Hershey Salutes the Artistic Spirit of Women in Latest 'Her/She' Work

Building on its “Her/She” campaign from last year, where iconic women appeared on Hershey’s chocolate bar packaging for International Women’s Day, BETC Havas São Paulo released “She Dreams” and “Her Dream.” This time, the packaging exhibits eight woman artists.

The work includes a music video for musician Yzalú—who appeared in last year’s campaign—singing “Qual Teu Sonho?” (“What’s Your Dream?”). It features women in various states of creation, and is diverse in a multiplicity of satisfying ways.

In the arts, women are often contextualized as muses, even when they are artists themselves. The relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera comes to mind, or the work of Pamela Colman Smith, who designed the most commonly used tarot imagery in the world, but whose name often pales beside the person who commissioned her, Arthur Edward Waite. 

This creates a separation, not only between the work of men and women, but between those who “inspire” beauty and those who, thus inspired, manifest it in a way we consider worthy of recognition. It also creates a dynamic in which the produced works of women are only visible to us at all when a man in proximity can help situate her—either because he educated her, was married to her, commissioned her, or partnered with her.

Watching the clip, we were reminded of a quote from an Ellie Bleach song: “Maybe all this time you were just the muse and I the genius.” The “Qual Teu Sonho?” video challenges the separation of muse and artist entirely; it celebrates the muselike quality of creation itself. And while plenty of collaboration can be seen, not a single man appears. These women stand alone, or in fertile creative community with other women … which itself challenges the idea of women’s communities as catty and counterproductive. 

Here, again, we are reminded of another quote from yet another great artist, the Italian novelist Elena Ferrante: “Profound change will be possible only if we build a grand female tradition that men are forced to measure themselves against.”

The artists who appear in the work are breakdancer Aline Constantino, who considers dance an art of social transformation; Filipa Aurélio, who photographs the Brazilian independent music circuit; Luz Ribeiro, an author, slam poet and member of the theater group Collective Self-Defense; illustrator Amanda Lobos; Afrofuturist graffiti artist Regina Elias Ziza; poet and cultural producer Carolina Peixoto; singer/songwriter Indy Naíse; and embroiderer Mitti Mendonça, whose Black Hand seal continues an embroidery tradition that has circulated her family for nearly 100 years.

“We want to engage in themes that are relevant to our society and bring our audience into positive conversations for significant changes. We are running a beautiful, responsible and necessary campaign, which not only encourages and empowers talented women but also allows them to recognize themselves as the powerful women they are,” says Hershey’s LATAM marketing director Larissa Diniz.

Hershey’s considers recognition of women part of its DNA. Its CEO, Michele Buck, now leads an employee base that is 52 percent women. To reinforce the brand’s commitment, “She Dreams” and “Her Dream” are supported by workshops and mentoring for female artists, in partnership with Plano Feminino, a consultancy for companies and brands focused on gender, race, and diversity. CEO Vivi Duarte of the organization will lead those workshops.

“More than supporting talented women, being able to collaborate and inspire more artists to follow their dreams and make a living from their art is extremely rewarding,” says Andrea Siqueira, executive creative director at BETC Havas. “Adding all of that to a music video full of feminist references is a source of great pride.”

Check out the packaging work below.

CREDITS

Client: The Hershey Company BRAZIL
Campaign: #HerShe  
Agency: BETC Havas São Paulo
CCO: Erh Ray
Executive Creative Director: Andrea Siqueira
Associate Creative Director: André Batista
Creatives: Andrea Siqueira, André Batista, Rodrigo Casanovas, Fernanda Peka, Diego Canhisares, James Döring
Account Team: Daniel Jotta, Nathalia Del Moral, Fabiane Veiga, Fernanda Modena, Izabel Petegrosso e Alexia Gomes.
Media Channels and Engagement: Carla Gagliardi, Ariane Finavaro, Carlos Jordão, Dorilangio Souza e Lucas Gonçalves.
Strategy: Agatha Kim, Bianca Brandão e Gabriel Lopes.
Content: Daniela Lima, Danielle Maio e Rodrigo Yoshizumi. 
Production: Anna Luisa Ferraz, Andrea Carmassi, Juliana Arantes, Luigi Dias e Tiago Hasegawa.
Graphic Production: Gilmar Souza, Marcio Brusaferro, Plinio Alves e Carlos Valeriano.
Technology: Jeferson Rodrigues

Music Video
Production Company: Modernista 
Executive Producer: Marcelo Monteiro e Alexandre Lucas
Film Director: Hanna Batista, André Inácio
Photographer: Milena Seta e Vinicius Alves Bock
Art Direction: Karla Salvoni
Post-Production: Guilherme Carneiro
Producer: Giba Pereira
Account: Iara Demartini

Song
Audio Production Company: Canja
Sound Director: Lucas Sfair, Eduardo Karas, Filipe Resende
Producer: Levi Mynssen
Audio Account: Guga Costa
Coordination: Matheus Brandão

Masterclasses/workshops: Vivi Duarte, CEO Plano Feminino ONG

Client’s approval: Marcel Sacco, Larissa Diniz, Rodrigo Campos e Larissa Loureiro