JOY Collective Wins Campaign Of The Year For Transformative Work With Dove And The Crown Act Movement At Illustrious 2021 PRweek Awards

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Black and women-owned multimedia agency, JOY Collective, was awarded with "Campaign of the Year" at last night's illustrious 2021 PRWeek Awards for its inspiring work with the Dove brand and the CROWN Coalition on The CROWN Act. JOY was presented the top award of the evening, as well as Best in Public Affairs. The PRWeek Awards are a leading symbol of excellence and leadership, celebrating the best of the best corporate, agency, nonprofit, and education teams and the work they produced.  As stated on the PRWeek website, "The judges were impressed by the campaign's ability to not just address the need for meaningful change, but also help enact it." "Excellent, meaningful and relevant," raved one judge. "They could not have executed a better campaign. Relevant ties to an important moment in time, given what was happening in the news," commented another.

The CROWN Act legislation was first introduced in California to ensure protection against race-based hair discrimination by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective hairstyles in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and state Education Codes. This legislation addresses unfair grooming policies that have a disparate impact on Black women, men and children and has drawn attention to cultural and racial discrimination taking place within the workplace and in schools. The CROWN Act is now law in 8 states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, Maryland and Connecticut and 20 municipalities.  Thirty-two (32) states have either pre-filed, filed, or intend to introduce the legislation.  In 2020, a federal bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and will need to be reintroduced in Congress this year.

JOY Collective is a powerhouse, award-winning marketing firm driven by cultural insights, and is led by Kelli Joy Richardson Lawson and Orlena Nwokah Blanchard.  Also named one of Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies in 2019 and Inc.'s 2020 Best in Business for Established Excellence, JOY created the CROWN movement in 2018 and continues to lead the community engagement, legislative advocacy, and integrated grassroots efforts to help pass the CROWN Act to "Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair". This CROWN movement and its transformative contribution to creating a more just and equitable society has also received the #1 Campaign at the Global SABRE Awards, Best in Show and Advocacy awards at the North American SABRE Awards, the Cynopsis Best Social Justice Awareness Campaign/Partnership award and the Glossy Beauty Award for Best Multi-Platform Campaign.

"I am thrilled that The CROWN Act movement continues to be recognized for its meaningful impact," states Kelli Richardson Lawson, JOY Collective Founder & CEO. "We are so proud to work with Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP & COO of North American Beauty at Unilever and the Dove team, along with our founding members and supporters in the CROWN Coalition to ensure we can drive an end to hair discrimination for good.  As Black women, it is important to us that we are able to wear our natural hair and protective hairstyles without fear of consequence in the workplace or in schools. We won't stop until we have eradicated hair-based discrimination in all 50 states."

For more information on JOY Collective, please visit www.joycollective.com. To join the CROWN Act movement, please visit www.thecrownact.com and sign the petition to pass the CROWN Act.

JOY Collective
JOY Collective is a Black and woman-owned cultural insights, marketing and advertising agency dedicated to creating initiatives that drive brand love while positively impacting lives. JOY was ranked AdWeek's 6th fastest growing media company in the world in 2019 and recently won the 2020 Global SABRE Award for Best Campaign for Dove/The CROWN Act and the Inc. "Best in Business" Bronze Award for Established Excellence in 2020.  JOY's polycultural team proudly delivers purpose-driven branding, advertising, marketing, event production, and civic engagement services to elevate and drive meaningful consumer engagement; all with a spirit of JOY.  For more information about JOY Collective, visit https://joycollective.com.

Contact 
Marcy Polanco 
202.885.5527 
[email protected] 

Shemika Harmitt 
202.885.5527 
[email protected]

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SOURCE JOY Collective