A short film from Intimus, the local Brazilian brand of Kimberly-Clark’s menstrual hygiene Kotex range, reinforced its purpose and leveraged spiking soccer interest around Qatar 2022 by telling the story of one of the first female referees, Lea Campos, who was prevented from refereeing games
On 1 December, France’s Stephanie Frappart led an all female officiating team for the Germany v Costa Rica match – becoming the first woman to take charge of a game during the World Cup finals and the campaign’s objective was to leverage this and recognise Lea Campos’ legacy and how she has inspired referees over the generations and to reinforce the importance of fighting menstruation stigmas and reinforce its ‘Period or Not, She Can’ positioning.
Brazilian born Campos was one of the first soccer referees in the world, but in 1967 was prevented from refereeing matches after other officials questioned how she would act during her period. Campos fought for several years until she was finally able to referee major matches and was instrumental in paving the way for other female referees.
Intimus’ umbrella brand purpose is ‘to encourage female progress’ and part of its mission is to establish that ‘no woman should be prevented from doing something because she is a woman and menstruates’ and this campaign brings these aims to life through a story about the importance of fighting prejudice related to menstruation.
Created by agency Ogilvy Brazil, produced by MoonHeist and directed by Olivia Lang, the three-minute film features original game day footage – from the tunnel to the pitch – during a 1967 match at which Campos was preparing to become one of the first female referees in the world to take charge of a major match. The film follows her struggle: one that is synthesised into a single dialogue between Campos and the two men representing the Brazilian football officials from the time.
The spot rolled out across TV, digital and social platforms from 21 November to maximise football interest in Brazil as Qatar 2022 kicked-off on 20 November.
The campaign was supported by a PR strategy and an influencer strand that included Brazilian skateboarder Leticia Bufoni, singer and social media star Bibi Tatto and actress/presenter Thaynara OG.
“Kotex/Intimus has, in recent years, created a series of initiatives that encourage women to pursue their dreams – period or not,” said Kimberly-Clark’s Executive Marketing Manager in Brazil Marisa Cury Cazassa. “We want to show that nothing can stop them and that their place is wherever they want, whether on the football field, in the corporate environment, behind the wheel, on the street, on skateboard, among other professions. And the trajectory of Lea Campos is a clear example of overcoming and questioning the stigma of menstruation!”
“We are proud to bring a little bit of Lea’s history to the spotlight, showing how her pioneering spirit reverberates to this day. But, above all, we want to show how important it is to fight gender prejudices in our society, so that no girl has to overcome so many obstacles just to do what she likes”, added Ogilvy Brazil Chief Creative Officer Sergio Mugnaini.
Comment
The fight to remove menstruation stigma goes on in the sports space and far beyond: indeed, it was only in November 2022 that Wimbledon finally relaxed its all-white clothing rules to allow female players to wear dark undershorts and relieve potential period-linked anxiety.
So this tactic of maximising soccer interest around the World Cup to draw attention to such discrimination is a powerful approach.
Other linked, notable brand and sponsor initiatives include UEFA partner Gatorade’s Euro 2022 training programme for female referees.
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