GO EQUAL MOVEMENT | #GOEQUAL | 2020
To celebrate a historic goal, she pointed to a symbol of equality / GO EQUAL MOVEMENT "#GOEQUAL"
In June 2019, the moment she scored in a Women's World Cup match, Brazilian soccer legend Marta Vieira da Silva dramatically pointed to her own cleat. It was a historic moment, breaking the record for most World Cup goals scored by any player, male or female. There was no corporate sponsor logo on that shoe—just a pink and blue equality symbol shining on it.
The problem
Marta had previously turned down a sponsorship deal that would have paid her 1/24th of what a male player would earn. GO EQUAL is a movement fighting gender inequality in sports, arguing that men, women, and children alike should receive equal recognition and support from childhood onward. Marta serves as an ambassador for the movement and is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Women and Sport. In Brazil, soccer's heartland, the gap in treatment between male and female players was a deeply structural problem.
The insight
The moment she pointed to her shoe right after scoring was reported around the world as "Marta dedicating her historic goal to gender equality," with saturation coverage from major outlets including The New York Times and the BBC, as well as throughout soccer-obsessed Brazil. It was a strategy built on seizing "the prime-time stage the whole world is watching, the one moment everyone's eyes are on." Rather than selling a product, it aimed to stamp an idea onto the world—a project that tried to become part of history rather than just an ad.
The idea
The shoe carried a pink and blue equality symbol. Instead of a corporate logo, it carried the message itself. At the very moment she rewrote the record books, Marta showed that symbol to the entire world. A prime-time stadium, countless cameras, viewers across the globe—with every element in place, she "pointed to" equality. Instead of buying ad space, the athlete herself became the media. That was the core idea of this campaign.
What happened
This campaign won Gold in the Brand Experience & Activation category at Cannes Lions 2021. It also won Silver at Clio Sports 2020. The agency, Africa DDB, won 1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, 4 Silver, and 10 Bronze at Cannes Lions 2020/2021, earning recognition as the most-awarded agency in Latin America and one of the most celebrated agencies in the world.
Afterthought
By pointing to her shoe at the moment of her goal, Marta delivered a voiceless voice to the world. Refusing a corporate logo and choosing a symbol of equality instead—that decision itself became an expression that went beyond advertising. From this case, we're reminded that advertising work can sometimes become part of history. A willingness to stand on conviction and speak to the world—that, I think, is the strongest creative work there is.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2020
