When a 4-word Feminist Manifesto Stuck
- Joan Fernandez
- Mar 5
- 4 min read
How One Woman Rewrote Advertising and Feminist History in 5 Minutes.
Once upon a time there was a woman named Ilon Specht.
Ms. Specht is a copywriter at the McCann-Erickson ad agency (today McCann) in Manhattan in 1973.
(Think Mad Men. Lots of chain-smoking suave guys in suits calling the shots to spin advertising messages.)
Yet, instead of just describing a product’s features on their own merit, advertising is all about shaping perception.
One day Ms. Specht is invited to a meeting in a big office with a bunch of guys. The group has just one month to create a new campaign for the hair color product named Preference by L’Oréal. Their goal is to find messaging to challenge Clairol’s Nice n’ Easy, which dominated the market.
The men banter ideas.
It’s the same old angle: Women’s products are all about men and what they want when it comes to women.
As Ms. Specht later recalls*, “They [the agency execs] wanted to do something with a woman sitting by the window and the wind blowing through the curtains. You know, one of those fake places with big glamorous curtains. The woman was a complete object. I don't even think she spoke. They just didn't understand her.”
Ms. Specht rushes out of the meeting.
Steaming.
Angrily, she grabs a pen. It takes just five minutes to write a wholly different commercial.
She does not know it, but the lines will carry one of the most enduring messages of feminist empowerment in the modern age.
The ad reads: "I use the most expensive hair dye in the world. Preference by L'Oréal. It's not about me caring about money. It's about me taking care of my hair. And it's not just about the color. I expect great color. More important to me is how my hair feels. It's smooth and silky, but with body. They feel nice against my neck. In fact, I don't mind spending more money on L'Oréal.
“Because I’m worth it.”
The agency’s reaction? They hate it. Ms. Specht’s got the voice all wrong. Switching it up to a man’s dialogue, they film a couple walking hand-in-hand with a male voiceover. The actor concludes: “Actually, she doesn’t mind spending more for L’Oréal, because she’s worth it.”
The ad never airs.
Because, as Ms. Specht explains, the commercial wasn’t for men, but for women.
When it does run, voiced by a female actor, the “I’m worth it” phrase explodes, launching a hugely successful television ad for both the agency and L’Oréal.
It’s the first time an advertisement claims the self-worth of a woman.
The slogan becomes a four-word feminist manifesto. L’Oréal’s latches onto it as its brand, using and tweaking it ever since, sometimes spoken as “You’re worth it” and “We’re worth it.”
Over the years, among the celebrities who have been spokespeople are Cybill Shepherd, Meredith Baxter, Kate Winslet, Andie MacDowell, Eva Longoria, Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé and Helen Mirren.
All amplifying a timeless message.
For against all odds one act of rebellion against the patriarchal bias of male colleagues changed advertising forever.
Sedona Film Festival Rocks
I learned about Ms. Ilon Specht this past week at the Sedona International Film Festival. Her short documentary, “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” (from two-time Oscar-winner Ben Proudfoot), is an intimate account recorded just before her death at age 81 in April 2024 from cancer.
Ilon Specht was an unsung advertising genius. Perfect to highlight at the beginning of March’s Women’s History Month when women’s past achievements are celebrated and acknowledged.
The 18-minute documentary was aired along with 123 other films at the festival. The nine-day event showcased a treasure trove of narrative and documentary feature-length films, short features and documentaries, dramas and comedies, glorious cinematography, spellbinding dialogue, tear-streaming emotional impact.
After most films, the producer or director or screenwriter for the film would do a Q&A with the audience. We’d hear about their creative process, the years they’d spent to bring a film into the world, the inspiration behind their stories, their emotional investment and more.
At first, my husband and I bravely planned to watch four films/day: 10:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 7:00pm. Soon, both exhausted and entranced, we hit intense overload.
So, we pared our viewing back to three, then sometimes just two films. And one morning I attended a really cool “Story to Screenplay” workshop by screenwriter Brian Edgar in lieu of
seeing a film**.
It was all a lot.
I learned good storytelling packs a wallop.
Great storytelling changes your heart.
I also found gratitude. I’m grateful to be a writer. To have chosen to try to spark difficult conversations and to bear witness to truth through my writing. I’m inspired by all the creative souls I met at the festival. They’re weird and fun and innovative and hardworking.
Kinda how I wannabe.
What about you? Have you ever watched a film that rocked your world?
Warmly,
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