Our team knew that black parents have unique conversations with their children to prepare them for systematic, sometimes unconscious biases that will inevitably affect their lives. Moments where they must address comments like, “you’re pretty…for a black girl” or emphasize how their children must work “twice as hard” as their white peers to be successful. Given the emotion of that insight, "The Talk" sought to introduce those conversations to a national audience to promote knowledge and initiate dialogue to help break down the boundaries caused by racial bias, prejudice and stereotyping and ultimately inspire empathy.

Given the powerful message fueling "The Talk," the impact had to be authentic and enduring. The conversation began through credible personalities on black-owned, national radio shows with talent like Rickey Smiley and Erica Campbell sharing experiences of racial bias. We continued with prominent TV programming known for social engagement with black audiences, including a captivating speech at the BET Awards, a donation at BET’s Black Girls Rock! and special mention from Oprah Winfrey on the finale of OWN's Queen Sugar. Finally, the conversation gracefully leapt into the broader cultural zeitgeist via a groundbreaking intertwining of advertising, entertainment, and social issues. A daring integration with ABC's “Black-ish,” with the moving 2-minute film embedded, reflected "The Talk" through generations of black families at the epicenter of an episode directly inspired by those conversations. A potent reminder of the biases that remain for black families, and the impact it has on all families.

Our goals were to spark a conversation, promote dialogue, drive understanding and increase equality. The campaign garnered considerable success, securing more than 1.8 billion earned media impressions across more than 900 media placements.

The night of the integration on Black-ish brought “The Talk” into millions of unique households, with over 15 million views online and 4 million views on TV. It allied 25.6 million impressions on social media, generating over 100MM earned media impressions.

The message also resonated with consumers- sentiment was 95% positive and “The Talk” outperformed Ace Metrix industry norms when compared to industry leading P&G and external ads that are considered best in class. Combined efforts resulted in +1% sales growth among AA consumers versus one year ago.

More importantly, the campaign continues to impact in tangible, meaningful ways, inspiring lesson plans across schools nationwide centered around starting a dialogue about racial bias.

On rare occasions, entertainment amplifies conversations that broadens perspectives, cultivates empathy, and progresses humanity's potential. It's rarer still to encounter entertainment that accurately reflects the emotional strength, vulnerability, and courage of the torchbearers that initiate and sustain those conversations off camera. Those torchbearers take on even greater significance when the conversations they carry concern the realities of racial bias. "The Talk" utilized the power of entertainment as a platform, an area where people are inherently engaged and passionate, to shine a light on the vital conversations that black parents have been having with their children for generations.

Sharing such a message carried tremendous social responsibility, so a tasteful, tactful and honest introduction of those real conversations was crucial. By partnering with prominent black voices and cultural touchstones to craft impactful audio and visual moments inspired by those real conversations, "The Talk" could connect with the African-American community in a more meaningful way. However, considering the volatility of today’s social climate, we also needed to safeguard against potential negative reactions. We pinpointed where black consumers felt most comfortable having this challenging dialogue and integrated the message of “The Talk” in thematically familiar, relevant, authentic spaces with maximum reach. Simultaneously, we needed to assess, in real time, when and where the conversation could be expanded to an engaged audience of the “general market.” We knew that using an approach that brought the message to life through the lens of black audiences first would be key to broader receptiveness.

For black parents, “The Talk” is not about the birds and the bees. It is a must-have conversation in which parents prepare their children to face a world with racial bias, and protect them from racial bias’ harmful effects.

P&G wanted to find ways to authentically connect with African-American consumers and use its advertising voice for good and growth. So, “The Talk” campaign was created.

Traditional, more granular KPIs seemed minute when measured against the potential of a broader cultural impact for good. Therefore, the campaign’s success would be measured not only by the amount of people it reached, but most importantly, the quality of the conversations it inspired.