'A whore, a phoney, a little bitch': women recall insults of female friends for 'It Won't Stick'

FCB Amsterdam and Wefilm have joined forces to launch ‘It Won’t Stick’, a campaign that encourages women to support – not shame – each other by commiting real-life hurtful comments to film.

The hero spot features 24 Dutch women who vocalise names they’ve been called and things they’ve been sneered at for, including their stretchmarks and choosing to kiss their children on the lips.

Read as a poem, the girl-on-girl hate is accompanied by empowering shows of women’s daily lives: brushing their hair, taking a bath, playing with their kids and dancing in their living room.  

The final line of the soliloquy declares: “My skin once was damaged but now it is thick, so whatever dirt you throw at me, it simply won’t stick.”

The initiative was sparked from research that showed 70% of women have been hurt by comments made by someone they consider a friend.

Director Basha de Bruijn explained the film – with its slow shots and calming violin backing – is about women finding a sense of peace with themselves.

“We live in a world where it seems like everything is about appearance,” she said “We can be real bitches to others, and of course, to ourselves. It's time we start being a bit nicer and don’t waste our time on bad vibes. I hope we can inspire other women to just let go and be comfortable in your own skin.”

As part of the campaign, FCB Amsterdam hopes that women will share their experiences of how they have risen above shaming by using the hashtag #itwontstick on social media. The stories told will also be hosted on a dedicated microsite.

Michael Kouwenhoven and Dimitri Hubregtse, FCB Amsterdam creative directors, said in a joint statement: “When we started working on ‘It Won’t Stick’ with Basha, we wanted to create a powerful answer to all hating and shaming women had to experience. We realized quickly that we can’t stop all the hating, but what we can do is use our creativity to give women confidence and strength to cope with all the looks in the gym, comments online and all the gossip in between.

“That’s what we hope to achieve with It Won’t Stick – that women will unite and that the sound of the positive stories will be louder than all the negativity."