Rimmel London is tackling cyber-bulling in their latest campaign, called I Will Not Be Deleted. The U.K.-based beauty brand conducted research in 10 countries and discovered that 15o million images are deleted from social media every year due to online beauty bullying. To combat this issue, Rimmel brought in 14 real women to tell their stories.
Rimmel spoke about cyber-bullying to over 11,000 women, aged 16-25, across 10 countries. Through their research, the brand discovered that one in every four women had been a victim of cyber-bulling. Of those women, 65 percent said they lost confidence after receiving hateful comments. Forty-six percent went on to say that they harmed themselves physically or through an eating disorder or substance abuse after being bullied.
The brand created a powerful series of videos featuring ambassadors Cara Delevingne and Rita Ora, as well as a handful of beauty bloggers, in which these women discussed how online beauty bullying has impacted them.
In one of the videos, each of the women shared hurtful comments that they've read on social media. Then, they discussed how they are overcoming the hate. "Their hate isn't thicker than the skin I'm in," one blogger, Eden, 18, said.
Other videos, which can be found on Rimmel's Instagram, focus on each of the women individually so that they can fully share their stories.
Delevingne, who has been a Rimmel London ambassador since 2016, shared that it is "heartbreaking" for her to see people make beauty decisions based on the fear of being bullied. "The message that I have for young people who are being affected is that you are enough," Delevingne said in a statement about the I Will Not Be Deleted campaign.
Ora has also been on the Rimmel team for two years. In her own statement, she expressed how grateful she is to be a part of the campaign and to work with such "unique individuals."
Rimmel London is now partnering with the Cybersmile Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting victims of cyber-bullying and hate campaigns, to teach people how to cope with and respond to hateful comments online. The I Will Not Be Deleted campaign is ultimately a celebration of everyone's rights to express themselves and stand up to cyber-bullies.
Share your story on social media using #IWillNotBeDeleted.
