Viral Spiral: Sport England ‘This Girl’

Ask anyone what their New Year’s resolution is and you will be sure to get the standard ‘lose weight and get healthy’ answer. With just 8% of people actually achieving their resolution, there are obviously some barriers to a new healthy lifestyle. This is especially clear in women, with Sport England reporting a significant gender gap in exercise levels across the UK – apparently, two million fewer 14-40-year-old women than men play sport regularly, but 75 % of women say they want to be more active. In response to this research, Sport England launched their new ‘This Girl’ campaign, with the first TV advert launching last Monday night. Featuring real women taking part in real exercise, the campaign attempts to inspire women to give exercise a go and leave vanity at home. The campaign stars women found in local gyms, with bodies which are more than relatable, the whole campaign has a ‘Girl Power’ sense to it with an attempt to empower women into care free exercising.

The campaign has a similar feel to the Dove ‘Real Beauty’ campaign. The trend for using ‘real’ women in campaigns, with all wobbly bits and cellulite clearly on show is becoming increasingly popular. It seems the nation is becoming fed up of depressing unachievable model bodies constantly being flaunted in front of us and wants self-assurance that the muffin top we cannot shift is normal after all. While it is refreshing to see a realistic portrayal of exercise, complete with sweat patches and panting, whether this will actually convince those that don’t exercise to throw on a crop top and sprint down the street we will have to see. Previous pledges to get more women into exercise have been received with mixed reception; it will be interesting to see if this ‘relatable’ approach sees wider spread traction in 2015. Either way, it’s nice to see a bit more ‘normal’ on our TV screens.

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