With the unrivalled success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, is there now an opportunity for brands to creatively explore more of what fans love about the beautiful game?

The opportunity to be a part of the WWC was not lost on brands, with all the usual suspects creating global and local campaigns to maximise broader sponsorship rights and involvement with the tournament.

As with any other major sporting event, some scored creatively, and some did not, but either way, all brands benefitted from an energy never before seen in the women’s game.

Most brands picked from a familiar line-up of themes - equality, Women’s sports bias, and the journey of women’s football; with some finding the right insight, tone, and platform in their creative executions. Diageo’s Johnnie Walker directly challenged the audience to watch more women’s sport in match day memos. Dentsu Creative perfectly executed the cultural journey of women to the World Cup with their spot for the Portuguese team (whilst also challenging a host of other stereotypes). Orange, out of France tackled all three themes with the most viral ad of the tournament. Their clever bait-and-switch technique, coupled with visual effect trickery, forced even the most stoic fan to challenge their perception of the women’s game. Cadbury and MKTG here in Australia leveraged their ongoing Women in Sport strategy with Ogilvy creating a ‘cheer and half’ across two national spots.

Creatively, the work has been great at highlighting key issues facing the women’s game; but where to from here? Whilst storytelling around equality will continue to be important, is it time to start exploring other football themes and values that fans love about the game?

The recent FanSpeed report from MKTG revealed that sportswomen are significantly more honest and trustworthy than their male counterparts. Furthermore, 26% of fans perceive sportswomen to be good role models vs just 11% for men. According to FanSpeed, fans also find sportswomen more likeable, inspirational and charismatic than men. So how will brands lean into these attitudes for future creative campaigns?

Some are already there. Nike created ads for the WWC reminiscent of their iconic Joga Bonito campaigns in the early 2000’s. By placing the likes of Sam Kerr and Deginha at the heart of local ads, Nike recognised that the players’ talent, personality, and celebrity would only grow throughout the tournament, thus driving a deeper affinity with the brand.

This tournament has undoubtedly shifted the dial around quality and performance perceptions of the women’s game. This, combined with the attitudinal traits women are already winning in, should give brands freedom in their storytelling moving forward. Those that truly understand what this WWC has done for the game will also understand that fans want to see brands tapping into the simple fun of the game, like this year’s global Macca’s spot. Brands now have the right to not only tell the traditional football stories around team moments, rivalries, player personalities and performance but also the football stories that make the women’s game unique – the team camaraderie, the role models and the unique lifestyle challenges women face as pro footballers.

The women’s game is no longer women’s football. It’s just football. And whilst there is still a vital role for brands in important areas such as equality and performance perceptions, this tournament has unlocked a new era for the women’s game, which in turn offers brands richer creative territories and the freedom to tell deeper, more diverse stories across the entire spectrum of football.