Case Study

Reckitt

Durex gets real with Gen Z

ServiceInnovation & Creative
SectorConsumer Goods & Retail
Capability
Media Relations, Content & Publishing Strategy, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Research uncovered that youth in Germany feel more anxious and uncomfortable with their bodies and sexual identities when compared to their counterparts a decade earlier, due to unrealistic imagery in media, advertising and on social platforms. Durex (Reckitt) partnered with H&K to address this issue at its core.

The first truly authentic stock photo collection

Recognizing that stock photos commonly feature unrealistic depictions of Gen Z, H&K replaced touched-up and out-of-touch imagery with authentic stock photography. Now Germans could see themselves in images with genuine representations of what they look like and who they love.

The truly authentic stock collection was developed with a panel of young diversity experts, influencers, stock photo platform EyEm and a Gen Z photographer, and we issued guidelines for creating more diverse, authentic and inclusive advertising materials.

We spread the word and photo collection via social media and press to create awareness and opened the images for use by other brands to extend this moment into a movement of change.

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Successfully setting a new visual standard

In addition to generating significant earned media and social reach – the Gen Z collection was accessed over 17,000 times on EyeEm – making it one of the most popular collections on the platform that year.

The images were downloaded by over 200 professionals and brands and have been used in communication by companies like EY and Skyscanner – helping to increase authentic representation of Gen Z in public and media and contributing to a more confident and healthy generation.

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