As a corporate citizen and the world's largest advertiser, P&G has an opportunity to serve nearly 5 billion consumers around the globe. With this scale comes the responsibility to tell stories that are meaningful, equitable and authentic. But when it came to Black stories, there was a gap. Because Black filmmakers are given limited opportunities, the images that we are shown in advertising, media and film are often stereotypes that reflect a narrow view of the Black experience. The challenge became to confront bias in front of and behind the screen, to widen the view of everyday Black life.

Our objectives were to 1) Raise cultural awareness of the Black storytelling gap, 2) Trigger substantive actions to drive institutional change within the industry, both behind the camera and on the screen and 3) Put investment behind making sure people see a more authentic portrayal of Black life in the world.

“Widen the Screen” is an expansive content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of Black life. Because only when we Widen the Screen to widen our view can we all broaden the spectrum of the images we see, the voices we hear, and the stories we tell. Fully.

The overall strategic goal was to expand what’s on screen, by expanding the creators behind the camera.

The target for this program were the entities that create the images we see: advertisers and the filmmaking industry. In 2021, demonstrating inclusion and diversity in advertising became imperative and many pledged to improve representation on screen.

Marketers began to cast more Black talent, but these portrayals didn't incorporate relevant insights and messages that resonated. In advertising, when asked how often they see themselves reflected, 32% of Black adults said 'not much'/'never' vs. 24% of white adults. In film, Black stories were categorized in extremes of struggle or excellence, perpetuating stereotypes and demonstrating that the narrow view on screen was a direct result of who’s behind it. Less than 6% of writers, directors, and producers of US- produced films are Black. There was a fundamental failure in the industry behavior of Black storytelling.

The idea originated from the knowledge that less than 6% of writers, directors and producers of U.S. films are Black. The visual of that narrow screen (6%) which ultimately widens to show the full view (100%), inspired the idea and was used as an executional device across creative assets.

To galvanize the conversation, we partnered with two of the largest social media platforms. On TikTok, we launched a challenge and invited Black creators to share their craft to #widenthescreen. Additionally, during the Oscars, we aired the film and hosted a conversation on Twitter Spaces with some of the industry’s top thought leaders about diversity in film/media.

We connected Creators to P&G’s partners for opportunities. For example, programs like the Queen Collective and 8:46 enable Black directors to produce content and share unique perspectives, while partnerships with BLAC and the Marcus Graham Project mentor future Creators to help them excel.

The Widen the Screen program triggered substantive actions to drive systemic change within the industry and P&G’s organization:

- Launched 12 films in total by Black storytellers through Queen Collective and 8:46, debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival and continuing at other national film festivals

- Employed and gave opportunities to 300+ Black creators

- 500+ P&G employees engaged in Widen the Screen insight workshop sessions, to help understand the stories that aren’t being told on a Brand/category level and develop action plans to address

- Visibility on industry level: Marc Pritchard has presented at Cannes, ANA conference, Global Equality and Inclusion Awards, etc.

- 150% increase investment in Black owned and operated media: P&G has publicly set goal to be the number one spender in Black-owned media.

- P&G donated films to help fuel ecosystem and to create programming content that can be monetized through advertising