Global Ads Spotlight: Orange kicks gender bias to the curb with game-changing "WoMen's Football" campaign

In a world where football ads are too often male-dominated, Orange's "WoMen's Football" campaign broke the mould with a bold, boundary-pushing concept that not only challenged gender bias but also left the world talking.

Launched ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup in partnership with Marcel, Paris, the campaign's premise was simple but powerful: can we get past the gender stereotypes that have long plagued women's football? The answer, it turns out, is yes—through some clever tech and a whole lot of creativity.

Orange, a long-time partner of French football, leveraged its commitment to the sport to send a loud message: Women's football deserves equal recognition.

With no TV partner for the Women's World Cup three weeks before kick-off, Orange decided it was time to stir up a global conversation.

They noticed a troubling trend—women players are often considered "less technical" than their male counterparts. So, they decided to show us just how wrong that assumption was.

The campaign kicks off with a jaw-dropping display of what appears to be the French men's team showing off their exceptional skills. But the video flips the script in the second half, revealing that it's actually the French women's team pulling off those spectacular moves. Those jaw-dropping skills? All theirs.

And, here's the clincher — VFX wizardry was used to make it look the men are performing the moves, only for the second part of the video to reveal the truth, showing the women's raw skills without any trickery.

The Results?

This bait-and-switch stunner went viral, amassing a whopping 2 billion impressions, sparking widespread social media chatter and media coverage.

The campaign went on to claim the top spot in the Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and became the second most awarded ad in the 2023 World Creative Rankings.

In terms of media and social impact, the buzz was palpable, with media outlets and social platforms driving the conversation about gender bias in sport.

From a strategic perspective, the campaign was a masterstroke. Orange used its partnership with the French Football Federation to legitimize the issue, making it a CSR-driven project rather than just a marketing stunt. The collaboration with Marcel, Paris, showed how bold, thoughtful creative can elevate a brand’s position while contributing to social change.

Why it worked?

What sets this ad apart is its blend of storytelling, surprise, and technical execution. It’s an ad that doesn't just tell a story—it makes a statement. With 2 billion impressions, it’s clear that the world was ready for this kind of change.