Dove’s #LetHerGrow campaign tapped into culture using earned storytelling to reveal the problem, galvanize support and rally for change. It combined the power of human insight, rich editorial storytelling assets and data, impactful creative content, earned media strategy and targeted outreach, influencer partnerships and stakeholder engagement, to build awareness of the issue, while garnering public and institutional support.

A Culture Of Discipline Where Teachers Are Revered.

In Thailand, teachers are well respected. Culturally, teachers are described as the ‘second set of parents’ who look after children while they're at school. Their role is to instill discipline and impart wisdom for students to become good citizens in the Thai society.

Gone Too Far In The Name Of Teaching Discipline.

Hair rules, standardized hair length and style, are considered one of the methods of instilling discipline among Thai teachers and educators. While this thinking is in line with the Thai culture, the punishment enforced on students has gone too far. In recent years, forced haircuts have been picked up by media and have spurred public controversy. In some cases, students are forced to walk around school with a missing patch of hair. This has turned teaching disciplines into a toxic practice that destroys people’s confidence at a young age.

#LetHerGrow was designed as a rallying call inviting everyone to stand together in ending these confidence-cutting forced haircuts for good and creating a future where students can grow into the greatest version of themselves.

Dove turned the iconic school bob into a powerful symbol for change. The brand engaged newscasters, key opinion leaders, and Thai artists to sport the bob, taking over TV stations and culture with the message to #LetHerGrow.

We turned the bob into a strategically-placed QR code in OOH and newspapers, driving people to learn about the real harm of forced haircuts before inviting people to share their stories and pledge support. Growing social conversation and coordinated media events featuring renowned psychologists put pressure on Thailand's school system to take a serious look at hair rules.

School hair rules are a polarizing issue within Thai society: Some believe that they maintain order and teach discipline, while others believe they infringe on student rights. We sought to craft an approach that would unite all stakeholders, parents, allies, students, educators and policymakers, to advance positive change.

Dove research revealed that a staggering 8 in 10 students had their confidence negatively impacted by mandated haircuts, and the impact lasts long after hair grows back.

The insight: Forced haircuts are cutting the next generation’s confidence.

That struck an emotional chord with all audiences. No matter which side of the issue people stand, they agree that we should be helping the next generation grow into confident young adults.

Strategy: Illuminate the unintended consequences that forced haircuts have on students’ self-confidence and invite everyone to stand together in creating a future where students can grow into the greatest version of themselves.

The initiative used the power of human insight, rich storytelling, creative content, strategic media buys, earned media, influencer partnerships, and stakeholder engagement. All supported by an earned storytelling program that harnessed a range of influential voices and perspectives.

The campaign launched at the new semester, when the topic was most relevant. We released research along with expert perspectives from child psychologist, Dr. Jiraporn Arunakul, to underscore the negative impact to student confidence, need for change, and call for solidarity in creating a future where students can grow into the greatest version of themselves.

An emotional film brought the stories and perspectives of different generations to life, underscoring that forced haircuts take away more than just hair by impacting the confidence of students. We hosted a publicized press conference and partnered with influencers and thought leaders representing diverse audiences to share perspectives on the issue.

The Dove campaign achieved widespread awareness, advocacy on behalf of girls by the government and influencers, thousands of pledges to support students on LetHerGrow.com, and ultimately led the government to lift unfair rules on hairstyles.

Awareness:

200+ unique pieces of earned with a reach of 195M+, including front-page editorial in Thailand’s no. 1 daily newspaper.

26M views of the brand film across platforms.

Engagement & Advocacy:

Influencers sparked discussion amongst their 7.35 million followers, including more than 118,200 comments, likes, and shares.

Key opinion leaders included Srettha Thavisin, CEO of Sansiri, who wrote: “After Dove launched the #LetHerGrow campaign…supporting the expression of youth’s identity, this case of changing the attitude of the school is an example that should be appreciated by society.”

Over 2,700 people pledged their support for students and over 700 shared their personal experiences with forced haircuts on the campaign microsite, DoveLetHerGrow.com.

Business & Societal Impact:

Following our campaign, in January 2023 the Ministry of Education made a formal announcement with headlines on mass national media declaring, “Ministry lifts ‘unfair’ rules on hairstyles2” – calling for an end to forced haircuts, for good.

And Dove got the credit. Brand meaningfulness scores increased +15% and brand salience increased +8.5% y.o.y in Thailand. Overall, brand power reached its highest in 5 years.

The #LetHerGrow campaign was set against a cultural context of polarisation around an issue that saw many Thai people willing to turn a blind eye to generational abuse of young women and girls’ rights. The practice of forced haircuts in Thai schools has been cutting the confidence of school children for decades. No matter which side of the issue people stand, they agree that we should be fostering the development of our next generation to grow into confident young adults. The campaign sparked constructive dialogue and debate across Thailand and eventually provided practical measures to give parents, teachers, students and the general public a voice and to mitigate the practice.