Spikes Asia

Big Girls Can

MAGIC MANGO, Nawala / RED BULL / 2022

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Overview

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Overview

Background

Red Bull, known worldwide for (extreme) sports and energy, wanted to make itself more relevant to Sri Lanka.

To do this, the brand would seek to break a taboo.

By starting a conversation around the societal barriers enforced on young girls once they hit puberty, or became ‘big girls’ in colloquial speech.

A taboo subject that everyone knows about, but no one dares challenge.

A subject never before been broached by any brand in Sri Lanka.

And a subject that led to a lack of girls continuing to play sport once they reach puberty.

Idea

To begin this conversation, we teamed up with the biggest girl in Sri Lankan sport today - Chamari Athapaththu. The only female Red Bull athlete in Sri Lanka, and one who embodied the breaking of this taboo to become a big name in sports.

The main target audience was young girls and their mothers, the first to enforce these barriers on young girls in the country.

Chamari would challenge these barriers - which in itself went a long way in earning attention due to the previously taboo nature of the topic.

The most important component of the creative idea was bringing to life how Chamari's parents never enforced these same barriers on her, paving the way for her to become the star she is today.

Strategy

The Insight - When young girls in Sri Lanka hit puberty, or become 'big girls' as they are known locally, the way they are treated by family and society, changes . Gone is the carefree child, replaced by one governed by new 'rules' that don't allow her to play in the sun or associate with boys. All because she's a 'big girl' now.

The key message - To show through the world of someone who has not been held back by these same barriers, how far these girls can go if only given the chance.

The Target Audience - Young girls and their mothers across Sri Lanka. Young girls because we wanted to inspire them to achieve great things, while their mothers as they are the first enforcers of these barriers.

With Chamari arguably a bigger brand in Sri Lanka, the conversation would begin through her own social media.

Execution

Beginning with a simple, powerful video on Chamari's own social media, we allowed the virality of the video to take centre stage for the first two weeks.

This was then followed by a partnership with Sri Lanka's leading digital content creator, Roar, known for its own willingness to report on subjects that mainstream news wouldn't touch.

Together, with Chamari and Roar, we would bring together big girls in the world of sports, entertainment and business to talk about their own pasts and implore parents to allow their 'big girls' to follow their dreams.

Outcome

With the biggest objective being the need to start this conversation on this taboo, the results were as followed.

• Earned Media worth over USD 120,000 was garnered from local and regional media

• The main campaign video garnered over 6 million impressions, not bad for a 'taboo' topic.

• Most importantly, the campaign pushed the hand of Minister of Sport Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, to put in place a plan towards ensuring young girls do not give up their sporting dreams in the future.

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