Standing on the bandwagon that says girls CAN accomplish anything they want in life, I believe the phrase, “you play like a girl” – when directed appropriately – can be uplifting, cool and powerful. And that’s not just because I’m the proud dad of two, athletic tween daughters.
Sure, there are plenty of naysayers who think girls can’t stand up to boys when it comes to athletics. In my life, I know many young ladies who can whip a tighter spiral than their older brothers, bend a soccer ball into the net with more accuracy than a teen boy and can cross the finish line in a swim or track heat well ahead of boys their own age.
But this story extends well beyond girls vs. boys. It’s a tale about the recognition that girls need from participating in sports, and what Verizon’s doing about it.
To help encourage more young woman playing athletics, Verizon has partnered with the Women’s Sports Foundation to launch the Play Like A Girl contest. It begins today and concludes Nov. 24.
How to Participate
To join the contest, parents can share their daughter’s proudest athletic moments or dedication to her sport(s) with the opportunity to win a deluxe technology and sport equipment package featuring a digital camera, laptop, in-ear headphones and a gift card worth $5,000.
To submit an entry, and view others, parents can share a video (60 seconds or less) or a photo of your daughter’s achievement or involvement in her sport(s) in the Play Like A Girl tab of our Verizon FiOS Facebook page. The winner will be announced Dec. 13.
Girl Power Personified
A few weeks ago, we started airing a series of TV commercials and online videos involving an eight-year old heroine named Ella. In the campaign, Ella, aka #FiosFootballGirl, matches wits and talks football with legendary NFL quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Joe Thiesmann. Check out what people are saying on Twitter by searching for #FiosFootballGirl.
In the 60-second and 30-second TV commercial, as well as the online videos called Football 411, Bubbles, Take My Job, Straw Defense and Game Over, we sought to showcase that broadband service like FiOS Internet is the great equalizer. Throughout the campaign, we seek to show that such powerful technology opens worlds to people by delivering to them a better way to do things like stream videos, conduct research, send and receive music and photos, and conduct video chats.
The spirit of our campaign was featured in a recent ESPN-W story called “Make ‘Football Girl’ A Reality” and, in part, speaks to girl power.
Young Ella’s character is helping us communicate our product message that technology makes people stronger, and stronger people can change the world. Likewise, we intend for our Play Like A Girl campaign to help showcase all the amazing achievements that girls are making in the world today, and why it’s great to be told you “play like a girl.”
