Sometimes epic ad fails do good. Sydney Sweeney’s dire “sexual fantasy” Novig campaign has resulted in social media being flooded with posts showing what women in sport can do and the resurgence of conversations about how to keep women in sport.

In New Zealand, 2degrees and TBWA have launched a very timely campaign to conquer the results of thinking like Sweeney & Novig’s. The campaign aims to keep girls playing sport – because in their research, more than half (55%) of girls surveyed said they feel more pressure when supporters are watching, while almost all (99%) believe the right kind of sideline support could help girls stay in sport for longer. And in far too many countries, girls are leaving organised sport at around twice the rate of boys.

The campaign, The SupportHER Line, turns the sideline into a powerful new message board to help keep girls in the game and is the latest work from 2degrees’ SupportHER Club, part of its wider Fighting for Fair commitment to tackling the barriers that stop girls from staying in sport. It recognises that when it comes to sideline support, there can be a fine line between encouragement and pressure.

While supporters overwhelmingly want to help, for young girls already processing the game, their coach, teammates and their own performance, well-intended encouragement can quickly become another instruction or expectation for girls to manage. Research and conversations with girls aged 11-16 found that sideline constant coaching, criticism and calls to “do better” can make them second-guess their instincts, while simple messages of belief, effort and reassurance help them feel supported and confident to keep playing.

Rather than tell supporters what to say, 2degrees asked girls what they wanted to hear. Their answers became The SupportHER Line – a distinctive blue sporting boundary carrying phrases such as “I’m proud of you”, “We’ve got this, girls,” “Keep your head up,” and “It’s okay, next time”.

The campaign’s hero 90-second film captures girls helping to create the intervention themselves before transforming their own sideline with the words that build confidence and challenge supporters to Know Where the Line Is.

The campaign extends across TV, social, digital, earned media and grassroots sport, with The Line available as a physical boundary line that sports teams and communities can order online for their local field or court.

On the SupportHER Club website, there is an interactive quiz and practical advice from a sports psychologist to help parents and other supporters better understand what positive support looks and sounds like.

In late August, The SupportHER Line also reached one of New Zealand women’s sport’s most visible stages, appearing at the Black Ferns vs Wallaroos test at Go Media Stadium.  A blue boundary was painted half a metre outside the regulation white line, bringing the campaign into the match-day environment. Ahead of kick-off, Dame Valerie Adams joined a pre-match day cross to talk about positive sideline support from her own experience.

Shane Bradnick, chief creative officer at TBWA\New Zealand,stated, “There was already a line separating the players from the supporters at every game – we just gave it another job. Disruption is about challenging the conventions people take for granted, and in this case, it meant looking at something as familiar as the line around a sports field and asking what else it could do. Most people on the sideline are there because they care. But in the heat of the game, encouragement can become instruction or pressure without us even realising it. The Line we’ve created puts the words girls actually want to hear right where they’re needed. And taking this from local community grassroots to a Black Ferns test shows how one simple idea can work at every level of the game.”

2degrees chief marketing and strategy officer, Zac Summers, added, “2degrees is committed to Fighting for Fair for women and girls in sport and the SupportHER Club is how we bring that commitment to life. The Line is our way of giving girls a voice, helping supporters reflect on their own encouragement and, hopefully, starting more conversations between parents, coaches and the girls they support.”

Credits:
Client: 2degrees
Zac Summers: Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer 
Dave Pearce: GM Marketing  
Anna Gorman: Senior Sponsorship and Community Manager 
Nick Cullen: Market Research & Sponsorship Project Manager
Eva Thomson: Associate Sponsorship and Events Manager 
Quentin Reade: Head of Communications   

Creative Agency: TBWA\New Zealand 
CEO: Catherine Harris 
CCO: Shane Bradnick 
Creative Partners: Ash Wilding & Daniel Davison
Senior Designer: Gabrielle Teasel
Group Strategy Director: Mark Lloyd
General Manager: Simon Mills 
Senior Account Director: Michael Lyons
Head of TV Production: Jodie Hari 
Mark Paisey: Senior Producer  

PR: Eleven PR 
Media: OMD New Zealand

Production Company:  Supernormal
Liv McClymont: Director
Matt McKenzie: EP & Managing Director
Amanda Summersby: Producer
Collaboration Partner: Dom Vettise @ Vettise Psychology