We created a film that spans several decades, showing that while many things have progressed in our world, “The Talk” has remained the same and necessary 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., The film 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 will no longer need to have “The Talk.” Because until we all talk about “The Talk”, nothing will change.

o Implementation

The work launched first online and via social media, but quickly moved to broadcast where it continued to pick up placements and eventually was integrated into the popular TV show Black-ish.

o Timeline

The campaign launched nationally on June 16th, 2017 in the United States and continues to surface on various 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, 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 15 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 50,000 ads. It was covered by outlets such as NBC, CBS, The Washington Post, HuffPost, People, Fortune, Fast Company, Bloomberg and more.

o Data gathering

Due to its sensitive nature, “The Talk” was extensively tested prior to launch. The team studied an array of experiences from black Americans who’ve had the talk to ensure the film covered a diverse range of issues and perspectives.

o Target audience (consumer demographic/individuals/organizations)

Given the importance of the topic, we needed to spark a broad-reaching conversation. Black, Caucasian, Latino, Asian, the work had to be relevant to society as a whole.

o Relevance to social platform

The film was specifically created to be shareable on social media platforms. With an opening designed to pull you in and provocative content that drew people to share and comment, the film thrived best on social media

o Approach

“The Talk” was distributed on owned social platforms, and shared by MBIB Social Ambassadors. After its launch. it was shared naturally by other social bloggers, which greatly amplified its reach.

o Situation

As racial tensions are resurfacing in America, many would rather avoid discussing race. However, the general consensus is that in order to progress, there must be dialogue. For this reason, the objective for “The Talk” was to get America as a whole to talk about racial bias.

o Brief

Use the brands voice to start a broader conversation about racial bias with the goal that it would lead to positive change for the black community. Black women continue to persevere the intersectionality of race and gender in society and since P&G has always shown support for Moms and MBIB has always empowered Black women, we wanted to celebrate the strength of black women preparing, protecting and encouraging their kids despite the painful issue of bias.

o Objectives

-Begin a real discussion about racial bias in the US

-Relaunch P&G’s My Black Is Beautiful and begin tackling social issues