PR > PR: Sectors

IMAGINARY SQUADS

GALERIA, Sao Paulo / ITAÚ UNIBANCO / 2024

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Overview

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Overview

Why is this work relevant for PR?

For the first time, a brand leveraged AI to meld real testimonials with historical photographic data, crafting a compelling story powerful enough to inspire reflection and behavioral change.

Brazil is internationally renowned as the "country of soccer", but this fame predominantly revolves around men's soccer. Women were legally barred from playing soccer in Brazil for over 40 years, resulting in a lack of photographic or video records to capture their legacy. In the 1970s, while the men's national team was clinching their third World Cup, women aspiring to play soccer were dodging the police.

Please provide any cultural context that would help the Jury understand any cultural, national or regional nuances applicable to this work.

Despite the progress made in women's sport, major challenges remain, particularly in terms of equal pay, media coverage and visibility. Particularly in Brazil, which has always been recognized globally as the " country of soccer ", it has never provided the same conditions locally for women to play the game.

In Brazil, women were banned from playing the sport for 40 years by the government because it was considered "too violent for ladies," which meant that women were not allowed to have an official national team until 1983. While the men's national team won their third World Cup in the 1970s, women who wanted to play soccer had to run from the police.

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia has brought women's soccer to the forefront of global and media attention, and the gender gap in the sport has become an issue to be addressed. As the largest bank in Latin America and the official sponsor of the Brazilian women's soccer team, Itaú wanted to make a positive impact on the gender gap in Brazil by giving the women's team and the competition maximum visibility in the country.

*It's important to note that this piece work was aired in 2023/Aug in the early stage of generative AI.

Background

Situation

During the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Itaú Bank, as the official sponsor of Brazilian women's national team, aimed to raise the visibility of the squad and the competition in the country. With women banned from playing soccer in Brazil for more than 40 years between 1940 and 1982, women's sport has had a historical gap in representation and memory that has impacted the disparity in media investment and brand sponsorship to date.

Brief

To position Itaú Bank as the main brand in the financial segment that supports women's soccer, communicating a message that both highlighted the history of women's struggle and resistance in soccer in Brazil.

Objectives

To create brand awareness and a relevant impact on gender inequality in sport, to raise the visibility of the women's national team and the competition in Brazil, and to drive the conversation on the issue beyond soccer in a meaningful way.

Describe the creative idea

We asked players from that era and their relatives to describe what those teams were like during the prohibition years and transformed their stories into AI prompts.

We combined real testimonials with technical photography setups, using data from the years when Brazil won the men's World Cup and women were not allowed to play. Creating realistic portrayals of winning female squads, which could have happened if not for existing prejudices.

The Imaginary Squads were shown on TV, sparking a nationwide discussion on gender equality in sports.

Describe the PR strategy

The project, Imaginary Squads, was launched during the crucial stages of the 2023 Women's World Cup. This was a time when women's teams faced significant criticism from both the public and the press. As the official sponsor of the Brazilian women's football team, Itaú initiated this project and sparked a national conversation about gender equality in sports. It helped shift the narrative from a losing team to a team that represented all women who were once denied the opportunity to play.

We start our strategy pitching media outlets hosted by women and capable of impacting a broader audience. With the help of key opinion formers in sports the project reached the Brazilian trending topics.

The entire strategy was orchestrated across different media, from a TV commercial during prime time, to influencers sparking conversations on social networks.

Describe the PR execution

To maximize spontaneous media coverage at the project's national network launch on prime time, we initially introduced the Imaginary Squads to vehicle-focused press led by female journalists with high visibility. Once the project aired, we developed a dissemination strategy on social media with sports Key Opinion Leaders.

The project quickly rose to the top spots of Brazilian Trending Topics, accumulating 720 million organic impressions and over 2 million interactions.

List the results

The project generated 720MM organic impressions and more than 2MM interactions, reaching the top spots in the Brazilian Trending Topics.

For the first time, the CBF has commented on the years of prohibition and committed to a record investment in women's soccer.

These images are now part of the National Soccer Museum, recognized as an official piece of soccer history.

Right after the project Pretinha, who was featured in Imaginary Squads, made history as the first woman to have her footprints immortalized on Maracana's Walk of Fame.

The results were so positive that the Itaú brand generated earned media on major Brazilian TV channels, as well as appearances in more than 40 relevant press publications, including 15 international portals and global innovation and trend platforms such as WGSN and Trend-Watching.

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