MY KITCHEN

The Challenge

“A woman’s place is in the kitchen”...You’ve probably heard this being said or written ​by men and even women in different circles. Sometimes, it precedes a crass joke, ​other times, it comes after a woman has offered an opinion. However, in every ​situation, it is derogatory, as if to dismiss the work women do. Knowing that women ​are the primary users and first point of call for all the products made by FMN, ​International Women’s Day 2022 provided an opportunity for the brand to not just do ​another IWD ad, but rather take a stand against this societal misnomer.

Back to home

The Solution

In 2016, Nigeria’s President Buhari made a now infamous 2016 comment ​about his wife to Germany’s Angela Merkel. He said - "She [my wife] ​belongs to my kitchen". This echoed a deeply rooted societal bias against ​women. However, our interactions with women across Nigeria revealed

a different truth: a woman's kitchen is wherever she contributes or earns ​from to sustain herself or her family. As a leading food producer,

Flour Mills of Nigeria [FMN] recognized an opportunity to challenge

this narrow mindset. So, on International Women's Day, we redefined the ​kitchen as a symbol of empowerment, not confinement. This campaign ​aimed to elevate the role of women in our society and celebrate their ​contributions to our nation's food security. In executing, we took portrait ​photos of some of the women who work at FMN against a background

of “their kitchens”role/department. Rather than shy away, we owned

the phrase. The campaign was awarded with 1 Silver at the WINA Awards,

3 Silvers at Pitcher Awards as well as 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze

at Laif Awards.