Jillz Loves Football - Get your kit off - (2010)

While the vast majority of men are looking forward to the World Cup, eager to see the football stars display their ball skills, the majority of women are interested in displays of a different nature all together. Responding to the female perspective, Pink and Poodle has created the Jillz Loves Football platform: a direct protest to FIFA’s man-made ban on player’s removing their shirts during goal celebrations. The result is a tongue-in-cheek viral film celebrating the male form.

Oh yeah, they got my number right.

The 45-second viral starts out as a regular World Cup promo, but quickly transitions into slow-motion shots of players running around in all their shirtless glory. The viral film directs women to the Jillz Loves Football website (www.jillzlovesfootball.com), where they can sign the ‘Shirt Off Now!’ petition.

Wencke van Amstel, ECD at Pink and Poodle, says:
“We built this campaign around the insight that many women do love football, just not necessarily for the same reasons as men. For most women, the best part of the game is watching the sexy athletes on the pitch. Goal celebrations used to be the highlight until the killjoys at FIFA decided to ban the popular bare-chested scenes.”

Somehow, this sells sparkling cider something or other. I think. I stopped paying attention to the voiceover as soon as I saw a glimpse of a sixpack

The viral is being seeded through blogs and social media which specifically target women. Next to these other platforms will be incorporated. This includes TV shows before and after World Cup matches and football programmes on Dutch television channels SBS6, Net5, Veronica and across the RTL network. In addition, a specially created segment, dedicated to the ‘Shirt Off Now’ petition will be aired by Dutch broadcaster, RTL5. In this programme, two well-known Dutch girls – known as the cheeky chicks – will interview both players and football officials regarding the Shirt Off Now! petition.

Agency: Pink and Poodle Amsterdam
Client: Heineken Netherlands
Strategy: Wencke van Amstel, Wouter Boon
Creative concept: Wencke van Amstel
Art direction: Wencke van Amstel, Daniel Samama
Copywriting: Gert-jan Munk, Tim de Waard
Account management: Marieke de Klein, Debra Al
Project management: Swantje Hoppe (tvc, photography and general), Suzan Fluitman (online)
Photography: Ram (Umsjatka)
Photo image editing: Jan Hibma
Web: Wencke van Amstel (design), MediaMonks (production, consultancy, interaction design)
Seeding/blogging: Rocco (We Are First)
Executive producer: Swantje Hoppe
Service production: Cyclone Films (South Africa)
Director: Wencke van Amstel, Marc Kubbinga
Editor: Martin Heijgelaar
Music: Steve Johnsen, Joep Beving (Massive Music Amsterdam)
Sound studio: Nick Smith (Wave Studios)
Post-production: Hectic Electric Amsterdam