BT tackled online hate in the soccer world in its powerful "Hope United" campaign during last year's Euro 2020 tournament. Now, it's back with a new campaign focused on the female players playing in the Women's UEFA European Championships, which kicks off today. But the message is that it's "not their problem" -- it's up to men to stop. 

The campaign, this time under the banner of its mobile brand EE, includes a hero film that depicts the resilience of the female soccer players and everything they have to deal with in their daily lives as sportswomen, from injuries and knocks to juggling their playing lives with babies, periods and more. , it moves on to a scene in which a player looks at her phone and sees a hate-filled message-- the implication is, it's just one more thing she has to deal with. It concludes with a message from a male player who tells us: "Women deal with problems every day. But sexist hate? It's not her problem. It's ours."

The idea is to highlight the role of men to act as an ally to women during the Euros, encouraging them to own and challenge the problem of sexist abuse online and elsewhere, as the central perpetrators.

The ad, featuring professional players, was created by Saatchi & Saatchi London and directed by Sasha Rainbow via Academy. It's part of a wider campaign that, similar to with the male championship, will see a team of professional players committed to combating online sexist hate, including helping to equip people with a series of digital skills on how to take a stand against the issue. The topics covered will include how to block accounts, report online hate, mute and filter offensive content and how to diversify your social media feed by following more female voices.

The campaign will run across EE’s social and digital channels, and be displayed via out-of-home media across the UK, while the TV ad will be broadcast nationally.

“Hope United was born during the Men’s Euros in 2021, and this year, we’re bringing our fight against online hate to the Women’s Euros, because we, like many, believe not enough is being done to tackle sexist hate," said Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, in a statement. "So, while we cheer on our Lionesses this summer, we’re also using the opportunity to inspire men to take more of the burden and help tackle the issue of online and offline sexism, helping our partners at EE continue to make life online safer and happier for people in the UK.”