GIRLS WHO CODE | DOJACODE | 2022
Write Code, and Doja Appears / GIRLS WHO CODE "DOJACODE"
"Doja Cat is one of 999 things girls care about." That one sentence sums up the whole idea. If girls aren't interested in coding, why not use one of those 999 things to pull them in? Doja, in this case.
The problem
Girls Who Code is a nonprofit working to close the gender gap in tech. Since it was founded in 2012, it has tried to get young women interested in computer science. But in reality, there are far more things competing for their attention than coding is. The challenge was how to close that gap.
The insight
The question Mojo Supermarket asked was simple: instead of "getting Doja to teach coding," what if they asked "can Doja make coding cool?" The idea was to turn the act of learning itself into entertainment.
The idea
They made it so you could edit Doja Cat's music video for "Woman" yourself, using CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Change the pattern on her nails, change the color of the sky, make Doja herself appear on a blank screen. Write one line of code, and the video changes right in front of you. So beginners wouldn't get lost, it clearly shows what to type. It was made by Mojo Supermarket, Active Theory, and RCA Records.
What happened
At Cannes Lions 2022, it won two Gold Lions, three Silver Lions, one Bronze Lion, and a Silver Glass Lion. It also won at The One Show and the Clio Awards. On YouTube, it was viewed more than 40 million times within three weeks of release.
Afterthought
Using something people already love as an entry point is basic education theory, but pulling it off well is hard. A cultural icon, a genuinely useful coding language, and the instant payoff of seeing your own edits change the video right away — when you combine all three, that feeling of "being taught" disappears. It's just fun, and before you know it, you're writing code. They looked at reality as it is, didn't give up, and came up with the best possible answer.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2022
