RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — The agency WMcCann and the global creative platform Shutterstock announce a partnership that promotes the protagonism of black professionals in Brazilian advertising campaigns and editorial content. The project, called Re_Modelar, will mentor 12 photographers who will produce exclusive content dedicated to highlighting black people as protagonists in advertising materials.
The initiative will contribute to greater diversity on Shutterstock’s global creative platform, which now has more than 390 million images, and will allow more presence of the black population in the customer search experience through featured special collections. By joining the initiative, WMcCann and Shutterstock reinforce their commitment to diversity and inclusion, seeking to create space for an increasingly plural market.
“The main objective of this partnership is to bring visibility of the plurality of black people as protagonists to the advertising market, demystifying stereotypes and opening paths for black photographers, so that they occupy spaces on creative platforms, bringing a black perspective. There is a long way to go, but these small steps can be responsible for a more inclusive and diverse communication industry”, says Beatriz Lopes, art director at WMcCann and creator of the project, which was born during the 1st mentoring class for black women at agency.
Some of the professionals selected for the work are: Aline Rufino (@alinerufino), Danrley Igor (danrleyigorph), Ellen Oliveira (@_ekfotografia), Gabriel Frank (@frnkgabriel), Gabriel Lima (@gabriellima.ph), Gisamara Oliveira (@ newkidsontheblack), Hugo Chaves (@oguh_1), Leticia França (@negale.ph), Leticia Silva (@leticiasilvafotos), Lucas de Freitas (@prazerfreitas), Matheus Trindade (@trindatrampos) and Rafael Rodrigues (@therafao).
“As a smart global platform, we want to ensure that we are delivering content that faithfully represents the world around us, and empowering advertisers and brands with tools and insights. We want to contribute by creating representative campaigns that can influence views and generate significant change. We selected professionals with care and attention to ensure that our goal was achieved. It will be an honor to have the work of these 12 photographers on our platform. They will be able to encourage the production of campaigns and editorials with black professionals across the country, creating opportunities and raising awareness,” explains Gabriella Cerqueira, Content Strategist for Latin America at Shutterstock.
Re_Modelar will bring a new look to Brazilian advertising, one of the agents responsible for building its society. In addition to inclusion, representativeness is also the keyword for the project that understands the need for identification of the Brazilian population, going against stereotypes. The project also encourages photographers to produce more and more materials that give protagonism to black people.
As of January 17, 2022, the Shutterstock platform will start mentoring the 12 photographers. Re_Modelar will also feature actions on social networks (@vem_re_modelar) to publicize the project.
