For forty years, women were forbidden to play football in Brazil. Brazilian Bank, Itaú Unibanco, sponsor of all Brazilian national soccer teams, pays tribute to all women’s football athletes, creating the women’s team that never existed using AI. The campaign, created by independent agency, GALERIA.ag uses AI to envision Brazilian women’s teams from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
The 1941 decree that stated, “Women shall not be allowed to engage in sports incompatible with the conditions of their nature,” lasted until 1983 in the country, crushing the athletic dreams of generations of young women. So, to develop the campaign and honour what might have been, the bank listened to former players, historians, sociologists and specialists who helped to describe how it felt to play women’s football at the time. Based on these testimonies and other research, a designer with an expertise in AI generated images of the possible athletes to create the Brazilian teams that that never took the field for the 1959, 1963 and 1971 Women’s World Cups. They never existed.
The full campaign covers print and digital. It focuses on three pioneers of the sport, Iolanda, a player from Vespasiano during the ‘60s, who practised the sport in hiding; Dilma Mendes, a player during the ‘70s, who is currently the most award-winning football coach in the country; and Pretinha, a player from the ‘80s, who was part of the first Brazilian women’s team together with Marta and Formiga. The campaign was also supported by football historian and researcher, Aira Bonfim, as well as Giovanna Waksman (better known as Giovanninha), a 14-year-old player on the Sub-17 National Team and a rising star of the sport.
“The history of women’s football in Brazil is very rich,” stated Thaiza Akemi, marketing superintendent at Itaú Unibanco, “But most Brazilians are unfamiliar with the fact that women were once prohibited from practising the sport. Bringing light to this history in a moment of great relevance and prominence such as the World Cup, is a way to honor everything those women dreamed and accomplished. As official sponsors of all national teams, Itaú wants to do its part to give visibility to this past, bring forward this dialogue to more people and empower future teams.”
In social media, the campaign is supported by celebrities from the football world, such as Fernanda Gentil, Carol Barcelos, Formiga, former referee Fernanda Colombo, and national team player, Camila, all of whom used their profiles to expand the reach of the initiative.
“The championship has gained new importance this year,” commented Carol Mello, chief strategy officer at GALEIRA.ag. “Not for the title itself, but for what our athletes represent. This time, they have taken the field for generations of women who were forbidden to practise the sport, and also for generations of women who will represent our country wearing the Brazilian team jersey in the future. This is what our project is about. AI allowed us to bring to life teams which could not even be formed, but now at least they can be pictured.”
