The words “hero” and “athlete” have always been used to describe men. Combine that with the fact that 95% of sports media coverage is focused on men’s sports, and we are teaching another generation to idolize male athletes. adidas has committed to doing their part to close the gender gap. We were tasked creating a campaign for Rookie of the Year, Trinity Rodman, the 19-year-old soccer phenom.

According to YPulse, Gen Z’s favorite 15 athletes had 13 men and two women.

Few had heard of Trinity, fewer had seen her play. So, instead of creating a traditional campaign, we made a children’s book that told Trinity’s story as inspiration for other young athletes. 10,000 books were delivered to libraries and schools across the country.

It may be impossible to find Trinity’s games on TV right now, but it’s possible for children to see her as a hero and athlete.

To celebrate adidas' newest athlete, as the youngest player to win Rookie of the Year, we chose to create and illustrate 10,000 children's books, free to schools and libraries all over the US. After all, Trinity is just a 19-yr-old kid herself. Unlike other children's books, which are designed to put kids to bed, this is a "wake up" book—not a bedtime book. It is designed to wake children up to all the possibilities that await them each day. Trinity didn't succeed by sleeping in; she got there by getting up and getting after it.

The toughest challenge was to design Trinity's character enough so it looked like her, but had a playful feel that belonged in a children's book. Trinity was engaged early on, to make sure that we respected her body image—and discovered that she has unusually large feet, which she wanted to feature in the book. Because Trinity believes everybody should be proud of the body they have. After rounds of designs, from abstract to realistic, we landed on a slightly more realistic version of Trinity's character, but made a conscious decision to use an unrealistic color palate for each spread. We focused on designing what her world "feels like" rather than designing reality.

10,000 books were distributed to libraries and schools across America, with the hope of inspiring the next generation of young athletes and go-getters.

$0 paid in media.

Millions of impressions through earned media. Coverage in major publications and platforms like ESPN, ESPNw, Ebony, Heromag, Sports Illustrated, Sports Business Journal.