Women’s Euros 2022: Best Brand Campaigns

by Rebecca Hobbs

Retail and media brands from Nike to?Elle magazine?are making a mark at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament (July 6-31). We dissect the six best campaigns celebrating the rise of women’s football from niche to mainstream – four million watched the opening game in the UK alone (BBC Sport, 2022) – championing grassroots sports, and hailing players’ technical abilities.

EE’s Hope United Tackles Online Hate

British telecom brand?EE?reprised its?Hope United?campaign (launched by parent brand BT in 2021 – see?Summer of Sport: Brand Engagement Tactics) to tackle the online hate received by female players.

A 90-second ad features a montage of gory, intimidating and everyday problems faced by female footballers – for example, a gaping wound being stitched, taking a penalty, and starting their period in white shorts – followed by the issue of online abuse. Then, England international male footballer (and Hope United member)?Jordan Henderson?tells viewers that sexist online abuse isn’t women’s problem, but men’s.

EE’s?accompanying microsite?tells readers how to block and report internet abuse, and also?shows how the design?for each player’s Hope United shirt is based on the real comments (including abuse) they receive online via generative art.

For more on Hope United’s brand partnerships, see its work with?EA Sports?in Anti-Hate Campaigns Empathise with Athletes in?Cultural Diversity Campaigns: Spring 2022 Round-Up.

LinkedIn Charts Women’s Football’s Ascent

Using the transformation of women’s football from an under-the-radar, often derided game into an increasingly mainstream sport, LinkedIn’s?one-minute spot?makes the case for greater visibility of female role models across all sectors.

Viewers witness (via #FollowInHerFootsteps) the journey of?Carol Thomas, the first ever captain of the England national women’s team in 1984. She explores the history of women’s football during a 30mi walk from ‘where it all began’ – the first women’s Euros in Crewe, which was attended by 1,000 people. She ends up at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, where Euro 2022’s opening game took place, attended by 70,000 people, in addition to the four million viewers on TV.

Nike’s National Icons

In the lead-up to the event, Nike projected members of the England Euros team – including?Leah Williamson?and?Demi Stokes?– onto major landmarks and monuments, like London’s Tower Bridge and the White Cliffs of Dover. These visuals cast them as sporting icons deserving of national pride and adulation. While women’s football has made strides in recent years, its reputation, financial value and cultural clout still trail behind the men’s game.

The sports giant released a?90-second ad?also focusing on driving home the worthiness of women’s football and its players’ talent. It comprises rapid cutaway shots filmed in changing rooms, on community pitches, and on the street – indicating the lower-level status of female professionals, many of whom are forced to have day jobs. The spot features players of different nationalities – like?Alexia Putellas?(Spain) and?Marie-Antoinette Katoto?(French) – showing off their technical prowess, alongside players from grassroots community clubs?Women’s Soccer School Barcelona?and?Grenfell Athletic.

Nike also collaborated with US education platform?Rebel Girls?on a comic-style book, and has run workshops in partnership with groups like?Girls United?and?Girls Super League.

Elle’s 16-Page Spread

Demonstrating the cultural mainstreaming of women’s football, for its July/August issue, the UK edition of?Elle?magazine ran three covers depicting the England, Denmark and Sweden women’s national teams, as well as English coach and referee Jawahir Roble. It also compiled a 16-page spread comprising a fashion shoot with England’s players, and a feature written by the founder and editor-in-chief of football and fashion site?Season Zine, Felicia Pennant.

Lucozade’s Community Equality Pitches

Supporting grassroots sports while promoting gender equality, British energy drink brand?Lucozade?has redesigned a community pitch in Salford, Manchester (northern England). At the centre of the turf, phrases like ‘A player is a player’, ‘Sacrifice is sacrifice’ and ‘Team England is team England’ mirror each other.

For more on community-focused ethical activations, see Equitable Brand Engagement in our?2022 Look Ahead: Retail & Brand Comms.