The NWSL is back, and it wants fans to know it.
Ahead of this weekend’s season kickoff, the National Women’s Soccer League unveiled the latest iteration of its “We Play Here” sports marketing campaign with the new 60-second spot,“Keep Up.”
From agency Cartwright, “Keep Up” debuts today on paid TV, digital and social properties, the league’s new direct-to-consumer property and inside club stadiums once play begins.
“Run with us. We control the pace. From kickoff to equalizers, the 90th minute, PK after PK. The next generation begins here. World champions play here, so run with us,” says Kansas City Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta in a voiceover. “We’re only getting bigger. All you have to do is keep up.”
“It captures so much of the magic and the storytelling of this league, and the players and the athletes that got us to where we are,” Julie Haddon, chief marketing and commercial officer of the NWSL, told ADWEEK. “It’s a whole play on stories.”
The spot utilizes storybook motifs that highlight stars and major moments across the league and its 14 teams.
“We stitched all these moments from last season to tell this bigger story of the league, reminding people that some of the greatest in the world play in this league,” Mariya Munsey, senior art director at Cartwright, told ADWEEK. “As we were concepting and coming up with this idea for kickoff, we just wanted to match the energy that the league brings and its fans bring. We felt like ‘Keep Up’ rises to that energy and invites current and future fans to do the same.”
The creative builds on 2023’s inaugural marketing campaign that launched ahead of the last World Cup, emphasizing that the best players in the world play right here in the U.S.
“From a production quality, we wanted to uplevel the work and the creative,” Haddon said. “When I think about the trailblazing momentum of our league and the quality of the commercial work that our partners are beginning to flood the market with, the whole concept is ‘Keep Up.’ Our message in ’24 is meant to encapsulate the trajectory and the growth of our audiences, partnerships, league, and invite current and future fans in and hop on this wave that is women’s soccer in America.”