“The Kitchen is for Everyone” campaign recognized for positively impacting ingrained gender inequality
Dubai: General Mills Middle East has been recognized with four prestigious Dubai Lynx awards, including the Glass award, which celebrate the best creative work in the region. These awards recognise, nurture and set the standard for brilliant creative campaigns across the region.
Betty Crocker’s “The Kitchen is for Everyone” campaign has been awarded with the Dubai Lynx Glass award, which recognises work that addresses issues of gender inequality or prejudice through conscious representation of gender in advertising.
In addition to the Glass award, “The Kitchen is for Everyone” campaign has also received the Silver and Bronze Dubai Lynx award in the Public Relations (PR) category and the Bronze Dubai Lynx award in the Creative Strategy category respectively.
The PR Lynx award recognises creative work that cultivates relationships with credible third-parties utilising mainly earned-media tactics to change perceptions and behaviours to protect and enhance the reputation and business of an organisation or brand. The Creative Strategy Lynx celebrates the idea behind the idea – how strategic planning can redefine a brand and reinvent its business to influence consumers.
Mr. Ali Shaikh, General Manager, General Mills – Middle East and Africa says, “We are incredibly proud of our purpose driven ‘The Kitchen is For Everyone’ campaign, which continues to inspire and encourage our consumers to view the kitchen as a creative and open space no matter their age, gender or expertise. We are honoured to be recipients of four Dubai Lynx awards, including the highly coveted Glass award. We are grateful that our team’s efforts are being recognized as we continue to change stereotypes and behaviours while making food the world loves and needs.”
Since its inception, Betty Crocker has been a source for modern cooking instructions and trusted recipe development. With 2020 having been a year of accelerated learning for all, Betty Crocker entered its 100th year with the launch of its ‘Kitchen Is For Everyone Campaign’ to promote gender equality and remind consumers that the kitchen is an open and gender-neutral space for everyone.
The inspiration behind this campaign was Sultan Abdullah Mohammed Soumr, a ten-year-old Emirati boy. Sultan sparked a viral debate about gender equality when he noticed that the Betty Crocker packaging spoke only to women. After hearing Sultan’s story, Betty Crocker decided to make a meaningful change across the Middle East region.
“The Kitchen is for Everyone” campaign was the brainchild of team from across General Mills in the Middle East. The campaign was led by Azfar Ul-Islam, Marketing Director, Sajjad Hussain, Regional Marketing Manager and Ines Fates, Brand Manager – Middle East and Africa. The team created a more inclusive world by switching to gender-neutral baking instructions on 20 million packages. This is an achievement that is not only changing the industry but also the deep-rooted stereotypes about women in the region.
About General Mills:
General Mills is a leading global food company whose purpose is to make food the world loves. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie’s, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, BLUE and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2020 net sales of U.S. $17.6 billion. In addition, General Mills’ share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totalled U.S. $1.0 billion. Established in 2008, General Mills Middle East aims at serving its consumers with delightful, innovative products who are seeking newer food experiences. The company is known for its global best practices in technology and food expertise with strong local market manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities.
About Betty Crocker:
For nearly a century, Betty Crocker has been America’s source for modern cooking instruction and trusted recipe development. That rich heritage and culinary knowledge lives on in our commitment to celebrate the Betty in all of us — by sharing our passion for food, valuable test-kitchen wisdom and lifestyle expertise — straight from our kitchen to yours.
