'This girl can'
FCB Inferno / 2015
In 2015, "This girl can" put out a rallying call-to-arms to women. It stuck two fingers up to the inner voices of selfdoubt. Why? Because the insight was on point.
The campaign surfaced a powerful truth. It’s the fear of judgment that holds women back from participating in sport. The film and photography celebrated sweat, wobbles, jiggles and all without a Photoshop airbrush in sight. It made exercise feel fun and inclusive. It was a triumph for authenticity with streetcast people rather than sporting stars. It challenged the category conventions within the sport sector. And as Laura Hills, a senior lecturer at Brunel, wrote in the Telegraph: "It rebranded women’s bodies in sport."
It sparked a massive conversation online because it struck a chord. The tone of voice resonated through lines such as "Sweating like a pig. Feel like a fox" and "Still slow. Still lapping everyone on the couch." And a pull of pant elastic kicked off the perfect Missy Elliott soundtrack to get a movement moving.
Grant Hunter is executive creative director at Iris
