Johnnie Walker Recruits Ted Lasso’s Boss For Women’s Sports Campaign

Hannah Waddingham may be more of a rugby fan in real life, but the Emmy-winning actress has been inextricably linked to soccer since her C-suite days in the beloved comedy Ted Lasso.

Taking advantage of that place in the public consciousness, Waddingham and Johnnie Walker have partnered for a campaign to rally viewers around the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

The program—which has content, merchandise and experiential activations—will center on “Match Day Memos” from Waddingham that give video tune-in reminders. The messages, delivered by text, include stats and info on how watching women’s sports can help level an uneven playing field for female athletes.

Though women make up 40% of all athletes, they receive less than 10% of total sports news coverage, per the campaign’s data.

“We must do better to make sure women receive the same visibility, recognition and accurate portrayals as their male counterparts,” Waddingham says in an intro video dropping today. 

Aside from the dearly departed Ted Lasso, Waddingham’s sports bona fides extend to the Super Bowl, where she made her game-day debut as a glamorous James Bond-style villain in a Rakuten commercial last year.

For the initiative dubbed “Watch Women’s Sports,” Waddingham asks consumers to “demand more attention, more news coverage, more resources and more respect for women athletes.”

The message of the initiative is simple, yet its architects hope it can have a broad, potentially global impact.

“When people tune in, all boats rise,” Sophie Kelly, senior vice president of whiskies at Johnnie Walker’s parent company Diageo North America, told Adweek. “More eyeballs means more brands, more sponsorship money, better payment for athletes.”

Leaders at the Women’s Sports Foundation, a nonprofit partner in the program, said it’s imperative to have corporate backing to help close the visibility gap and move toward gender equity.

“As millions tune in to the Women’s World Cup, it is our hope that this campaign inspires everyone to continue following women athletes in all sports throughout the year and encourages them to uplift all women in their communities so they can thrive on and off the field,” Danette Leighton, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.

Beyond lego-slapping

“Watch Women’s Sports” is part of Johnnie Walker’s ongoing involvement in professional women’s soccer—the brand sponsors Angel City Football Club in Los Angeles and the New Jersey/New York Gotham FC–aiming to take its relationships beyond typical logo-slapping.

The brand has shown “unwavering support in our mission to challenge norms and push boundaries every single day,” according to Julie Uhrman, co-founder and president of Angel City FC, who called the booze behemoth’s leadership “pioneers in this new era of sports and sports partnerships.”

Since its debut in 2020—with Johnnie Walker as one of its first sponsors—Angel City has sought out brand partners “that not only share our core values but also understood the potential their investment could have on changing women’s sports.” 

Johnnie Walker previously commissioned the first-ever anthem for Angel City—a high-energy tune called “Running with Angels” from Grammy-winner Brittany Howard—and will sponsor the upcoming Angel City Equity House and Equity Summit in Sydney, Australia. 

The summit, coming next month to coincide with World Cup play in Australia and New Zealand, will feature Angel City FC co-founders Natalie Portman, Kara Nortman and Uhrman along with 100 other leaders in sports, tech, entertainment and business.

Memos, media and merch

In spearheading “Watch Women’s Sports,” Johnnie Walker brought in digital media platform Just Women’s Sports as a partner, with media company Hello Sunshine producing the Waddingham intro video and custom content pieces that will launch through late August.

Johnnie Walker plans to donate $100,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation, partly triggered when consumers sign up for “Match Day Memos.” Another source of funds will come from the sale of limited-time merchandise—jerseys designed by illustrator Monica Ahanonu and available on Angel City and Gotham online shops. 

The promotional push around “Watch Women’s Sports” includes paid ads on Paramount+, Facebook, Instagram and Just Women’s Sports, a custom media program with Vox, out of home placements and watch parties in Miami, Chicago and L.A.

The summer project is part of Johnnie Walker’s continuing cultural platform, First Strides, and a follow-up to its recent partnership with Women in Film for a unique version of the red carpet at its Oscar party.