Maybelline and HERO Ask Gamers to See Through Their Eyes

Australia’s #1 makeup brand, Maybelline New York has today launched a new campaign via independent creative agency HERO to showcase the toxic harassment facing women, non-binary people and other LGBTQIA+ communities in the Australian gaming universe, in line with their mission to give everyone the self-confidence to express their beauty, to play and to make change.

The global beauty icon, part of the L’Oréal Groupe, is lifting the lid on the devastating impacts discrimination is having on gamer mental health, as part of its Brave Together platform — a global initiative to destigmatize anxiety and depression, and support all those impacted.

The new Through Their Eyes campaign comes off the back of recent national survey results on the level of discrimination across all genders in the Australian gaming space, which revealed 83% of female identifying and 50% of LGBTQIA+ identifying gamers have directly experienced and/or observed offensive behaviour or language while online gaming, with 55% of female identifying and 67% of LGBTQIA+ identifying players admitting to turning off their microphone when playing to hide their gender and avoid harassment.

To shine a light on this, Maybelline has partnered with HERO to release an eye-opening film that follows male gamers into the female lived experience through voice-modification software.

The film shows prominent Aussie male gamers and content creators, Joel “JoelBergs” Bergs and Drew “DrewD0g” Warne confronted by gamer discrimination, seeing it literally through female eyes by playing a first-person shooter game with female-altered voices and fake female profiles.

Within less than two hours of game play with altered voices, the male players are bombarded with abusive comments whilst well-known female-identifying gamers, Amber “PaladinAmber” Wadham and Luna “Luminumn” are watching on, finding alarming similarities to the discrimination they face in their own experiences.

At the conclusion, player Amber is asked by Joel why she keeps gaming if she always encountered such abuse and responds with, “Because I love [playing].” Amber continues, “It doesn’t have to be a boys’ club or a girls’ club. Gaming is made for everyone, and should be experienced by everyone.”

Says Alexandra Shadbolt, marketing director, Maybelline: “Maybelline New York has always advocated for feeling confident, powerful and represented. Since the launch of our Brave Together initiative in 2022, it has been our passion to learn more about the lived experiences of women, non-binary people and other LGBTQIA+ communities to understand where more work needs to be done, whilst providing more immediate support to those impacted by anxiety and depression.

“In understanding the sheer amount of discrimination these communities face in the gaming sphere, we really wanted to showcase this lived experience for more Australians to see what it’s really like in pockets of our online world. We hope that seeing it all play out through the eyes of our players, more gamers can think differently about their own actions and we can all be more conscious of creating a safer, inclusive space in gaming.”

Says Shane Geffen, executive creative director, HERO: “The more we delved into the gaming world, the more evidence we found that it was a toxic environment for female, trans and non-binary players. Something that was going unchecked.”

We spoke to Shane to get more detail on this extraordinary campaign.

LBB> Why did Maybelline choose to get involved in an issue like the harassment of female gamers? Could you tell us anything more about your brief, and the Brave Together initiative generally?

Shane> Maybelline wanted to enter the world of gaming and asked us to help them play in this space.  They already have a strong partnership with Braver Together a global initiative that helps support everyone experiencing anxiety and depression. This was a fitting chance to address the toxic culture that exists in gaming. But first we needed data to back it up. We started by commissioning a national survey across all genders in the Australian gaming space. Those results were pretty eye opening. 83% of female identifying and 50% of LGBTQIA+ identifying gamers have directly experienced harassment and many admitted to turning off their microphones to hide their gender. That was all the info we needed to bring the idea to life.

LBB> How did you develop this "undercover" idea? It's so original!

Shane> Once we had the survey results the creative solution was simple, we wanted to show male gamers what it was like to play through a woman’s eyes. Using voice modification software, we disguised two prominent Aussie male gamers, and gave them fake female profiles in a live online first-person shooter game, so they saw what it was like to play as a female. There was plenty pre-prod before and on the day and we weren’t sure if we’d get any reactions during the shoot at all. But when we start rolling the barrage of insults and derogatory comments flooded in, many of which were too confronting to even use. It was hard to witness but backed why we set out to do this.

LBB> How did you get JoelBergs and DrewD0g involved?

Shane> All the gamers including Luna and Amber have been hugely supportive of this project. When approached with the idea, both Joel and Drew immediately wanted in. They have a combined audience of over 10 million followers across YouTube and Twitch and are well respected in the gaming community. So to have them as advocates and allies was crucial.  They were genuinely shocked and deflated after experience first-hand the constant abuse and bullying that female gamers go through. 

LBB> What sort of a response are you looking for? What metrics will be used to determine success or impact?

Shane> At its simplest, this is about getting as many people as possible to watch the content, feel outraged, and keep their eyes up for abuse and harassment online. The landing page is where anyone can learn more about the campaign, upcoming inclusive gaming events we have planned and also seek help through ReachOut if they’ve been affected. We’ll be tracking the campaign through this through online engagement metrics and social listening.

Says Anneliese Sullivan, copywriter, HERO: “It was truly shocking. What we could witness in just a few short hours made us only imagine how it feels to face this hate everyday.

“It’s really our vision for this film to play a part in turning ambivalent gamers into allies for a safer, more inclusive gaming community for everyone.”

Says Tracey Campbell, director of marketing and fundraising at ReachOut: “Online spaces can be positive places for young people to learn, relax and connect with their communities. And, we know that gaming has many positive impacts on the lives of so many young people across Australia that love it. However, young people also tell us at ReachOut that they also experience things like discrimination, bullying and harassment online.

“ReachOut continues to call on online platforms to do more to make their products safer spaces for young people. We also encourage young people and their parents to take a proactive approach to staying safe while gaming, and to seek support if they need it from places such as Kids Helpline, ReachOut and the eSafety Commission.”

The 3-minute film launches across owned social media channels and will be screened at Maybelline’s live gaming tournament, the Eyes Up Cup, next month. The tournament will be contested between 32 of Australia’s most impactful women in gaming on a custom Maybelline New York Fortnite mod map designed for the campaign in a collaboration between Maybelline New York, Click Media, Google, and HERO.

To learn more about Maybelline New York’s Through Their Eyes campaign and view the film, visit maybelline.com.au/throughtheireyes.