Back in June, the European Commission rightfully came under fire after unleashing their horrible "Science: It's a Girl Thing" campaign, which included a commercial that used makeup and fashion to try to persuade young women into scientific industries. The campaign received an immediate backlash and was quickly pulled. Since then, the EU Commission announced that it would be holding a contest to find a new campaign meant to encourage young girls into the sciences and have recently announced their winners, all of which have improved tremendously on the first initial ad.

The first of the two winners in the retitled "Science: It's Your Thing" campaign hails from France and uses an intelligent and straightforward appeal as its impetus, simply explaining why it's important for women to be represented in scientific research, both as subjects and as the researchers themselves. The second winner, out of Australia, is slightly more in vein with the initial "Science: It's a Girl Thing" ad though it's not nearly as insulting. Rather than using sexuality and the advertising traits of the cosmetic industry to trick girls into the sciences, the Australian ad's message is simple: Science can be fun.

The runner up for the contest is from the good ol' U.S. of A. (and is actually my favorite). Titled "The Future Belongs to Us," the ad features a group of "smart, strong, passionate young women" who are working to become future scientists in order to change the world. Ugh, I just got a whole lotta dust in my eyes.

After Complete #FAIL, the European Commission Finds Some Way Better Videos to Promote Women in Science [The Atlantic]