‘Because I’m worth it’ is one of the most iconic straplines in advertising history, yet the story of the copywriter behind the line, Ilon Specht, has remained untold.

To tell this story, McCann created the documentary ‘The Final Copy of Ilon Specht’. While the documentary has been widely acclaimed in advertising circles, it is now reaching a wider audience.

Launching on International Women’s Day, the documentary debuts on AMC+, TED and Prime Video in the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal.

The iconic ‘Because I’m worth it’ strapline has endured for over 50 years, making it one of the most enduring brand platforms in marketing history.

The strapline was originally created amidst the gender and cultural shifts of the early 1970s. When it was written by Specht, she was one of only a few women in advertising to be a copywriter. At a time when women were to be seen and not heard and men dictated a woman’s worth, Ilon rebelled, defiantly penning ‘a four-word feminist manifesto’ to the women of the world.

The Final Copy of Ilon Spect is an intimate account of the work of an unsung advertising genius through a series of moving interviews with Specht and her stepdaughter.

The documentary is the result of a collaboration between the award-winning team of two-time and current Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Ben Proudfoot, and his Breakwater Studios, with production company Traverse 32 and Brendan Gaul and Brett Henenberg. McCann’s Daryl Lee, Charlotte Francéries, and Julien Calot serve as executive producers for the documentary.

To mark the launch of the film, McCann is renaming the Ambition Collective, its talent accelerator for women creative leaders, ‘The Ilon Collective’ in honour of Specht.

Daryl Lee, Global CEO of McCann and McCann Worldgroup, said: “This story of the original woman of worth needed to be told, and told well. Ilon Specht was a leader ahead of her time—an unsung creative force whose story embodies McCann’s mantra of Truth Well Told. Telling this story is itself a continuation of the L'Oréal Paris enduring brand platform and we hope her story will inspire a new generation of radical creativity where people fight to tell their truths to the world for the inspiration of generations to come. We need Ilon’s truth about everyone’s worth to be heard today more than ever.”

Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, Global Brand President of L’Oréal Paris, added: “Ilon Specht’s contribution to our brand and to women's empowerment is immeasurable. Her words remind us daily of our worth and encourage us to pursue our ambitions without hesitation. Ilon defined a culture of self-affirmation that will echo for generations. Her four-word manifesto that changed society forever is the very beginning of L’Oréal Paris’s commitment to empower women.”

Javier Campopiano, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at McCann Worldgroup and Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at McCann, recently lifted the lid on building enduring brand platforms and championing the Final Copy of Illon Spect.