Mexico has a serious problem with violence against women. As one of the country’s biggest brands, Ruffles, knew they could help. And while it might seem strange that a potato chip company would wade into this topic - there is a very important reason they did. Until a few years ago, Ruffles had been contributing to the problem with sexist advertising that objectified women and showcased them in stereotypical ways. Ruffles felt they had a responsibility to help. But rather than just talk about the problem, Ruffles wanted to create an actual behaviour change. The two not-for profits making the biggest difference in Mexico were Red Nacional de Refugios and Gendes. Red Nacional de Refugios are helping women escape violence and Gendes have been counselling men and helping them become less angry and violent. With the larger platform that Ruffles could provide, they could both do even more.

Through a combination of machismo behaviour passed down from their fathers and grandfathers to the propagation of sexist gender roles and attitudes, men in Mexico are essentially taught to be violent. These violent behaviours span from microaggressions like sexist jokes, comments and gaslighting to verbal threats, stalking, intimidation, and physical assaults and sadly, even murder. Our creative idea involved placing a spotlight on this learned violence and show how men and women are essentially trapped within a cycle of violence. We would then inspire this current generation to be the ones to break it. Through a series of emotional long and short form films, as well as social animation films, we would show that everyone in Mexico, both men and women have the power to break the cycle of violence that has plagued them for generations.

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Working with our two charity partners, we recognised that to stop violence against women, we needed men to make a change. But we couldn’t simply vilify the perpetrators. Pointing a finger of blame would only push them further away. (as so many other anti-violence campaigns have done in the past) We needed to pull these men in and inspire them to want to change. Working with experts like Gary Barker at gender-based charity, Equimundo, we understood that we needed to meet these violent men in the middle. Once they understood that their violent behaviour was learned, we could convince them that it could be “unlearned”. But traditional media alone would not be enough, we invited dozens of influencers and press to our launch event. This PR-led approach has sparked a meaningful and long-lasting conversation, and it has also produced record results for both our charity partners.

Our campaign began with an emotional launch film that walked backwards through one young man’s life. We showed the many moments that led to his violent behaviour. This film crucially, ended by revealing both he and his girlfriend getting help from Gendes and Red Nacional de Refugios, respectively. Our film ran across YouTube and in cinemas. We created social animations, and short film content that taught everyone what to do when they see violence against women. On launch day, our campaign was shown at the United Nations in New York and at our campaign headquarters in Mexico City. At this hub, expert speakers and influencers spoke about the cycle of violence and how everyone has the power to break it. The many campaign touchpoints directed people to our campaign hub where they could find additional violence intervention education, as well as direct links to Gendes and Red Nacional.

Our campaign has become a revolution. In the first two months, our film had over 42M views, with hundreds of comments. 73 of Mexico’s largest news outlets covered our campaign creating another 45M organic impressions, and dozens of influencers have carried our campaign message and anti-violence interventions to their millions of subscribers. Ruffles and PepsiCo have now begun running anti-violence workshops for the men in their teams. But best of all, Red Nacional de Refugios experienced a 25% year-on-year lift in calls. And most importantly, Gendes saw a 112% lift in calls from men looking to change their behaviour. Emboldened by these results, Ruffles has made a 3-year commitment to both these NGO’s. For generations, men and women in Mexico have been caught in a cycle of violence. But together we are proving that what is learned can be unlearned by those brave enough to do so.