This week, we distill insights around Mean Stinks - a purpose inspired movement launched by P&G’s Secret deodorant to combat girl-to-girl bullying in schools. 100+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship on the MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every week, we pick up one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it -- on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web -- to distill insights and foresights. We share these insights and foresights with you on our People’s Insights blog and compile the best insights from the network and the blog in the iPad-friendly People’s Lab Quarterly Magazine, as a showcase of our capabilities. For more, see: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

1. crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship | social data
People’s Insights Volume 2, Issue 5
Mean Stinks

2. People’s Insights
100+ thinkers and planners within MSL- In 2013, we continue to track inspiring
GROUP share and discuss inspiring proj- projects at the intersection of social data,
ects on social data, crowdsourcing, story- crowdsourcing and storytelling, with a fo-
telling and citizenship on the MSLGROUP cus on projects that are shaping the Future
Insights Network. Every week, we pick up of Citizenship.
one project and curate the conversations
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from the MSLGROUP global network, into
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We have synthesized the insights from our
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provide foresights for business leaders and
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Insights Annual Report titled Now & Next:
Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engage-
ment.
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weekly report quarterly magazines Annual Report
Volume 2, Issue 5, Future of Mean Stinks
January - March, 2013 Citizenship

3. What is Mean Stinks?
Mean Stinks is a purpose inspired movement Blogger Adina notes:
launched by P&G’s Secret deodorant to combat
girl-to-girl bullying in schools. The movement “The goal is to empower all women, no matter if
reaches girls through social media and they are a victim of bullying or not, by providing
challenges them to take action online and in real tools and resources to aid in the fight against the
life. mean behavior of bullying.”
Source: groundswelldiscussion.com
Secret launched the movement in 2011 and has sustained activity and buzz through a series of
campaigns, celebrity endorsements and philanthropic initiatives. A new website and packaging
re-design mark Secret’s commitment to the movement and to fulfill P&G’s own purpose of making
everyday just a little better for consumers.
Today, Mean Stinks has a community of 475,000 supporters on Facebook.
A social heartbeat 203,000 who saw an ad. These are 203,000 who,
of their own volition, expressed solidarity with
Secret unites girls around an issue they face on a Secret’s efforts.”
daily basis. In a release, Secret highlighted:
“The latest U.S. Department of Justice report shows
30% of female students grades 6 – 12 were bullied
at school or cyberbullied during the 2009 – 2010
school year.”
Blogger Nicole Gordon Levine commented on
the potential value of the Mean Stinks platform:
“Mean certainly does stink. I was bullied in High
School and wish I had an outlet like Secret’s Mean
Source: Secret’s brand purpose to make a difference
Stinks Campaign.”
These factors undoubtedly contributed to the
movement’s virality. As AdAge’s Bob Garfield
noted:
“Within a few weeks, 75,000 kids sent apologies
to peers or posted friendly graffiti. The page drew
203,000 new fans in one day… These are not
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4. Year 1: Inspiring girls to be nice In addition, Mean Stinks created a Facebook
store to sell T-shirts with anti-bullying messages
Mean Stinks launched in January 2011 with a Mean to spread the word, and partnered with expert
Stinks Facebook page and a Good Graffiti app. Rachel Simmons to support victims of bullying.
Blogger Josh Eaton described the platform’s Media Post’s Tanya Irwin reported:
offerings:
“Simmons, an author and expert on the social
“Secret’s Mean Stinks Campaign provides tools issues facing young women, has helped Secret in
for girls to stand up against bullying and have a creating content for the dedicated “Mean Stinks”
voice. It allows them to talk to specialists, make Facebook page that empowers young women by
videos confronting bullies or giving apologies, give providing tools for them to face the difficulties and
encouragement to build up other girls (Be nice drama of bullying.”
behind someone’s back), self reflect on your own
actions, and deal with the many problems that Year 2: Building a movement
come from being a teenager and going to school.
They can interact with each other, be anonymous, In 2012, Secret introduced elements to
and join the movement of overcoming bullying.” encourage more social shares and conversations
in real life.
Online, Secret encourages girls to participate in
weekly challenges – such as ‘write good graffiti
on your school parking lot,’ ‘create a no joke
zone,’ and ‘write “mean stops here” on your hand’
– and share it on the Mean Stinks Facebook page
or on Twitter and Instagram with #meanstinks.
One challenge invites girls to make music videos
featuring a cover of an anti-bullying song or
to write their own. Secret has also conducted
Source: P&G-Secret “Mean Stinks” Campaign a challenge on video crowdsourcing platform
Tongal, with incentives of $40,000 to encourage
The Good Graffiti app encouraged girls to send
high quality videos. These are featured on
positive messages to friends - a total of 32,000
Secret’s YouTube channel.
positive messages have been sent.
Source: meanstinks.com/#challenges
Volume 2, Issue 5, Future of Mean Stinks
January - March, 2013 Citizenship

