AFLW launch sidelines stereotypes to make history
The AFL Women’s launch in 2017 was a milestone in Australia’s sporting history. And being a sport mad nation, it was a milestone in Australian society too.
PUSH created a new brand identity expressing a different perspective on Aussie rules football and its traditions. It challenged old stereotypes while launching a bold message of inclusivity and empowerment that’s resonating far beyond the AFL’s traditional fan base.
"We not only smashed ratings, which peaked at 1 million, it was the highest rating for a Saturday game for 2016, over-running the mens'. We trended on Twitter, had 6,300+ people show up at Footscray and had people in the audience cheering “WOW” with jaws dropping all over the place. This is the beginning of something great, and we couldn’t have done it (and build the vision) without you and the aspirational W."
Jemma Wong,
(former) Marketing Manager
Brand AFL
"The cheering that reverberated Australia-wide on 3 February 2017, a steamy summer Friday night in Melbourne, was inspired by a game of Australian Rules Football. Arch rivals Carlton and Collingwood were playing, but in a way they’d never played before.
Filled to capacity before gates were locked, the Blues’ iconic Princes Park had cobwebs blasted from every cranny of its peeling-paint-covered grandstands. Eyewitnesses were magnetised, then mesmerised. An audience in excess of a million tuned in from further afield. Sport, pure and simple, coupled with unprecedented scenes, sounds and circumstances proved an intoxicating, irresistible mix."
Samantha Lane
in 'Roar. The stories behind AFLW - a movement bigger than sport'
AFLW was the runaway sporting success of 2017 in its first season. It smashed attendance and broadcast expectations, rapidly building interest among fans, commercial partners, and the next generations of girls who no longer have to wonder if they can play football at an elite level. Since then, the game has kept growing, becoming a regular fixture in the sport calendar for more and more Australians.
Video credits: Creative Direction: PUSH Collective | Sonic Identity: Samplify | Motion Design: GRAMM
