentic while also being substantively important," said Taryn Crouthers, ATTN:'s COO. "We're so proud to have teamed with Lena and Dove to create something that will inspire and empower girls to be confident in themselves." "The origin of this idea for Dove is something we are incredibly proud of and have enjoyed executive producing alongside ATTN:. BBH Entertainment strives to create meaningful concepts for our clients around the world with programming that resonates culturally and delights audiences," said William Swann, Head of BBH Entertainment. The Dove Self-Esteem Project has been providing women and girls with the tools to develop a positive relationship with their bodies and the way they look for over 15 years – with a global mission to help ¼ of a billion young people build self-esteem from 2004 to 2030. With Girls Room, the Dove Self-Esteem Project uses a public mental health intervention framework to expand its education programming by leveraging mainstream entertainment to tackle low body confidence on a broader scale. Girls Room was directed and produced specifically with the mobile-first, vertical viewing habits of today's young audiences in mind. Under the creative guidance of director Tiffany Johnson and with the expertise of ATTN:, the industry leader in mobile-first, mid-form content, the series is one of the first-ever full scale scripted productions to be shot in this vertical-only aspect ratio, and the entire series has been optimized for viewing on mobile devices. "Appearance ideals, pressures and stereotypes are widespread on social media. Studies show that the more time adolescent girls spend on social media the more likely they are to be dissatisfied with their bodies, especially when it comes to posting selfies, seeking validation through comments and likes, and comparing themselves to other people's highlight reels. We eed to disrupt the social media landscape with content that encourages girls to accept and respect their bodies and showcases a diverse and inclusive range of appearances," states Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, body image expert at the world-leading Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England. "Girls Room addresses key influences on girls' body confidence that have been identified in scientific research in an engaging and relevant way." "As the world's largest provider of self-esteem education, for over 15 years the Dove Self-Esteem Project has helped 60 million young people build the confidence they need to reach their full potential with academically proven tools – but we know there's more to be done," said Sophie Galvani, Global Dove Vice President. "As well as educating girls through our existing schools programmes we are now driving even greater impact by producing 5 short films that both entertain and help girls in a relatable way - not only in the format and delivery, but also in the setting and scenarios. By setting the series in the bathroom, otherwise known as the 'Girls Room', we showcase a key space in female development where young girls chat, interact with their friends, see themselves in the mirror and weigh themselves. It is where our body confidence can be made or broken." Tune-in to ATTN:'s IGTV to watch Girls Room and visit Dove.com/selfesteem to download free educational tools to start a discussion with a girl in your life. About the Dove Self-Esteem Project: The Dove Self-Esteem Project was created from a vision where we believe a positive experience of beauty should be accessible to every woman and girl. We partner with leading experts in the fields of psychology, health, and body image to create a program of evidence-based resources, including parenting advice, to help young people form healthy friendships, overcome body image issues, and be their best selves. Since 2004 the Dove Self-Esteem Project has educated over 60 million young people in 142 countries in body confidence and has become the biggest provider of self-esteem education of its kind. But we won't stop there. Our global mission is to help ¼ of a billion young people build self-esteem from 2004 to 2030. About ATTN: About Hillman Grad: About BBH: About Unilever North America Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company's strategy and commits to:
The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. The company's Sustainable Living Brands grew 69% faster than the rest of the business and delivered 75% of the company's growth in 2018. Since 2010 we have been taking action through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our environmental footprint and enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business. We have already made significant progress and continue to expand our ambition – most recently committing to ensure 100% of our plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2018 as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders survey, for the eighth-consecutive year. For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com 1 Kaspersky Labs #AndOwningIt: Turning Generation Z's Insecurities into Securities Research CONTACT: Dana Paolucci, 212-277-3741, [email protected]; Elizabeth Consul, (212) 704-8274, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dove-lena-waithe-attn-and-bbh-entertainment-premiere-first-of-its-kind-scripted-series-girls-room-to-address-self-esteem-and-body-image-with-teen-girls-301011657.html SOURCE Dove |