Pantene tackles 'looking attractive' as a job requirement in Indonesia

Procter & Gamble’s Pantene has launched a new campaign to uncover hair stereotyping surrounding “berpenampilan menarik” (looking attractive) and its impact on a young woman’s success.  According to Pantene, looking attractive is listed as a job hiring requirement, and is commonly found in job advertisements in Indonesia. Done in collaboration with Grey Group Indonesia, the hair care company conducted a social experiment to see how this problem manifests in real life.

Titled the “interview kerja yang terberat” (the toughest job interview), Pantene invited Millennial women for a real interview. These women were asked to step forward at the call of usual job requirements by a moderator. However, when the moderator brings about the requirement of “berpenampilan menarik”, there were hesitations and confusions in the room. A handful of women stepped forward nevertheless. The experiment then develops into a discussion about this requirement, and several young women confessed their encounters with criticisms and stereotypical comments about their hair, particularly when it differs from the norm of long, straight, black hair. The film then documents that “no matter your hair, everyone deserves a chance to succeed and live life with no limits”. 

Mallika Tyagi associate brand director, Pantene APAC enterprise markets said Pantene’s mission is that every woman should have a great hair day every day, and aims to make its mission locally relevant for its consumers. “We recognise that there is no one definition of great hair, and every woman has a right to choose how to wear her hair,” she added.

Meanwhile, I-van Policarpo regional creative director, Grey Indonesia said through a journalistic eye, the team put a spotlight on “berpenampilan menarik”, a job requirement potentially tainted with bias that imposes a limit to women who choose to express themselves unconventionally through their hair. “In doing so, we are hoping to change the way the said job requirement is defined: more inclusive, more empowering for young women reaching for their dreams,” he added.

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Pantene has been championing campaigns and ads in Indonesia to empower women. The hair care company also brought onboard singer and brand ambassador Anggun to front its TVC soundtrack. The campaign was aimed at promoting its Pantene Hair Fall Defence hair care products, and the song Anggun's juggle as singer and a single mother and how she made her mark on the world stage. The spot overall was towards inspiring women to chase their dreams.