We created a film that spans several decades, showing that while many things have changed in our world, “The Talk” has remained a grim rite of passage for black Americans for too many generations. The film features intimate moments where black parents of various eras and social classes attempt to prepare their sons and daughters for the difficulties and dangers of growing up black in America, from having to hear racial slurs to the potential dangers of interacting with the police. It culminates with a call for society as a whole to be part of a larger conversation about racial bias, so that one day, black families no longer need to have “The Talk.”

o Implementation

The work launched first online and on through social media, then gradually moved to broadcast where it continued to pick up placements and eventually was integrated into the popular TV show blackish.

o Timeline

The campaign launched Nationally on June 16th, 2017 in the United States and is still ongoing on some media channels.

o Placement

“The Talk” ran on broadcast television, including networks like BET, Bounce, OWN and Revolt. The videos were also distributed on P&G and My Black Is Beautiful owned platforms, which included P&G Facebook, P&G Twitter MBIB Facebook, MBIB Twitter, MBIB Instagram, and MBIB YouTube. The videos were also shared by MBIB Social Ambassadors.

o Scale

The work was rolled out on a national scale, but as it picked up coverage, some foreign audiences were exposed to it via international press.

o Reach

Since launch, “The Talk” has garnered over 1.4 billion earned media impressions.

o Engagement

The film has been viewed over 7 million times online and by millions through broadcast placement. The integration into the episode of black-ish was seen by nearly 4 million viewers live.

o Sales

The main objective for the campaign was to raise awareness for a sensitive social issue. For that reason, we refrained from placing any products or logos in the ad. However, consumer sentiment was 86% positive.

o Achievement against business targets

“The Talk” significantly outperformed Ace Metrix industry norms when compared to industry leading P&G and external ads that are considered best in class and impressively ranked among the top 10% of all ads ever tested, which consisted of 50,000 ads.