Women in sport are still challenged by hate from sports fans and inequity from sports organisers. French renewable energy company, Engie, a traditional sponsor of tennis in Brazil, and its agency, Asia set out to change the situation, drawing attention to all kinds of prejudice and the need to democratise opportunities for both men and women on tennis courts and in everyday life.
Their campaign, The Weight of Inequity, is built around the heaviest tennis racquet in the world, one that is 20 times heavier than those used in matches. The racquet bears words such as “misogyny,” “intolerance,” “lower visibility,” and “inequity,” among others, which refer to issues faced by female athletes in the daily life of sport.
“As a traditional tennis sponsor in Brazil, Engie realises that the challenge for female tennis players goes far beyond the courts. That’s why we decided to create this campaign and raise a debate about gender inequity in sports. Within the company, we promote female inclusion in a daily basis and have a global goal of achieving gender parity in leadership positions by 2030,” stated Gil Maranhão, director of communication and corporate social responsibility at Engie Brazil.
The racket was displayed at the entrance of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup, the premier international team competition in women’s tennis, which honours one of the greatest athletes of all time, American Billie Jean King, now 80 years old. The athlete began challenging gender-based dress codes in the 1950s and became one of the pioneers in the fight for equal prize money in sporting competitions. The campaign featured the participation of athletes, Bia Haddad, Carol Meligeni, Laura Pigossi, Ingrid Martins, and Luisa Stefani, some of the biggest names in tennis in Brazil.
“The campaign is really impactful and I’m very happy to have my image associated with a company like ENGIE, which cares about such relevant issues as gender inequity in sports. The words written around the racket are very strong and heavy, which reflect the burden we women have to face all the time, not only in sports. The campaign gave us the opportunity to talk a little more about our experiences as women, related to those words,” commented tennis player, Carol Meligeni.
Credits
Client: ENGIE
Client Team: Leandro Provedel, Karina Howlett, Michele Schifino
Creative Agency: ASIA
Producers: Taís Caetano & Larissa Deruzzi
Planners: Carla Sá, Livia Lanzoni
Production: SWEET
Audio: VOX HAUS
Media: Camila Ferreira
PR: Casa Delas Comunicação
Social Media: Estratégica
