“A smart and timely social hack.” —juror Ben Hughes

“An incredibly impactful piece that strikes tension in a widely known form factor.” —juror Harold Jones

Overview: To celebrate women’s equality, the US Department of the Treasury invited the public to discuss via the hashtag #TheNew10 which woman from US history it should place on the $10 bill. But when women average $7.90 for every $10 made by men, there’s as much to question as to celebrate. Enter a viral campaign by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Rethink and WONGDOODY that enabled women to reveal how a US $10 bill truly looks for them based on their ethnicities. The social media campaign hijacked the Treasury’s Twitter hashtag for a real gender equity discussion. 

•A video introduced the campaign by reillustrating Alexander Hamilton as women of various ethnicities—and changing the bill’s value to match each woman’s wage gap in the process.
•Visitors to #TheReal10’s site (thereal10.org) can upload their photos to an altered $10 bill template. 
•Six members of Congress shared #TheReal10 on social media.

Captions supplied by Aaron Starkman: 
How did this project compare with others you’ve worked on? “It’s the first time we’ve used an existing hashtag to a client’s benefit. We turned #TheNew10 into #TheReal10 and used the hashtags together as a rallying cry for women involved in the fight for equal pay. Just as we hoped, pay equity immediately took over #TheNew10 conversation. Instead of the intended celebration and design ideas, the Treasury received a flood of images of our altered bill and of our videos demanding real change instead of just symbolic change.”

What was the response? “Women were quick to add their own pictures and messages to the altered bill and share it on social media, sending a strong message to lawmakers—their voices were heard loud and clear. Six members of the US Congress joined in the uproar and shared our idea with fellow lawmakers and voters through social media. The AAUW and its supporters were thrilled when President Obama listened and responded by introducing equal pay legislation.”

Is the audience you were targeting a particularly difficult one to reach? “Getting through to Congress is a tough feat. So when we had an idea that would be circulated through something it was already paying close attention to, we realized that hijacking the conversation would be way more successful than any major media buy could ever be. In the end, we received not only the buzz we were hoping for, but also much-needed social change.”