A Case Study in Strategy-Led Creative:When a Brand Knows Why It’s Speaking

A Case Study in Strategy-Led Creative:
When a Brand Knows Why It’s Speaking

There are a few ads I return to not for nostalgia, but for clarity. Always’ “Like a Girl” is one of them.

I recently revisited this work as part of a Creative Director cohort I’m in with Randy Stein from Ogilvy, where we unpacked case studies through the lens of the original brief…not the awards, not the headlines, but the thinking that made the work matter.

What still holds up is how cleanly the spot ladders from truth to intent.

The human truth is simple: girls don’t begin life doubting themselves; the world teaches them to. Puberty doesn’t just change bodies; it reshapes identity, confidence, and self-perception.

The insight sharpens that truth: language like “like a girl” becomes a cultural script that quietly rewires confidence right at the moment it’s most fragile. What starts as a throwaway phrase turns into a signal…one that tells girls to shrink, hesitate, and perform to expectation rather than potential.
That creates the tension at the heart of the brief: the moment girls need support most is the exact moment society starts undermining them.

This is where the work earns its credibility. Always didn’t insert itself into a conversation it didn’t belong in. Puberty is the brand’s moment of relevance—not just physically, but emotionally. The brand intent was clear: reclaim a harmful phrase, rebuild confidence, and stand as an advocate rather than a commentator.

There’s no product demo. No overt selling. No forced brand heroics. Just a brand taking responsibility for the cultural space it occupies and using creativity to give something back.

That’s the reminder I keep coming back to: great creative doesn’t start with execution. It starts with a brand understanding why it deserves to speak and having the restraint and courage to tell the truth once it does.

When strategy leads, creativity doesn’t have to shout. It just has to be present.