In December, Atlanta based brand management company, EPiC Measures, launched a thought-provoking video titled, Today’s Leading Ladies (TLL). A spin-off from an article published in Savoy magazine during Women’s History Month 2007, the video is both passionate and riveting.

Today’s Leading Ladies spotlights 14 women who have accomplished much within their area of influence. Among those featured are TV icon, Bern Nadette Stanis (Good Times); actress, director, and dialogue coach, Chip Hurd; R&B/Pop recording artist Joy Enriquez; singer and songwriter, Joann Rosario and The Apprentice candidate, Roxanne Wilson.

When asked what was the inspiration for the video, executive producer, Isha Edwards advised, “There are so many positive images or stories that are not depicted in film, TV or in videos…It was just time.”

Edwards who also executive produced the video, Celebrating the Men that Lead is duly adamant about promoting positive images in media. “Bad things happen often but so do good things,” Edwards said. “However, when positive images are overshadowed by negative images people become hopeless and lose sight of what life is really about.”

Described as “a dedication to women and mothers everywhere,” TLL wanes in appeal compared with other videos launched via Internet media outlets, YouTube and MySpace. Where webisodes and viral videos garner hundreds of thousands of hits overnight on these social sites, after two weeks on YouTube, the TLL video tracked a mere 380 views.

Not moved by numbers, Edwards attributes viewer response to the video’s intent to stimulate the right emotion. “The theme for this video is hope, love, and respect. It was created to encourage, if not, empower women. Even though everyone needs encouragement and desires to be loved, the theme does not stimulate the senses the same way fear, anger, intrigue, drama, violence or sensuality do. So, it’s warranted that the numbers did not immediately go through the roof,” Edwards advised.

Numbers however, would help. Earlier in December, the Silicon Alley Insider noted that Google's YouTube developed a program, which will allow users (or content providers) to generate ad revenue from uploaded videos. According to the Insider, YouTube will only accept “users [to the program] who have built a significant audience on YouTube (as measured by video views, subscribers, etc.) and who consistently comply with the YouTube Terms of Use."  More than 100 YouTube users who generate millions of video views each week were added to a test version of the program last year.

Critics who support the notion that numbers directly correlate to appeal, influence, and the ability to convert a captive audience to cash transactions would be annoyed by Edwards’ view, which is weighed by impact. “It’s the little things we do that have a great--often damaging--impact on our lives and others. Influencing 380 people to do the right thing now will yield a positive return that adds value later,” Edwards encouraged. 

Edwards is not entirely alone in her sentiments.  In response to a wildly popular web-based video containing “astonishing” content commenter Cal Ripken said, “When something that vile can go viral, we're in a weird societal place.” The video Ripken refers to features two young women who, among other things, appear to consume human feces.  Although the video could not be posted on YouTube (it violates content terms of use), reaction videos have garnered well over 33 million views on YouTube since October 2007. Members of  alternative hip-hop-neo soul recording group, The Roots are among those featured reacting to the video.

Portraying Women in Media

Does public demand for graphic if not, questionable content automatically warrant supply by media outlets? Also featured in the TLL video is Roberta Shields. Shields, who is the president of The Ludacris Foundation and mother of rapper-actor, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges says that the media is not solely responsible for the lack of positive images—especially images of women. According to Shields, “There is something beyond just the images that [we] see. It’s about what we are thinking; who we are inside and who’s been nurturing that.”

Feeling the need for positive images of African American women in the media, Procter and Gamble’s (P&G) associate director of Multicultural Marketing, Najoh Tita-Reid, launched the My Black is Beautiful campaign. Via the campaign’s website, P&G said it “feels a responsibility to both celebrate African American women and challenge the sometimes difficult ways in which that beauty is reflected in popular media.”

Although P&Gs campaign is related to “ignite[ing] and lead[ing] a celebration of and national discussion surrounding black beauty,” the campaign is similar to Edwards’ effort in that it reflects a desire to see more positive images in media.

With little promotional effort, Edwards’ debut video, Celebrating the Men that Lead has garnered over 1,200 views on YouTube since June 2007. At press time, views for the Today’s Leading Ladies video totaled 793. If nothing else, it shows that someone is watching and hopefully being inspired to do good which seems to be all that Edwards is asking.

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