Sports retail giants Adidas and JD Sports have joined forces to put women in the spotlight through a new campaign called ‘Watch us move’, featuring a diverse range of Australian female creatives in front of and behind the camera. Launched today in JD Sports stores across Australia, the new campaign showcases Adidas’ ‘Raise your voices’ capsule collection of designs that “dismiss the stereotypical ‘feminine’ molds and offer freedom, comfort and confidence for women”. The w
The women involved in the campaign include performance artist Bhenji Ra, artist A Girl, DJ and skateboarder C. Frim, DJ and radio host Naomi Salim, artist and songwriter Jessica Jade and more. It was directed by Chloe de Brito, who worked with photographer Imogen Wilson and collaborted with a crew of female identifiying and non-binary professionals.
“Watch us move is rooted in self-expression and honors how movement is uniquely embodied by each of these incredibly talented women,” said Kate Asamoah, retail marketing exec at Adidas.
“We witness how our heroes make their own moves: moving forward both physically and conceptually, exploring the formation of identity through style. We’re especially excited to share work that combines and elevates these female voices, as told through an exceptionally skilled creative and production team, who are also shaping the conversation from behind the scenes. Our aim is to continue this important dialogue in an authentic way.”
While the sports category has been traditionally focused on the male customer, in recent years, savvy retailers from Adidas, Reebok and Nike to Lululemon and Lorna Jane have had their eye firmly on females.
According to Andrew McDate, managing director at creative studioAndpeople, which collaborated with Adidas on the project, the team consulted a core group of female and/or female identifying creators during the process and chose to amplify minority and underrepresented voices in this campaign.
“We wanted to use the opportunity to shine a light on the women pushing culture forward, but also in a way that inspires future generations of female and/or female identifying creators,” he told Inside Retail. “Issues with gender equality don’t start and stop with the lead talent, the people behind the scenes are as much, if not more responsible for breaking stereotypes and shaping narratives around gender.
From DJ-ing and skateboarding to film and music production, McDade added that the women were selected for challenging gender norms in their male-dominated industries
“In these industries, female voices may not be heard as often, and are underrepresented, so it is important to ensure that we give these voices a platform,” he said. “Not only to ensure that they are heard, but also to encourage other women to pursue their dream careers, whatever they may be. For so long these industries have been heavily male dominated, but finally that’s changing.”