ADC Awards
The ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world. Now in its incredible 102nd year, these awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Category
Social Media / Social Media Campaign
Annual ID
ADC102_INT024B
About the Work
The sports world focuses on male athletes as the default and female athletes as secondary. This disparity is part of a systemic problem affecting representation, world records, media coverage, pay equity, and opportunity for female athletes. As sport continues to make female athletes less visible, girls struggle to find role models they can look up to.
As an advocate for gender equity, the YWCA leveraged the issue of gender inequity in a culturally powerful space, like sport, to start a conversation that could extend beyond it.
Why are men’s sports just called sports - like the NBA - when women’s sports are called women’s sports - like the WNBA? The answer: because men’s sports are the default, leaving women to be considered second…if they’re even included at all.
We took the most iconic men's sports league logos and did a simple redesign. We added the M to match the W, which often serves as an asterisk marking women’s sports as separate, different, and less worthy.
We recruited key sports figures who were known for being vocal about gender equity, like Christine Sinclair, Blake Murphy, Jennifer Hedger, Tara Slone, and Donnovan Bennett.
The campaign was launched on YWCA social channels with OLV, which our supporters shared on their channels to amplify the message. We pitched the story to media outlets to further the conversation.
Then we created multiple ways for people to spread the word, from sweaters and stickers to free downloadable “M” badges which allowed everyone to hack sports logos on Instagram.
We started a conversation with absolutely no paid media support behind it, achieving an earned media value of over 46,000% above our investment. Add The M made headlines across the globe in over 170 publications, achieving a total overall reach of over 102 million earned impressions at the time of writing.
2023 Awards
Total Points: 9
Bronze Cube
Credits
Agency
Rethink
Client / Brand
YWCA Metro Vancouver
Music / Sound Production Company
Grayson Music Group
Art Director
Skye Deluz
Hayley Hinkley
Writer
Jacquelyn Parent
Chief Creative Officer
Aaron Starkman
Mike Dubrick
Creative Director
Joel Holtby
Leia Rogers
Editor
Tyler Erdelac
Thomas McKeen
Producer
Teresa Bayley
Strategist
Nicole Rajesky
Associate Creative Director
Hayley Hinkley
Jacquelyn Parent
Skye Deluz
Developer
Steve Lam
Brad Stapleton
Account Services
Kat McKeen
Kennedy Crawford
Nicole Kerrigan
Jessie Durand
Brand Narrative Strategist
Sara Lemmermeyer
Chief strategy Officer
Sean McDonald
Client Supervisor
Amy Juschka
Digital Producer
Kyle Hicks
Editorial Lead
Lianne George
PR Coordinator
Kaitlyn Vian
Strategic Communications Lead
Meredith Montgomery
Studio Artist
Todd Bennett
Studio Director
Brad Kumar
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