SonyLIV slams objectification of sportswomen in powerful campaign

“It’s time to watch women sports, not women in sports,” says SonyLIV in a thought provoking campaign launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day recently. Conceptualised by Publicis India, the video highlights the objectification that a sportswoman goes through with no appreciation for the sport. 

Female athletes long have experienced micro-aggressions from the media and the public, such as racism, sexism, the belittling of sports accomplishments and being the brunt of sexual jokes. The short film calls for applauding female athletes for the success they bring to the sport. 

Shedding light on the insight behind the campaign, Abhishek Joshi, VP & Head - Marketing, Analytics & Content Syndication – Digital Business, Sony Pictures Networks India, said, “Our viewership analysis has shown that there is growing interest in world sports apart from just Cricket in India. Sports is one of our biggest and strongest content offerings among others. A lot of sports like WWE, Tennis, UFC, etc., that we show on SonyLIV have women athletes. Female athletes have long been victims of micro-aggression from both the media and the public. We wanted to stand bold and take this head-on. We launched this campaign on Women’s Day to spread this message of ‘watching women’s sports’ and not ‘women in sports’.” 

Elaborating on what triggered the idea, Bobby Pawar, CCO & MD – South Asia, Publicis India, said, “The idea is based on and triggered from the fact that many people in our country, unfortunately, watch the women in sports not for their acumen in the game, but for how they look. While the game/ sport means everything to these athletes, people’s perception is more often than not based on the woman’s looks.”  

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He further said, “Most, if not all, of the attention that female athletes get in our country are based on their attire and looks and not on their dedication and contribution towards the game. With this thought in mind, we arrived at this particular take, where we urge the viewer to ensure that they watch woman’s sports for the right reasons and recognise the contribution of women in the same.” 

Since sports is one of the biggest offerings from the brand, when asked how SonyLIV intends to support and implement the thought beyond the campaign, Joshi replied, “We as a brand are known to make contextual films that mirror relevant trends in the society. Even with this film, we have picked up a sensitive topic and brought it to the world. We will take this initiative forward and speak about it actively on social media and drive UGC. We also plan to do a PR campaign around it. Our endeavour is to spread the message so that sportswomen get the respect that they deserve.” 

Worthy of sharing and spreading the word, indeed!

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