Hershey's considers recognition of women part of its DNA. Its CEO, Michele Buck, now leads an employee base that is 52% women. According to MASP, São Paulo's Art Museum, only 6% of the works of art on display in Brazil are by women. Following the success of the HerShe project in 2020 and with the aggravation of the pandemics for female artists working opportunities, the brand decided to make a bigger effort for the 2021 edition, transforming it into a platform for not only showcasing, but also supporting women who dream of making a living with their art.

To this day, female artists still remain dramatically underrepresented and undervalued in the art industry. In Brazil, only 6% of the works of art on display are by women, according to MASP, São Paulo's Art Museum. More than that, the pandemics aggravated the scenario, lowering work opportunities, especially for female artists. That's why it's so important to have a project that not only showcases, but also supports women who dream of making a living with their art, endorsing their work and mentoring so they can monetize from it.

We discovered the pronouns "HER" and "SHE" within the name Hershey's and transformed the brand's iconic milk chocolate packaging into a canvas, to showcase the talent of 8 young female artists who dream of making a living with their art. 320k bars were the starting point of a platform for supporting female artists throughout Brazil.

Hershey’s turned their own packaging into an art exhibition inviting eight women to display their talents in a more than special edition. The pack also brings the artist's Instagram username (@) and an AR experience, transforming their art into an animation and telling more about them. To promote the initiative, a music video featuring rapper and black femininist @Yzalu and all the 8 artists, full of feminist references, including Tarsila do Amaral, Maria Bonita, Frida Kahlo, Angela Davis and many others, paying tribute to the struggle of women who face adversities to be recognized as artists. Reinforcing the brand's commitment, a partnership with gender equality consulting company Plano Feminino (Feminine Plan) offered more than 30 hours of mentoring for female artists who dream of making a living with their art. A virtual exhibition gave more visibility to hundreds of female artists.

From the first week of March, the 320k bars containing the work of eight female artists were for sale on Pão de Açúcar Supermarkets Group and the brand's ecommerce. Yzalu's "What's your dream?" music video was aired on March 4th, to start the conversation even before International Women's Day, inviting every woman artist to send their work to be showcased by the brand as well. On the 8th, we started publishing the female audience's work on the brand's Instagram and website, also airing the first mentoring video from Plano Feminino. Due to the large amount of works received, the virtual exhibition was extended until the following weekend, on March 13th. The project was exported to the USA, India and Porto Rico.

The HerShe bars sold 692% more than the brand's traditional milk chocolate version. The eight artists got an organic increase of 30% on their social channels and hundreds of female artists had their work published on Hershey's Instagram and website. The platform sparked an important conversation about gender equality in the arts.