See how Ally is plugging sports gender equality on anniversary of Title IX

Ally is taking its support of women’s sports to the next level. After pledging last month to give equal ad dollars to both women’s and men’s sports programming, the Detroit-based digital bank is now publicizing its move with a new campaign. “Watch the Game, Change the Game” will air on broadcast, digital and social media channels beginning today, the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs “There’s a vicious cycle that exists in women’s sports,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer at Ally. Networks don’t give women’s sports prime coverage because there isn’t advertising support, but there isn’t advertising support because it’s not prime coverage, she noted, adding that as a result, women’s teams don’t receive higher revenue and their female athletes don’t receive salaries on par with their male counterparts. “We decided somebody’s got to blink and end the vicious cycle,” Brimmer said. The company is matching its spend between women’s and men’s sports dollar for dollar over the next five years. The campaign includes a 60-second spot created with Ally’s creative agency Anomaly and Activista LA. The spot shows female athletes in sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer. “When you watch me play, you support all of us,” one baseball player says. The spot ends with the text “Ally is committed to equal investment in women’s sports media.” It also includes Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris, two of the current players for National Women’s Soccer League’s NJ/NY Gotham FC. In May, Ally said it will be the presenting sponsor of the 2022 Women’s International Champions Cup, deepening its three years of sponsoring the soccer tournament. Brimmer said that Ally’s pledge has received positive support and feedback from networks such as ESPN. It is not the only brand giving women’s sports more attention. Last year, Michelob Ultra said it would give $100 million to women’s sports over the next five years in support of gender parity. Twitter today is hosting its own campaign in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX—the push will include a series of conversations with women from the WNBA, NASA and ESPN. Despite rising prices and the economic downturn—as well as giants such as Microsoft pulling TV dollars—Ally is not changing any of its media spend, Brimmer recently told Ad Age. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

See how Ally is plugging sports gender equality on anniversary of Title IX

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