The Geelong Cats have launched a new campaign to highlight the significant impact of its AFLW team on the eve of the 2022 season.
The ‘SHE IS FOOTBALL’ campaign focuses the athleticism, power, influence, connection and impact of the Cats women’s players.
Imagery will run throughout the region, including billboards, advertising and scrolling messaging around Geelong.
The campaign is led by Cats captain Meg McDonald and teammates Nina Morrison, Amy McDonald, Georgie Prespakis, Georgie Rankin and Becky Webster.
“We are on an exciting journey with our AFLW team, and SHE IS FOOTBALL highlights the importance we place on the team, the program and women’s footy,” Geelong Cats chief executive Steve Hocking said.
“We know that gender inequality still exists, so we are elevating the place of women and girls on and off the footy field. This will help us continue to fight for a level playing field.
“While our women’s team is relatively new in terms of the club’s overall history, we see it as a critical element of our club. We will continue to work to raise the profile of our players and team, and look to bring more people to the game to see the skill, passion and pride of the women wearing the blue and white hoops. “
McDonald said there were clear messages the playing group wanted to get across and the SHE IS FOOTBALL campaign achieved that goal.
“We are here to compete and to show ourselves as athletic footballers, and that we are ready to take the next steps as a team. We are on a path towards greatness that we talk about as a football club,” she said.
“Having the playing group involved in terms of how we see ourselves and how we want to be presented was an important part of this campaign. We really felt heard throughout the process.
“This campaign speaks to identity and how we are so many things, but ultimately we are footballers. That’s where the statement SHE IS FOOTBALL comes from.
“We landed on SHE, but we know the club is passionate about gender equality. As players, as supporters, as a club, we have different identities. We want to make sure that we are inclusive in representing the community and the club we are proud to play for. That’s why there are multiple iterations in the campaign in addition to SHE, including THEY, WE and I.
“This is aspirational, and the club is really backing us in, and it is reflected in the campaign. We are all excited to see this roll out.”
