To make men see the harassment women face when going out, Schweppes created “Dress for Respect”. It’s a dress made with an ultrasensitive tissue that registers every touch received. 3 different women wore the Dress for Respect to a popular nightclub in São Paulo, Brazil. As they made their way to the bar, the dress sent to a control unit every information in real-time of the unconsented touches (where they happened, the intensity and duration, for example) they received from men who tried to approach – or simply put their hands on them. With the help of 6 hidden cameras and 2 disguised photographers, we could also register what those men said and how they acted close. The whole experience became a video shared by Schweppes. This time, there was no way men couldn’t see the harassment. And definitely realize that this isn’t flirting.

The execution took place at a São Paulo’s club. In one night, 3 women wore the Dress For Respect and behaved just like regular partygoers. In a house nearby, a control room kept track of the cameras hidden and the information the dress sent in real-time. Whenever someone touched one of the women, her dress’s sensors signaled it immediately to our screens via wi-fi. In the end of the night, we had a complete overview of the harassment women faced that night: 41, 53 touches per hour. If every woman in that nightclub had worn the Dress for Respect (considering the maximum capacity of 1000 people at the party, being half of it formed by women), we would have registered 20 000 touches per hour – and a total of 60 000 touches throughout the whole night. A few days later, Schweppes published a video about this experiment.

The content published by Schweppes on Facebook with footage and data from the experience generated a lot of discussion about harassment in Brazil, being the difference between flirting and harassment one of the most related subjects. Women shared it and demanded a change from men, registering about 97% positive feeling towards the content. In less than a week, the video registered more than 600 000 views. Registering majorly positive feeling towards the content, they related to the situation shown on the video. On the other hand, many men interacted too, criticizing those who act disrespectfully towards women. The fact that a big consumer brand had finally talked about the harassment issue was also recognized.