VOLLEYBALL WORLD Launches The ‘EQUAL JERSEY’ To Support Gender Equality In The World Of Sport

Ogilvy Social.Lab’s client Volleyball World, is launching the Equal Jersey as part of the ‘A Sport Like No Other’ campaign to raise awareness for gender equality in volleyball and the rest of the sport’s world.

AMSTERDAM, 21 June 2021 – Volleyball World, Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam’s global client, is launching the ‘Equal Jersey’ today: a jersey specifically designed to honor gender equality. This first ever Equal Jersey will be worn by the world’s top volleyball players featuring not only their name, but also the name of the opposite gender who shares the same jersey number. The special jersey design is part of a wider campaign that Ogilvy has been working on for Volleyball World called ‘A Sport Like No Other’.

Top male and female players will wear their Equal Jerseys for the first time at the finals of the 2021 Volleyball Nations League (VNL), taking place on June 25 and 27. The special edition jerseys will be showcased during the finals to celebrate how the entire volleyball community – being the sport itself, the players, and the fans – strives to close the gender gap in all sports globally. Volleyball is a sport with a longstanding commitment to gender equality, where 84% of fans have a strong interest in both men and women volleyball, making it the world’s most gender equal sport. In fact, in 2019 the highest paid volleyball player in the world was female.

“By launching the Equal Jersey campaign, we aim to showcase that volleyball is universal. It brings people together and players and fans cheer for all, championing equality, diversity and inclusion as a limitless strength”, says Finn Taylor, CEO of Volleyball World. “Volleyball World is proud to be a leading advocate in promoting gender equality in sport. Gender equality and inclusivity are in volleyball’s DNA and we refuse to accept the status quo”.

This huge disparity is an area where Volleyball World wants to drive change. Today, the same sport rules apply to players of all genders however, female athletes are more likely to receive lower salaries, fewer sponsors, inferior contracts and little to no media attention. Volleyball has made a significant impact in this area, creating equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal attention, but CEO Finn Taylor believes they must do more to lead from the front “by showcasing volleyball’s culture of inclusivity and equality in new and innovative ways to encourage greater action across the world of sport”.

Three pairs of players have been confirmed as the first Equal Jersey ambassadors, being: Lauren Carlini (USA) and Facundo Conte (ARG) sharing the Equal Jersey No. 7, Natalia Goncharova (RUS) together with Wallace de Souza (BRA) sharing No. 8, and Eda Erdem (TUR) and Nimir Abdel-Aziz (NED) sharing No. 14.

The ‘A Sport Like No Other’ campaign created by Ogilvy Social.Lab focusses on growing volleyball into a global brand and increase its appeal through a new brand positioning and digital platform launch. Volleyball World, an extension of the partnership between the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and CVC Capital Fund VIII, will bring its new brand to life by means of several digital and social campaigns involving showcasing player ambassadors leading up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. Find out more and visit www.volleyballworld.com, where everything volleyball comes together in one place.

“If we would imagine a sport, one that is diverse and inclusive, one that anyone easily can enjoy, a sport of now which is equal towards all its players and fans no matter who they are: that sport would be volleyball. And with the launch of the Equal Jersey as well as the Sport Like No Other campaign we are embodying the equalness of volleyball forever, and that’s what makes volleyball a sport like no other”, says Tolga Buyukdoganay ECD, Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam.

Volleyball World’s Equal Jersey activation shows that Ogilvy Social.Lab continues to partner with clients that are dedicated to be part of change in the area of gender equality opportunity. This call for more equality ties in perfectly with Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam’s proactive diversity and inclusion approach. Ogilvy Social.Lab is proud to be in partnership with this dynamic approach to further promote change in gender equality and looks forward to showcasing the branding and creative execution to the rest of the sports industry by means of impactful activations like the Equal Jersey one by Volleyball World.

Source: Ogilvy

  The Equal Jersey, Volleyball World