75% of women want to be more active but find exercise a daunting prospect. That’s why This Girl Can was created in 2015, helping women smash through barriers preventing them from getting active by sticking two fingers up at judgment. Going into 2020, however, our challenge was even greater.

Research showed that 63% of women who see slim, toned bodies on social media sites say it has a negative impact on them and nearly a quarter (24%) follow a fitness influencer who negatively impacts their self-esteem. This was compounded by a range of internalised societal judgements around periods, menopause, childminding, and broader issues of inclusiveness – issues that can get in the way of being active – increasingly on people’s minds.

We spotted an opportunity to help women take control of the conversation around all of the remaining judgements stopping them from being active, from the societal to the internal.

This time around, This Girl Can tackled topics like menstruation, menopause, motherhood, and LGBTQ+, disability, and financial inclusion, issues that must be addressed to truly accommodate all women being active. And we wanted to do so where women needed us most – their social media feeds – with our answer to influencers: real women from the This Girl Can community.

We showed real women defying some of society’s most entrenched judgements, all with our infectious ‘don’t give a damn’ spirit, with hero films that inspired as well and a suite of digital content that told individual stories in more depth. This included featuring a mother who breastfeeds before heading off to netball, a transgender climber who confidently scales walls with new friends, and a woman pulling up leggings over a visible tampon string before stretching out in yoga – a first for an ad not selling sanitary products.

The strategy was built on extensive qual research going back over 5 years and social listening tools to track conversations on topics that had traditionally been on the periphery of This Girl Can. What had changed since the launch in 2015, was that we had seen issues such as women’s rights, unequal earning power (with women earning approx. 10% less than men) and the domestic pressures on women (as shown by only 2% of men taking joint parental leave) really becoming focal tension points across social media platforms. What few had recognised though, was the relationship between these factors and the ability for women to be active.

Looking back through our research we estimated that 1/5 women would be held back by these societal barriers when it came to exercise. This could only change if those around them changed too.

We know that in order to reflect the vast diversity of experiences and challenges that women overcome to be active, we needed to include even more perspectives that genuinely cut through in the midst of more calculated influencer content. We reached out to women from our community to do so, identifying those whose experiences we knew would help ignite necessary conversations and act as a counterpoint to “fitspo” toxicity.

We captured women where they genuinely live and get active – their living rooms, local streets, and rec centres, often with the little ones in tow. Finally, we brought their stories to life in a range of assets, from stories to stickers to longer content films, and empowered them to film/photograph their own content to be shared on our channels. The result: an unflinching and unapologetic campaign that elevates everyday women being active in all its jiggly, sweaty glory.

Our 2020 campaign quickly gained the attention of women around the globe. Within an hour, #ThisGirlCan was once again trending and within 48 hours we had 1 million views (without any media spend). We received over 300 pieces of press coverage, including coverage across all English broadcast channels and major national papers and pick-up in the US, France, and Australia. Prominent women like Jamila Jameel and Dina Asher-Smith were quick to share our content, as was the UN Women’s campaign.

But more importantly, our campaign provided a perfect counterpoint of relatability in the face of otherwise unattainable influencer content. 3/4 of women who saw our work said that it’s important that ads like ours are shown, and that we reflected the real obstacles they face when getting active. And over 50% of women who saw the campaign now feel exercise is possible for them.