PARIS — The short documentary on Ilon Specht, who coined one of the most memorable and feminist taglines in beauty marketing, “Because I’m Worth It,” is now streaming on Prime Video.
In a campaign from 1973, she used L’Oréal Paris’ Préférence premium hair color product to channel feminist empowerment.
“Préférence at the time was the most expensive hair color on the market, costing $2.50,” said Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, global brand president of L’Oréal Paris, explaining it was also of the best quality, for those who cared for their hair.
In a male-dominated advertising world, Specht, a copywriter in her early 20s at the time, came up with the tagline while at McCann-Erickson.
She is the subject of the 17-minute documentary directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot. Called “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht,” it premiered in June 2024 at Tribeca X.
The documentary subsequently garnered the Best Documentary Short at Lunenburg Doc Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Festival, Chelsea Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, allowing it to qualify for an Academy Award nomination in the short film category.
Specht passed away last April, one day after her 81st birthday.
“What I found marvelous was that Ilon’s iconic tagline ‘Because You’re Worth It’ was not simply a clever advertising mantra or flippant line,” said Proudfoot in a statement. “It was a profound reflection of who Ilon was. I love that these words, written by a 23-year-old over 50 years ago, are now embroidered into the fabric of our culture.”
“Because I’m Worth It” became the longest-running ad copy in history, according to L’Oréal. The tagline has also been translated into 40 languages.
“The L’Oréal Paris brand is driven by the tagline ‘Because I’m Worth It,’” underlined Viguier-Hovasse. “It’s really a declaration to the world that we are fighting for women’s empowerment and for the elevation of women in society.
“It is at the very core of everything we do,” she continued. “We offer women very high-quality products at a price that is, at the end of the day, very accessible.”
The documentary features interviews with Specht at her apartment at the Dakota in New York, as well as archival imagery. It traces her debut in advertising, obstacles she faced as a woman in the industry full of men and her quest for women’s empowerment.
“Our film shows that [the tagline’s words] tell a deeper story that I think will surprise, move and ultimately challenge audiences as it did me,” said Proudfoot, who had full creative oversight of the documentary. “I am deeply grateful to all those who paved the way for this film’s creation and distribution, especially producers Rachel Greenwald and Brendan Gaul, and I can’t wait for the world to meet Ilon eye-to-eye.”
“The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” was born out of Proudfoot’s “Almost Famous” video series produced for The New York Times, which highlights under-recognized figures in history, oftentimes women. A friend from production company Traverse32, which is associated with McCann and produced the Specht documentary with Breakwater Studios, approached Proudfoot with the idea of telling her story on video.
Streaming on Prime allows for a wider audience to see the documentary, which has gone live in the run-up to Women’s Day, on March 8.
Viguier-Hovasse called L’Oréal Paris’ tagline “part of the history of feminism in the U.S. in 1971. It’s really a social piece of content.”
One that still resonates strongly today.
“The fact that we repeat constantly to women that they are worth it can only be a great accelerator of gender equality,” said Viguier-Hovasse.
