Sport England Rolls Out Next Phase Of Its Inspirational Ongoing #ThisGirlCan Initiative

Marking the fifth anniversary of the inspirational and real ‘This Girl Can’ initiative, Sport England has gone beyond the emotional and practical barriers which women face to shine the spotlight on the related societal issues that put women off being active with a campaign spanning multi-media channels, influencers and a brand partnership with Sure.

Thus far this inspiring and successful campaign has encouraged 4 million women to get active since it launched in late 2014, but two-fifths of women in the UK still aren’t active.

Indeed, new research from the organisation shows that 63% of women who see slim, toned bodies on social media say this has a negative impact on them, while 24% who follow fitness influencers say they make them feel bad about themselves.

Indeed, according to a Sport England study, only 18% of women find mainstream and brand fitness influencers relatable. And yet is finds that there is still an appetite for more relatable content online with participants saying they would feel positive about women on social media posting about exercising without make-up, sweating and discussing how they overcame challenges to being active.

So, to tackle this issue, the sports body has extended its tried and tested creative formula through a fresh media approach to showcase the unfiltered reality that exercise is not an exclusive space for graceful athletes who never even seem to sweat.

Created by long term agency partner FCB Inferno, the new wave of work was teased socially on 13 January

Warming up for tomorrow#ThisGirlCan pic.twitter.com/OT1IycUVv7

— This Girl Can (@ThisGirlCanUK) January 13, 2020

before and avalanche of PR provided a launch boost to the flagship spot which debuted online on 14 January and on-air from 17 January.

The hero ‘Me Again’ ad presents a host of societal barriers that can prevent women from throwing on her sports gear – these range from breastfeeding children and menopause, to periods, menstrual cramps and LGBT+ and disability inclusion – and this campaign seeks to celebrate and empower women who push through their particular challenges.

One women is seen doing yoga to ease heavy menstrual cramps, while a mum-of-three is shown breastfeeding before handing her baby over to her partner to play netball.

Alongside this, a gym-going mother and daughter are seen using exercise to combat their symptoms of menopause and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

A ketyaudio strand of the first campaign was Missy Elliott’s memorable ‘Get Ur Freak On’ track and the latest wave of work is accompanied by Toy Boy star and rapper Little Simz’s ‘Offence’: a track who’s lyrics reinforce that it is time women feel less judged and defined by society.

The spearhead spot, directed by Ali Kurr, is supported by out-of-home with a big social push that sees a series of online videos starring the women featured in the ad.

As well as the flagship film and supporting ads and content, Sport England has revamped its web platform which now features an improved activity finder: an online tool for women to find accessible ways of getting active in their own area.

Another fresh strand of the new work sees Sport England team up with Unilever-owned women’s deodorant Sure to both start a new fund and a limited-edition #ThisGirlCan deodorant.

The fund, which is also backed by the National Lottery, aims to help local communities to fund projects that encourage girls to get active and local organisations and community centres can bid for grants from between £300 to up to £10,000.

The deodorant, which is on sale in January, was designed by the This Girl Can team and aims to be a practical product which also helps women to become active.

“Once you create a movement, it is not yours alone to control,” said FCB Inferno CCO Owen Lee on the challenges the agency and client faced with the new work. “You have to listen carefully to the social conversation, respect it and shape your work accordingly. Almost immediately, the This Girl Can community was hugely active and it spawned much of our creative thinking.”

Sport England’s director of insight Lisa O’Keefe also admits to worrying about keeping the momentum going year-on-year: “The way through it is to stick to the research, so we let ourselves get carried away with the creative angle, that we in the room think is great. We go back to the basics and think what is happening to women today and ask why are they finding it difficult to be active.”

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Links:

This Girl Can

http://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/user/thisgirlcanuk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/This-Girl-Can/1486200494975441?ref=profile

https://plus.google.com/106091288943299282651/videos

https://twitter.com/ThisGirlCanUK

@ThisGirlCanUK

#ThisGirlCan

http://instagram.com/thisgirlcanuk

Sport England

https://www.sportengland.org/

FCB Inferno

https://www.fcbinferno.com/