Case Study: Fearless Girl

At first the brief from State Street specified championing a 50-50 male-female split in the boardroom. So the McCann team conceived a cow standing in opposition to the bull, in the same material (bronze) and charging position, “just as powerful and beautiful as he was”. But as the project developed, the brief changed, and emphasis was placed on encouraging women into the boardroom, and challenging companies that didn’t do this. The balance offered by the bull-cow dichotomy wouldn’t work.

It was at this point that the bronze girl idea of a bronze girl, staring down the bull defiantly, was born. The client loved the idea.

The production

As SVP Executive Producer for Innovation, Christine Lane’s remit at McCann is to push ideas in uncharted territories. The State Street brief provided the perfect opportunity to test her remit to “make things that McCann had never made before”.

Lane explains that it was crucial the artist was female, as well as it being important that “the aesthetic was the same, that they were moulded from the same clay, and that they were in balance with each other.” Thankfully, the artist Kristen Visbal was skilled and experienced with bronze, making her perfect for the job.

Sketches and feedback would be sent between Visbal and the McCann team, debating minute details, such as defining the breath in the girl’s hair, or the pockets in her dress. Life-size foam and clay models were created, and the creative team would travel to Visbal’s studio in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to tweak elements. Eventually they reached a look everyone was happy with and the creation of 50-inch bronze began.

After the two month creation process, Wilson recalls the moment the final statue was revealed, “it was incredibly emotional. She was the exact size of a child... It wasn’t in a sketch or my head anymore, she was in the room next to me. It took my breath away.”

But there was still one element missing: a name. During a meeting a few days in advance of the statue’s installation, it was Global Creative Chairman Rob Reilley who both spotted the omission, and suggested the solution. So from being referred to as ‘the girl’ she became ‘Fearless Girl’, and it was time to introduce her to the world.

The launch

Wilson, Lane and the team huddled together in the snow on Wall Street on the evening of March 6 2017. The installation began at 11pm, but it wasn’t until 4am that a crane slowly lowered her into place over the cobblestones of Bowling Green. For the production team it was a long night.

In front of the statue, between her defiant stance and the aggression of Charging Bull, was placed a plaque reading “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference”. The decision to be understated with the branding was out of respect for the way people would experience Fearless Girl, as Wilson explains: “When you put something out in the world that crosses paths with everyone on daily basis, you need to be a little bit careful; branding that interferes with someone’s life can be a turn off.”

The response

True enough, as soon as she was in place, people began to experience her. The team set their camera crew to work shooting ambient shots of the girl, as well as early risers interacting with her. In a hotel room nearby, Wilson oversaw a rapid film edit, turning around a promo film in an hour. In the only pre-planned media, the film would feature on the Wall Street Journal later that day.

But another piece of timing would be crucial for organic coverage – International Women’s Day would take place March 8, the following day. The statue served as the perfect places for TV segments to be filmed in advance of IWD. And then, following the annual IWD march in New York City, women started flocking to Fearless Girl to pay tribute. This was the moment Wilson realised the true significance of what she had created, “I remember someone putting a hand crocheted ‘pussy hat’ on her, and for me that symbolised her being accepted.”

Having initially been scheduled for one day, official photographer Federica Valabrega spent five days documenting the reactions from members of the public. State Street were receiving incredible attention for their SHE investment fund, with stations such as CNN and CNBC discussing it, and the public searching their name and discussing it online. Naturally, they wanted to maintain this exposure, so the team secured a two week extension to their original license. This bought them some time, but they needed a longer-term solution.

Thankfully they came across a Department of Transport public art initiative which enabled artworks to be placed around the city. Using all their resource, McCann rapidly gathered the required materials and submitted their application. It was accepted, and the girl was able to remain in place from April 2 2017, minus the branded plaque.

The impact

The project achieved the highest accolade in industry awards shows around the world, culminating in a D&AD Black Pencil at D&AD 2018.

The client were delighted that their fund gained attention beyond their expectations, and to date the value of the fund has continued to rise. Fearless Girl will forever be symbolic of the creative industries driving change by creating new role models for women, and challenging patriarchal symbols.

Looking back at the project, Wilson believes it was a case of the right people coming together at the right time, “It all fell into place and it’s rare for that to happens for creative ideas, and I’ll always be thankful that it happened with her.”

By Luc Benyon