Adding to the National Grandparents Day that celebrates our parents’ parents, there is one more special holiday dedicated to the elderly in France. The National Grandmothers’ Day commemorates all the grandmothers and on this day, all women older than 55 years shall be treated with special respect. The holiday was introduced in 1987 by Café Grand’Mère, a coffee brand that belongs to Kraft Jacobs Suchard, and is celebrated annually on the first Sunday in March. Initially, it was created for commercial purposes only, however as the years passed this sweet tradition has become very popular among the French. With the growing popularity and wider range of celebrations, the national Grandmothers’ Day is now included in some French calendars and schools even throw various concerts and events that honour our mothers’ mothers.
And 2019 is no exception! So, on March the 3rd, the French are going to gather their grandchildren and children and meet with their loved ones. This day, all grannies expect to get gifts and flowers from their cherished offspring. And the reason for this lovely celebration?
A campaign created by CLM BBDO titled simply “Thank You Grandma”. The French agency, which is part of the third largest agency network in the world, reminds everyone about a generation of women who fought for the rights (not only) women enjoy today. In case you wouldn’t know, these were the women who ventured into new careers, sports and schools for the first time. Women who are part of a generation that forever changed the place of females in society for the better.
A short film by Curious Film reminds everyone that without our grandmothers, our lives would definitely be quite different. A generation that fought for freedom of expression, a woman’s right to control her own body, and the right to play the same sports and practice the same professions as men. Yes, none of these advancements would have been possible without our grandmothers. Understandably, the campaign pays tribute to their exploits through black and white images to highlight their victories, from however small some might seem to the most resounding.
“Though this campaign goes back in time, it offers a deeply modern vision of our grandmothers,” explained Benjamin Dessagne and Stéphane Santana, Creative Directors at CLM BBDO. They also beautifully add that “before they were the women we know today, they were young women who changed the world.”
The spot was directed by documentary filmmaker and anthropologist Sylvain Desmille of Curious Film. It is mainly composed of archival images that picture all the pioneers who actually helped transform women’s place in society into what it is nowadays. “The emancipation and liberation of women is one of the major advancements of the 20th century,” explains the director. “This process was made possible by all those who, through their strength and actions, and frequently their courage, helped change attitudes towards women. They are more than just images, they are the faces of this moral revolution,” adds Desmille.
And as we said, the campaign does not focus on the well-known faces of this revolution but rather showcases lesser-known women. There’s Françoise Mabille, the first French woman to become a volunteer firefighter; Violaine Sanson, member of the first women’s motorcycle racing team; Astrid Hustinx, one of the first female airline pilots; parachutists Odette Rousseau and Colette Duval; and Anne Chopinet, one of the first women to attend the prestigious École Polytechnique. The film provides a rich list of stories and strong emotions that are about to air from March 1st to 3rd on French TV.
In case you wouldn’t recognise some of these memories, below you can find a list of the key dates that are presented in the short movie. And we’d like to say that all of these dates shall remind everyone that the women of yesterday forever changed conditions for women today.
Key dates:
1962 – Mini-skirt scandal: started by Mary Quant, the scandal becomes a symbol of the liberation of women’s bodies
1965 – Women gain the right to manage their property, open a bank account, and practice a profession without needing their husband’s permission
1965 – Technical schooling is finally open to girls
1967 – Neuwirth Law authorizes contraception, which starts getting reimbursed later in 1974
1967 – Jacqueline Dubut and Danièle Decuré become the first female French airline pilots
1969 – First season of women’s football in France
1970 – Creation of the Women’s Liberation Movement
1975 – Women finally gain the right to divorce by mutual consent
1977 – First International Women’s Day
Credits:
Client: Café Grand’Mère
Brand Manager: Claudia Pereira
Marketing Manager: Mathilde Reymondier
Advertising Manager: Bertrand Sero
Agency: CLM BBDO
Creative Director: Benjamin Dessagne
Creative Director: Stéphane Santana
Creative Director: Matthieu Elkaim
Art Director: Théophile Robaglia
Copywriter: Joseph Rozier
Account Director: Nicolas Carlotti
Client Director: Romain Bruneau
Account Manager: Audrey Brahic
TV producer: Morgane Bohn
Strategic Planner: Tomas Couvry
Production: Curious Film
Director: Sylvain Desmille
Producer: Adrien Kamir
Post-Producer: Antoine Daubert
Motion-Designer CLM BBDO: Damien Dupoux