Women Worth Watching - USTA | Clapboard Ad Archive

Women Worth Watching is a 2019 campaign by the United States Tennis Association in collaboration with mcgarrybowen that confronts the stark reality that only 4% of sports media coverage in America features female athletes, leveraging the US Open’s historic commitment to women’s equality to call for a seismic shift in visibility for women’s sports across the board. The campaign launched strategically on the opening day of the US Open, which coincided with Women’s Equality Day, amplifying its cultural relevance and urgency while reinforcing USTA’s role as a leader in advocating gender parity in sports. Partnering with SheIS, a nonprofit dedicated to harnessing the influence of women in sports for broader social change, extended the campaign’s reach beyond tennis and into the wider sports ecosystem, mobilizing an existing community passionate about equity. Central to the campaign’s creative strategy was the enlistment of Billie Jean King, an iconic and fearless advocate for women’s visibility and pay equity, whose authoritative presence provided an unmistakable voice and face for the movement, embodying the campaign’s call to action with authenticity and gravitas. The campaign’s core message, encapsulated in the hashtag #WomenWorthWatching, serves as a rallying cry designed to ignite social media engagement and public discourse about the underrepresentation of female athletes in media, targeting not just sports fans but also advocates for gender equality and the wider public. This approach situates the campaign within public interest marketing while maintaining a sharp sports industry focus, articulating a brand proposition that elevates the value and legitimacy of women’s sports to equal footing with men’s. What Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#8—ONGOING CHARACTERS OR CELEBRITIES is harnessed here to full effect, with Billie Jean King’s enduring persona lending immediate credibility and emotional resonance, ensuring brand recall and message amplification. The film-based campaign’s timing, partnership strategy, and creative execution combine to provoke meaningful conversations and challenge entrenched media norms. The campaign earns 73/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Women Worth Watching matters to the industry because it demonstrates how sports brands can wield cultural moments and iconic figures to drive systemic change in media representation, which is essential as the category evolves toward genuine gender equity.