Exclusive: It’s Game On for the NWSL’s World Cup Marketing Campaign

With just days to go until the U.S. Women’s National Team begins its quest for an unprecedented third World Cup championship in a row, the National Women’s Soccer League unveiled the next stage of its “We Play Here” campaign.

Two billion people are expected to tune into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, kicking off July 20, so the domestic U.S. league is here to remind everyone that the best soccer players in the world play in the United States.

A new 30-second spot, narrated by USWNT legend Brandi Chastain, highlights the league’s top talent heading to Australia and New Zealand. The tournament kicks off July 20, and Fox and Telemundo have the U.S. broadcast rights.

“In case you’re new here, we’re here to make history,” says Chastain. “The best in the world, we got us.”

“We don’t just play the world’s game, we run it,” Chastain finishes alongside a highlight reel featuring stars such as 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, captain Alex Morgan, Canada’s Christine Sinclair and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman.

It’s one of the biggest digital buys that the NWSL has done since Julie Haddon joined the league as its first chief marketing officer last year, and the overall campaign is the largest brand execution to date.

The spot will debut on the NWSL’s social channel and then will run across all major social channels and digital sports outlets.

Instead of hiring an external agency, Haddon opted to hire internally, bringing over producer Sam Howard who worked with Haddon on NFL Super Bowl commercials.

“The traditional thing to do is be a CMO and hire an agency, but I wanted the agency to be entrepreneurial and build this together,” Haddon told Adweek. “We’re not a traditional sports league, and we’re lucky that we can develop the future of sports and find new ways to develop and grow our fan base.”

The campaign gameplan

This is the first of three phases for the World Cup campaign. Once the tournament reaches knockout rounds, another series of content will be pushed. Then, once the team returns to the U.S., a third phase will roll out, highlighting that the players fans watched on a global stage can be watched right here in the U.S.

“I’m honored to be asked to participate in spreading the joy and brilliance of the players and teams in the NWSL,” Chastain said. “As co-founder of Bay FC, I look forward to our team competing amongst the greatest in 2024 when we first step onto the pitch.”

Chastain, who even the most casual of sports fans will remember from her iconic 1999 World Cup-winning penalty kick, is a co-founder of the new NWSL expansion team coming to the Bay area.

“It’s a little bit of an homage to the past and to the future,” Haddon said of Chastain’s narration. “It made sense to give a little wink to the core fan as we broaden and think about bridging generations of fans together.”

The best in the world

The spot is a continuation of the campaign launched by Haddon and her team in March alongside the beginning of the NWSL season. The idea was first born in 2019 when Haddon, still at the NFL as head of global brand and consumer marketing, attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

“It made me become a fan, in that I saw the best in the world compete and did not know that there was an NWSL that you followed people like [Megan] Rapinoe and Alex Morgan,” said Haddon. “The whole lineup of the 20+ players make the NWSL their home, and that was the genesis of what ‘We Play Here’ became.”

The campaign doesn’t just highlight U.S. players, however. Out of the 32 nations competing for the title, 16 of those countries have representation inside the NWSL—60 players across 12 clubs.

“The product is the best in the world, and that’s what I think is going to benefit,” said Haddon. “The love that people have, globally being the No. 1 sport in the world, is going to open up the aperture to give us more of a chance to build our fanbase.”

Where it goes from here

The tournament approaches as women’s soccer is seeing unprecedented momentum across the country. In 2023, the NWSL reached record attendance numbers halfway through the season, up 48% over last year.

Paramount has the exclusive broadcast rights to the league in a deal that expires at the end of this season, and viewership on CBS is up 21% year-over-year and up 50% on Paramount+.

“Momentum is already happening,” Haddon said. “The other thing that’s really exciting is brands are coming to us. Brands want to be part of the NWSL, recognizing that we have these highly coveted Gen Y, Gen Z fanbases. They’re recognizing that this is an influencer network and a power to help grow other’s brands too.”