via jane st.Arts+Culture / NewsFake ad agency sells female empowerment to brandsJane St explores the concept that capitalism is buying into girl power and digging up insecurities for moneyShareLink copied ✔️November 11, 2015Arts+CultureNewsText Hannah Rose Ewens Dove started it. Soft piano music floating through the minimalist warehouse space as a woman sits down across from a sketch artist. “Tell me about your hair,” he says, as she starts to describe different parts of her body – depreciatingly, of course – while he sketches the ugly version of her she described. Then other people describe her and he makes a beautiful, more realistic sketch using that information. Look, women, says Dove. We tell you this because we’re here for you, says Dove. You really are unpleasant to yourself, says Dove. Be good to yourself, says Dove. Buy more Dove, says Dove. As soon as feminism hit the mainstream, when Caitlyn Moran’s How To Be A Woman sat at the top of the bestseller’s list for months and The F Word started appearing in the coverlines of ELLE and Cosmo, advertisers started to see dollar signs. You can imagine corporate men sat around in a room with a focus group of 20 and 30 something woman going, “Right. So maybe this feminism thing is going to actually…sell stuff? Sheesh, I’ll take 20 feminisms right away!" A fake ad agency, “jane st.”, has parodied this and it’s amazing. The tagline: “Powering empowerment through the power of brands”. A jane.st video looks at the demand for “girl power” ads and the thirst of agencies to latch onto something. The video notes that while these ads claim to be empowering or feminist, they really just identify a new so-called “insecurity” and monopolise on that. “They might not even know they have these insecurities,” says jane st.’s Chief Empowerment Officer. “So it’s really important that we dig them up.” There’s her – the world’s first deodorant to build women’s confidence with its revolutionary zero-hour protection to let women smell exactly how they should smell. Confident. There’s Terry’s – the footwear company that finally showed women they should be comfortable enough with their feet enough to wear sandals. God bless jane st. They’ll even empower your company’s logo for free. The Dazed brand: empoweredvia jane st.Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.TrendingIlia Malinin breaks the ice – and his silenceHe does things on a skating rink that were once thought impossible. But the ‘Quad God’s’ setback at this year’s Winter Olympics brought new fire and energy to a skater seen by many as the greatest of all time Life & CultureArt & PhotographyMost loved photo stories of May 2026 Nike FashionNike celebrates the culture of soccer ahead of a summer shaped by the gameLife & Culture5 times ‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin did the impossible on the iceBeautyThe rise of the intellectual tattooLife & CultureWhy so many young people are training to be death doulasBeauty10 of the hottest Instagram accounts fusing art, sex and eroticaBeautyHoroscopes June 2026: Love deeply, take risks, and embarrass yourselfFilm & TV7 sex worker-approved films about sex workEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy