And so dear readers to the UEFA Women’s Euro 22 football championship finals, which kicked off this week at Old Trafford with the Lionesses thumping Austria, er, 1-0. Still, given that the men’s team usually lose their opening game, it is, by comparison, a flying start.
But as you might expect, the battle for off-pitch supremacy between the sponsors is raging just as hard, with Nike rolling out the big guns in footie alongside up-and-coming youngsters to prove its has the top team.
Dubbed “Never Settle, Never Done”, the campaign has been devised by W+K London and is designed to portray the sport in a new light, showcasing the confidence, speed and technical ability shown by women on the top of their game as they prepare to be thrust into the limelight this summer. (Well, that’s what it says here.)
Famous faces from today and tomorrow feature heavily in the campaign, including Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas. It also features grassroots community clubs Women’s Soccer School Barcelona and Grenfell Athletic FC.
The ad moves at breakneck speed, accompanied by the Rye Rye track Shake It To The Ground, which has more attitude than a teenager. Even so, there is actually little real football on display, instead we are treated to more stepovers and ball trickery than even Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro could muster, while some are so desperate to play footie that they will play in the dark.
Among those featured is freestyler Rocky Hehakaija. She said: “Being part of this ad is just everything to me and a dream that came true. I grew up watching these big Nike ads, imitating them in the streets with my friends. Nike is showing the world that women’s football is a force to be reckoned with and is here to stay.” Bless.
Mind you, alongside celebrating the athletes and the game today, apparently the ad’s ultimate goal is to push for more change that will improve the future of the sport, just as the level of football has never been higher – with investment, media coverage and crowds at record levels, plus more girls involved in grassroots football than ever before. (Their words, not ours.)
Some wag from Wieden+Kennedy said: “These achievements cannot be overlooked or diminished. But basking in the glory of the heights the game has reached cannot create complacency, we must never stop seeking more. More professional opportunities for women in football, more investment and access at all levels of the sport and more visibility through media coverage.
“This is women’s football like you’ve never seen before, and this is only the beginning.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, to be fair, they are right on one aspect, this is certainly women’s football like you’ve never seen it before. Then again, it is also women’s football – and men’s football for that matter – like you’ll never see it on a pitch.
It’s all very well trying to create “more professional opportunities for women in football, more investment and access at all levels of the sport” but footie is not all about freestyling tricks like Around The World, Neck Stall, Sidehead Stall, Crossover, Hop the World, Hamstring Catch, Toe Bounce, Slap, Touzani Around The World and Mitch Around the World.
You can glam it up as much as you want, sprinkle in some attitude and paint the sport in a Panglossian light but ultimately football, like life, is about the lows as much as the highs, the pain and misery when your team loses which you carry around with you until the next game.
Of course, that might not make much of an advert for Nike, but that is the real world of football, not this plastic nonsense.
Decision Marketing Adometer: An “own-goal” 5 out of 10
