FCB Inferno’s This Girl Can was the front runner in a larger movement for equality for women that is strong, determined and making impressive gains. It allowed women to be sweaty, have wobbly bits and lack athletic finesse. It was the first time women had been given permission to be “real” when exercising and was a response to statistics that showed how few women participated in sport even though 75% stated that they wanted to.
It won the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change at Cannes last year. This Girl Can did a great deal to shorten the gap in participation in exercise between men and women, but it didn’t address the other other gap – the age gap.
And that is what it is doing now.
Sport England’s chief executive officer, Jennie Price, commented, “This Girl Can has made a real difference since it launched, with the number of women doing regular physical activity and sport now at an all-time high. But there’s a lot more to do. The gender gap still exists. Most women still feel judged when they play sport or exercise. We feel guilty for stopping and starting, for hesitating, for not looking perfect. The women and girls in this campaign remind us that’s normal and create some strong images that we hope millions of women will relate to.”
The new campaign, commissioned by Sport England and funded by the National Lottery, intends to encourage older women to get active and women who have stopped playing sport to take it up again. It has kicked off in social media, digital media and out-of-home, and a new TVC will launch in February, directed by Kim Gehrig through Somesuch.
The ads aim to overcome prejudice and reticence that hinders women from undertaking exercise at various stages of their lives. One execution, for example, challenges women to unleash their inner beginner.
Like its predecessor, this phase of the campaign is based on the insight that fear of the judgement of others is the main barrier stopping women from participating in sport.
Al Young, chief creative officer of FCB Inferno, noted, “We were humbled and immensely proud of the success of the first campaign and of how its legacy lives on. This second brief presented us with a huge challenge, and this time round we have focused on the roller-coaster realities of the relationship with exercise – something that is rarely talked about. We are confident this will help even more girls and women manage their fear of judgement when getting active.”
Credits:
Agency: FCB Inferno
Copywriter: Martin McAllister
Art director: Ben Edwards
Client: Sport England/ This Girl Can
