NEW YORK, NY, September 3, 2020 – The Ad Council’s She Can STEM campaign today announced that it will be hosting a virtual concert featuring rising star Ruth B. (“Lost Boy,” “Slow Fade”) in Minecraft[1]. The 10-song concert encourages girls to use their STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – skills to help build the concert “world” within Minecraft ahead of the virtual event. Girls can begin building the world starting on September 12, and their creations may be featured during the show. The concert will be held within Minecraft on September 19 at 8 p.m. EDT and will also be livestreamed from the She Can STEM YouTube channel. As a part of the show, Ruth B. will be performing a brand new and yet-to-be released track.
"I am excited and honored because empowering young women is something that I always wanted to incorporate into my music,” said Ruth B. “This is such a fun and innovative way to do exactly that, and I feel that a virtual concert in Minecraft is an ingenious way to do this.”
The experience in Minecraft was created pro-bono by Deloitte Digital’s Heat along with new public service advertisements (PSAs) encouraging girls to “Dare to STEM.” The new creative – which features user-generated content from girls experimenting with STEM – aims to help tween and teen girls overcome the intimidation that many may feel when it comes to STEM subjects by celebrating the exciting, unexpected and messy elements of science, technology, engineering and math. As an evolution of the She Can STEM campaign, the new “Dare to STEM” strategy continues to emphasize role modeling by showing adult and peer role models on their journeys of experimentation within STEM. It also builds confidence by rewarding girls for trying STEM – building in Minecraft provides them access to the Ruth B. concert.
Women make up half of the total college-educated workforce in the U.S., but they only constitute 25 percent of the STEM workforce, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.[2]Research shows that many girls lose interest in STEM as early as middle school, and this path continues through high school and college, ultimately leading to an underrepresentation of women in STEM careers. She Can STEM aims to dismantle the intimidating exterior of STEM fields by showing girls how fun, messy and accessible STEM can be, encouraging them to dive in, no matter where they are in their STEM journey.
“STEM has a reputation for being intimidating and reserved for those who ‘have a knack for it,’ but the reality is that STEM is for everyone,” said Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer at the Ad Council. “Through this innovative virtual concert and our ongoing dedication to sharing STEM stories from women and girls nationwide, this evolution of our She Can STEM campaign celebrates the spirit of experimentation and inspires girls to dare to STEM.”
Several popular gaming influencers, including FalseSymmetry, GamingMermaid, Shubble and Strawburry17, will be participating in the activation in Minecraft by sharing tutorials for girls who may be new to the game. Additional talent, including Mari Takahashi (AtomicMari), will also amplify the event by building parts of the world and encouraging girls to put their STEM skills to the test by doing the same in their own personal plots. In the game, girls will be able to build elements – such as fireworks displays, light shows, monuments celebrating women in their lives, music and aquariums – that may be featured throughout the concert. Girls can learn how to get involved by visiting SheCanSTEM.com/Dare-To-STEM.
The new digital, social and broadcast PSAs will run nationwide in time and space donated by the media. In the spirit of She Can STEM, the creative and virtual event were produced by all female-led teams from Heat and Unit9.
“In time for the start of a new school year, She Can STEM is encouraging girls to discover the exciting and diverse world of opportunities available through STEM to inspire them for their futures,” said Dima Rigby, Creative Director, Deloitte Digital’s Heat. “She Can STEM’s new Dare to STEM approach shatters the intimidation factor and stereotypes around STEM to give girls the confidence they need to realize their amazing potential in these fields.”
Since the launch of She Can STEM in September 2018, the campaign has been supported by a variety of corporate, nonprofit and media partners. Corporate partners include Bloomberg, Google, IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies and Verizon. Nonprofit partners include Black Girls Code, ChickTech, Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Inc., Girls Who Code, National Center for Women & Information Technology, The New York Academy of Sciences and Society of Women Engineers.
To learn more about She Can STEM, join the @SheCanSTEM community on Instagram or visit SheCanSTEM.com.
About The Ad Council
The Ad Council is where creativity and causes converge. The non-profit organization brings together the most creative minds in advertising, media, technology and marketing to address many of the nation's most important causes. The Ad Council has created many of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history. Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk. Smokey Bear. Love Has No Labels.
The Ad Council's innovative social good campaigns raise awareness, inspire action and save lives. To learn more, visit AdCouncil.org, follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter, and view the creative on YouTube.
About Heat
Heat is a full-service creative agency owned by Deloitte Digital that uses the power of surprise to solve business problems.
About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Now celebrating 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s more than 312,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.
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About Ruth B.
Ruth B…Sleek, chic, and honest - a voice in a million. Since exploding into the music industry, Ruth has quietly but intensively explored what it means to be a young woman and, more importantly, a young black woman in a world becoming more unpredictable and fraught. Viral fame suggests a glitch, a fleetingness, the phenomenon of lightning in a bottle that cannot be captured twice. For some, that’s enough, one piece of work is all they have in them. For Ruth, virality was simply a fast-forward button. By the time Vine had breathed its’ last breath, she was putting the finishing touches on her debut LP, Safe Haven. Produced by Joel Little (Lorde, Taylor Swift, Khalid, Broods), it became a multi-award nominated album that garnered critical acclaim and has racked up over 500,000 album streams. Her well-received EP, Maybe We’ll Meet Again, which was produced by Grammy nominated R&B producer D’Mile (H.E.R., Lucky Daye, Usher), came two years after her debut and during that time she had spent many nights performing sold out shows to rapturous fans across North America.
MEDIA CONTACT:
The Ad Council
Shirley Yeung
syeung@adcouncil.org
[1]The virtual concert is not an official Minecraft event. It is not approved or endorsed by, or associated or connected with, Mojang.
[2]U.S. Department of Commerce: Women in STEM: 2017 Update. Available at: https://www.commerce.gov/sites/commerce.gov/files/migrated/reports/women-in-stem-2017-update.pdf