Skincare specialist Olay is back at the Super Bowl with an advert created by Badger & Winters, which will continue the brand’s commitment to inspire women to ‘Face Anything’.

Inspired by the first all-female space walk in 2019, Olay’s Super Bowl ad stars YouTuber Lilly Singh and actress Busy Philipps who take a trip into space with retired astronaut Nicole Stott. Their space mission is overseen by actress Taraji P. Henson playing mission controller and shared over the air waves by real-life news presenter Katie Couric playing news anchor. The ad puts this crew of women on the quest to #MakeSpaceForWomen.

Olay hopes its Super Bowl commercial will pay homage to the women of STEM who are blazing the trail for future generations.

Gender parity

Eric Rose, associate brand director, Olay, said: “We recognise that many industries have yet to reach gender parity, which is why we’re using our Super Bowl ad to feature fearless women who have been trailblazers in their own industries as a way to inspire people everywhere to get involved and support Operation #MakeSpaceForWomen. Olay believes that when we make space for women, we make space for everyone.”

Madonna Badger, chief creative officer, Badger & Wintersm said: “The Super Bowl is advertising’s biggest night, which is why we wanted to go big as well. With ‘Make Space for Women,’ we loved combining a bit of wordplay with the very serious world of science and technology — a world, by the way, that continues to exclude women in large numbers. We’re very excited to partner with Olay to help change that and thrilled to be working with so many talented women behind the camera.”

According to the National Science Board, women make up half of the total US college-educated workforce, but only 28% of the science and engineering workforce. Olay will donate $1 (up to $500,000) to Girls Who Code every time users tag @OlaySkin and use #MakeSpaceForWomen hashtag on Twitter starting January 15 until 12:00am EST on February 3, 2020, to enable the next generation of female scientists, engineers, programmers and space explorers to Face Anything. Additionally, to celebrate the second all-women spacewalk by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir on January 15, Olay donated $25K in each of their names to support young women pursuing a career in the sciences with Girls Who Code.

Kate DiCarlo, senior communications leader, Olay: “Built on a heritage of strong science, women around the world have trusted their skin to Olay for more than 60 years. What most don’t see are the researchers behind the creation of every Olay product she brings home. From the formulation, research, clinical testing, package design, production, there are countless minds at work to bring women products they can trust for skin that’s ready to face anything. We are so proud to have the opportunity to support the next generation of young women to experiment, explore, compute and everything in between through our partnership with Girls Who Code. Who knows – one of those young women might make the next amazing discovery that changes the world.”

Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code Founder: “Girls Who Code is thrilled to partner with Olay for this Super Bowl commercial and to celebrate last year’s historic all-woman spacewalk. This diverse, all-female cast is exactly what we want our girls to imagine when they think of careers in computer science. With the support of companies like Olay, and our millions of allies watching the Super Bowl, we’ll not only make space for women and girls in tech – we’ll give our girls the power and bravery they need to face anything, anywhere.”

While nearly half (45%) of NFL fans are women, only a quarter (27%) of past Super Bowl ads have actually starred women. Last year, Olay helped narrow the gap, hero-ing a woman in its ad during the Big Game. This year, with Olay’s all-female cast, the brand is continuing to help close the gender gap in Super Bowl ads.

Couric said: “Olay has found a way to champion and empower women during a very historically male-dominated advertising space – the Super Bowl. We still have a long way to go in achieving gender equality across a range of industries so I’m excited to share the importance of getting more girls into STEM with the biggest audience of the year.”

Stott said: “I’m excited to be featured in Olay’s Super Bowl commercial, alongside other fearless, trailblazing women. As a woman in STEM, I know what it’s like to be one of only a handful of women in a room — or on a space station. It’s important for everyone to know that the spaceship doesn’t care if you’re a boy or girl. That’s why I’m thrilled Olay has launched their mission in space to encourage more young women to be fearless in pursuit of a career in STEM. I hope you’re inspired to use the hashtag #MakeSpaceForWomen to support Girls Who Code!”