Locals stars bare it all in new self-love campaign

Last week, Ackermans challenged the tired ideas of beauty with its Valentine’s Day #IAmMe campaign.

Featuring Busiswa Gqulu, Pearl Modiadie, Minki van der Westhuizen, Rami Chuene and Kim Jayde – all in their favourite Valentine’s Day themed lingerie – the idea behind the campaign was to again promote the fact that everyone should be able to wear what they want.

“The body-positivity movement is gaining traction all over the globe, and #IAmMe says to women that rather than hide or grudgingly accept your flaws, these so-called ‘imperfections’ are what make you unique,” says Tanya Ruiters from Ackermans.

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“These five women are beautiful, talented and influential; they’re comfortable in their own skin and wholeheartedly embrace every aspect of themselves. They truly embody the spirit of #IAmMe.”

The impact of this multiplatform campaign has tongues wagging – and that’s thanks to shrewd pre-production.

“One of our challenges was to attempt to tangibly capture this spirit of ‘women supporting women’ across every touchpoint of the campaign, and I believe we’ve achieved this,” says Christo pher Smith, #IAmMe creative director.

“We wanted to tell the story of five enormously successful, vivacious women at the top of their game, and show that they have the same insecurities and vulnerabilities as all of us – yet they’re choosing to embrace these ‘flaws’.

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“And in this ‘age of the influencer’, we wanted to leverage their followings for good; using their platforms to encourage other women to do the same, and join the movement,” Smith adds.

The campaign displays stretch marks, curves and bumps, in all their glory – because women have flaws.

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