5. Girls can also visit a Facebook app to learn about the unusual nail polish design and once they hear
the different kinds of bullying and take a quiz about the pledge, will also decide to take part in the
to find out how they can help end girl-to-girl campaign.”
bullying.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/meanstinks
These challenges have resulted in a collection of
photos and videos shared on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram, and also a loyal following. As
Digital Training Academy team noted in a blog
post:
“The long term ‘always-on’ approach meant fans
kept coming back for more. The company chose a
subject that resonates with its consumers, created
a catchy slogan, and filled its Facebook page with
ways for fans to really engage with the content and
to share their experiences with others. The Mean
Stinks page hit a chord among users, enough for
them to keep coming back to view or share more
content on a regular basis.”
Source: facebook.com/meanstinks
In 2012, Secret roped in singer-songwriter Demi
Lovato as the brand ambassador for the Mean
Stinks movement and challenged girls to gang
up for good with Demi and take the ‘blue pinky’
challenge.
Adweek noted:
“For the 2012 school year, Secret evolved the focus
of “Mean Stinks,” advocating for girls to “Gang
Source: https://www.facebook.com/meanstinks
Up for Good” and work together to put an end to
bullying. Former teen star and current X Factor
judge Demi Lovato, herself a victim of bullying, was Symbolism of the #bluepinky
signed as the celebrity spokes¬person. Girls are
Movements typically use symbols to unite
being urged on social media to paint their pinky
supporters and show solidarity. Writer-designer
nails blue as a sign of solidarity to the cause—what
Steven Heller noted:
they’re calling the “pinky swear.”
“It may be true that every idea - especially good
Examiner’s Evelyn Block wrote that the
ones - can benefit from a mnemonic. A unifying
#bluepinky is designed to drive offline
element, sign, symbol or code adds allure and
conversations:
provides a rallying point. What’s more, we all love
“One of the ideas of the campaign is for young wearing labels of some kind to show our allegiance
women to make a “pinky-swear” pledge to not bully to some thing.”
their peers, and as a reminder of that promise, to
Blogger Charlotte points out that spotting blue
wear blue nail polish on their pinky fingers in the
pinky offers a sense of hope and support to
hope that other girls will become curious about
victims of bullying:
5

6. “I know there were a few nice kids in the class that #bluepinky, challenges, tips and tools and peer-
were prob¬a¬bly afraid to say any¬thing. I didn’t to-peer advice. As the release states:
blame them for not stick¬ing up for me and likely
“Unique to the site is the archived #NiceAdvice
would’ve done the same thing myself at the time.
section, where girls across the country can share
How I would’ve loved a “mean stinks” cam¬paign
their experiences, offer words of encouragement
back then, to see blue pinkies unit¬ing and
and provide examples of how they’ve successfully
stick¬ing up for me!”
“Ganged Up For Good.” They can also search for
Year 3: Evolution to a hub advice from girls just like them. Weekly ‘What
Would You Do’ scenarios give girls the floor to share
In late 2012, Secret launched the Mean Stinks their perspective and success stories on how they
website to curate social conversations taking would, or have, handled situations that could lead
place around #meanstinks, #gangupforgood and to mean behavior.”
Source: meanstinks.com
Commitment to a larger solution
In addition to creating a support community for girls, Secret also encourages girls to trigger donations
to anti-bullying and girl empower programs. In 2011, girls could request coupons online or download iAd
wallpapers to trigger $1 donations to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center. In 2012, girls could
purchase special Mean Stinks Clinical Strength products to trigger a $1 donation to Girls on the Run.
Mommy blogger Serena wrote:
“They also launched a special Mean Stinks Clinical Strength product where they will be donating $1*
from the purchase of each Mean Stinks Clinical Strength sold to Girls on the Run® to fund their girl
empowerment programming and help prevent mean behavior before it starts.”
Volume 2, Issue 5, Future of Mean Stinks
January - March, 2013 Citizenship

7. Source: youtube.com/user/SecretDeodorant
Secret is also experimenting with a Gang Up For Good Kit with lesson and assembly plans to introduce
the movement in schools and communities.
Purpose inspired marketing
At MSLGROUP, we believe that brands need a
shared purpose to inspire people and drive good
growth, and that companies should become
PurPle (Purpose + People). According to AdAge,
Secret sales rose “9% for the 26 weeks ended
June 26, a period affected by the “Mean Stinks”
campaign that launched in January on Facebook.”
As Jim Stengel, former Global Marketing Officer
at P&G said:
“Great brands are built on improving the lives of the
people they serve; maximum profit and high ideals
aren’t incompatible but, in fact, inseparable.”
Source: meanstinks.com
7

8. People’s Lab:
Crowdsourcing Innovation & Insights
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9. For People’s Lab solutions, contact
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