Ilon Specht, who empowered women with "I'm worth it" ads, has died at age 81

She came up with a feminist campaign for a hair coloring product when she challenged the perceptions of men at her advertising agency.

Ilon Specht, who rebelled against her patriarchal male colleagues at an advertising agency by writing a successful television commercial for L'Oréal's Preference hair coloring product that carried an enduring message of feminist empowerment, died April 20 at her son's home in Barrington, IL, near Providence. She was 81 years old.

Her son, Brady Case, said the cause was complications from endometrial cancer.

It was 1973. Ms. Specht was working as a copywriter at the McCann-Erickson (now McCann) agency in Manhattan. L'Oréal was using Preference, a relatively new product, to challenge Clairol's Nice 'n Easy, which dominated the market. The agency team had a month to create a campaign to replace the canceled one.

"We were sitting in a big office, and everyone was discussing what the ad should be", Ms. Specht told Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker in 1999. "They wanted to do something with a woman sitting by the window and the wind blowing through the curtains. You know, one of those fake places with big glamorous curtains. The woman was a complete object. I don't even think she spoke. They just didn't understand her".

"They" were men who wanted a traditional commercial, and their expectations she rejected. Swearing to herself with anger, she wrote the commercial in about five minutes.

"I use the most expensive hair dye in the world", the ad read, "Preference by L'Oréal. It's not about me caring about money. It's about me taking care of my hair. And it's not just about the color. I expect great color. More important to me is how my hair feels. It's smooth and silky, but with body. They feel nice against my neck. In fact, I don't mind spending more money on L'Oréal".