This Girl Can campaign celebrated for featuring 'real' female fitness stories
POSTED 15 Jan 2020 . BY Tom Walker
The film has been designed to show the 'raw, unfiltered reality of women exercising in whatever way that works for them' Credit: Sport England
We've designed the new adverts to show things we're still not seeing – Lisa O'Keefe
The latest edition of the highly-successful This Girl Can Campaign has been celebrated for its "taboo-busting" and "brave" take on what female fitness really looks like.
The new body-positive advert is seen as a perfect antidote to what has been described as "unrealistic and negative images of women" often used in fitness-related online content and media marketing campaigns.
According to Sport England, the film has been designed to show the raw, unfiltered reality of women exercising in whatever way that works for them.
The advert has been created on the back of research by Sport England, which revealed that 63 per cent of women who see slim, toned bodies on social media sites say this has a negative impact on them.
The research also highlighted the possible negative role played by so-called influencers.
Less than a fifth (18 per cent) of women who follow fitness influencers find their highly-polished and curated personalities relatable, while nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of women are actually negatively affected by influencer content – as it often makes them feel bad about themselves.
Sport England has now called for influencers, media and brands to feature more realistic and diverse imagery of women to promote sport and physical activity.
Lisa O’Keefe, Sport England director of insight, said she hopes the advert will convince women they don’t need to be in shape or super confident in their bodies to take part.
“This Girl Can is about helping women feel confident, so they can overcome the fears about being judged that our research showed was stopping many from getting active,” O'Keefe said.
“Since we launched five years ago, we're seeing more relatable images in advertising and social media, but there's a long way to go until women's lives are being shown in a realistic way.
“We've designed the new adverts to show things we're still not seeing - women using exercise to manage period symptoms or juggling motherhood - all while celebrating women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds.”
The This Girl Can campaign was developed by Sport England to promote sport among women and is now in its fifth year. The first television advert was aired on 12 January 2015.
It was created to tackle the significant gender gap found in sports and exercise, to build women’s confidence around being active and help them meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidance. The campaign was based on the insight that 75% of women say they want to do more sporting activities or exercise, but one of the unifying barriers found to be holding them back is a fear of judgement.
Since its launch, the campaign has been credited with inspiring more than 3.5 million women to get more physically active.
Sport England and British Cycling are partnering on a new "This Girl Can" campaign designed to
highlight British Cycling's recreational, women-only bike riding programme, which offers hundreds of
free bike rides across the UK. Using a series of targeted social media films and image adverts, the
six-week campaign will mirror previous bold and eye-catching This Girl Can campaigns, showing how
women, regardless of age, background, fitness or experience, can take up cycling and overcome
those barriers in a judgement-free environment.
With the launch of its 49th John Reed, RSG Group is looking for more opportunities for its high-
end brand in the US and Europe, but is pausing UK expansion.
Following three disrupted lockdown years, the European fitness market bounced back in 2023,
according to Deloitte and EuropeActive’s hot off the press European Health & Fitness Market
Report 2024.
As one of the most energy-intensive industries in the UK, leisure facilities face a critical
challenge in balancing net zero goals, funding and increased costs. [more...]
Experience the pinnacle of fitness and luxury at the premier industry event, Sibec EMEA, set
against the breathtaking backdrop of the Fairmont Monte Carlo this Autumn. [more...]
This Girl Can campaign celebrated for featuring 'real' female fitness stories
POSTED 15 Jan 2020 . BY Tom Walker
The film has been designed to show the 'raw, unfiltered reality of women exercising in whatever way that works for them' Credit: Sport England
We've designed the new adverts to show things we're still not seeing – Lisa O'Keefe
The latest edition of the highly-successful This Girl Can Campaign has been celebrated for its "taboo-busting" and "brave" take on what female fitness really looks like.
The new body-positive advert is seen as a perfect antidote to what has been described as "unrealistic and negative images of women" often used in fitness-related online content and media marketing campaigns.
According to Sport England, the film has been designed to show the raw, unfiltered reality of women exercising in whatever way that works for them.
The advert has been created on the back of research by Sport England, which revealed that 63 per cent of women who see slim, toned bodies on social media sites say this has a negative impact on them.
The research also highlighted the possible negative role played by so-called influencers.
Less than a fifth (18 per cent) of women who follow fitness influencers find their highly-polished and curated personalities relatable, while nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of women are actually negatively affected by influencer content – as it often makes them feel bad about themselves.
Sport England has now called for influencers, media and brands to feature more realistic and diverse imagery of women to promote sport and physical activity.
Lisa O’Keefe, Sport England director of insight, said she hopes the advert will convince women they don’t need to be in shape or super confident in their bodies to take part.
“This Girl Can is about helping women feel confident, so they can overcome the fears about being judged that our research showed was stopping many from getting active,” O'Keefe said.
“Since we launched five years ago, we're seeing more relatable images in advertising and social media, but there's a long way to go until women's lives are being shown in a realistic way.
“We've designed the new adverts to show things we're still not seeing - women using exercise to manage period symptoms or juggling motherhood - all while celebrating women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds.”
The This Girl Can campaign was developed by Sport England to promote sport among women and is now in its fifth year. The first television advert was aired on 12 January 2015.
It was created to tackle the significant gender gap found in sports and exercise, to build women’s confidence around being active and help them meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidance. The campaign was based on the insight that 75% of women say they want to do more sporting activities or exercise, but one of the unifying barriers found to be holding them back is a fear of judgement.
Since its launch, the campaign has been credited with inspiring more than 3.5 million women to get more physically active.
Sport England and British Cycling are partnering on a new "This Girl Can" campaign designed to
highlight British Cycling's recreational, women-only bike riding programme, which offers hundreds of
free bike rides across the UK. Using a series of targeted social media films and image adverts, the
six-week campaign will mirror previous bold and eye-catching This Girl Can campaigns, showing how
women, regardless of age, background, fitness or experience, can take up cycling and overcome
those barriers in a judgement-free environment.
With the launch of its 49th John Reed, RSG Group is looking for more opportunities for its high-
end brand in the US and Europe, but is pausing UK expansion.
Following three disrupted lockdown years, the European fitness market bounced back in 2023,
according to Deloitte and EuropeActive’s hot off the press European Health & Fitness Market
Report 2024.
Operator Circadian Trust has launched a five-year growth drive designed to
support health and wellbeing across South Gloucestershire, UK. The initiative
will see a £2.4m investment in its five Active Lifestyle Centres.
Norwegian health club operator, Treningshelse Holding, which owns the Aktiv365 and Family
Sports Club fitness chains, has acquired fellow Norwegian operator, Aktiv Trening.
As one of the most energy-intensive industries in the UK, leisure facilities face a critical
challenge in balancing net zero goals, funding and increased costs. [more...]
Experience the pinnacle of fitness and luxury at the premier industry event, Sibec EMEA, set
against the breathtaking backdrop of the Fairmont Monte Carlo this Autumn. [more...]