A social‑Led gaming and culture campaign exposing online abuse

83% of Australian female gamers have experienced abuse online. Most respond by switching off their microphones and playing in silence.

Maybelline New York wanted to create a campaign that didn’t just talk about online harassment, but made it impossible to ignore. Our Cannes Lions winning Through Her Eyes campaign was a social‑first gaming activation that confronted male gamers with the reality women face every time they play. And helped Maybelline New York change the game for good.

The Challenge

Online gaming is one of the most hostile digital spaces for women. Despite being one of the fastest‑growing audiences in gaming, women are routinely targeted with abuse, exclusion and harassment. The behaviour is widespread, normalised and largely invisible to those not directly affected by it.

Maybelline New York needed to address the issue authentically within gaming culture itself, without preaching from the sidelines or diluting the message through brand‑led commentary.

The HERO Insight

You can’t change behaviour people refuse to see. Statistics alone don’t shift deeply ingrained attitudes. But lived experience does.
If male gamers could hear the game the way women do, even briefly, the problem would become undeniable.

The most powerful way to create empathy was not to explain abuse, but to let players experience it firsthand.

The Idea

Through Her Eyes used live voice‑changing technology to disguise two high‑profile male gaming streamers with female voices and profiles inside a first‑person shooter game.

Playing live on Twitch, the streamers were exposed in real time to the comments, threats and behaviour women regularly face. The experience was raw, unscripted and captured exactly as it happened.

The resulting three‑minute film was distributed through gaming platforms and live streams, reaching millions of viewers inside the culture the issue exists within. Rather than presenting a polished brand message, the campaign let real reactions and real behaviour do the work.

Viewers were directed to online mental health service ReachOut for support, extending the campaign beyond awareness into action.

The Platform

The campaign culminated at Maybelline New York’s Eyes Up Cup live gaming tournament, staged at Fortress, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest esports venue.

Thirty‑two of Australia’s most influential women in gaming competed on a custom Maybelline Fortnite map designed specifically for the campaign. The live event embedded Through Her Eyes directly into gaming culture, reinforcing the message through visibility, participation and community.

This was not a one‑off film. It was a fully integrated social, live and gaming platform designed to endure.

The Impact

Through Her Eyes sparked conversation well beyond gaming streams, cutting through mainstream media, culture and industry commentary.

The campaign reached millions through live streaming, social platforms and earned media, igniting debate around online behaviour in gaming spaces and driving meaningful engagement with ReachOut. It positioned Maybelline New York as a brand willing to confront cultural issues directly, rather than commenting on them from a distance.

The globally-awarded campaign went on to win the Media Federation Award for Long‑Term Effectiveness, recognising its sustained impact in changing awareness, conversation and behaviour around online abuse.

Commercially, the campaign was Maybelline New York’s most successful Australian campaign ever, growing same-store market-share by year-on-year by over 24%.