Johnnie Walker & Leos Launche AFLW Campaign Featuring Old Players’ Boots

AFLW sponsor and partner Johnnie Walker has worked with Leo Burnett Australia to celebrate the progress made in women’s sport through the creation of five pairs of handcrafted footy boots made from the boots of past icons of the women’s game.

The boots are being gifted to current players, inspiring them to “Keep Walking Boldly”, representing the resilience, courage and bravery of the women who have walked before them. The campaign tells the stories of progress that got the game where it is today.

The boots, designed by artisan shoemaker Matea Gluščević from Naarm/Melbourne, will be gifted by Nicole Livingstone, AFL general manager of women’s football, to rising stars: GWS Giants player and Olympic gold medalist Chloe Dalton, Hawthorn’s Emily Bates, Brisbane Lions’ Ally Anderson and Collingwood’s Ashleigh Brazill at a media event at RSEA park in Melbourne.

The four women represent the next generation of female AFLW players, and it is hoped that they one day pass the boots on as the game progresses.

Jodi McLeod, Johnnie Walker marketing manager, said: “Keep Walking has been an incredible rallying cry for progress for more than two decades now. Johnnie Walker is committed to continuing its support of the trailblazers who push for progress every day by partnering with those who took bold strides and those who will continue striding to push Australia forward. These boots are a homage to the 150 years that it took for a women’s footy competition to be established and a celebration of the eighth AFLW season.”

Rosie Stone & Stacey Karayannis, Leo Burnett’s associate creative directors, added: “When we look at the pages of sporting history, we seem only to acknowledge the giants of the game – the top scorers, the record-breakers, the superstars. What’s rarely recognised, though, is the incredible strength and decades of determination it takes to get women’s sport onto the field in the first place. With the AFLW still in its professional infancy and with so much progress to be made, we wanted to celebrate the wins we’ve had along the way and shine a light on the women who walked the game to where it is today.”

The campaign is supported by a film directed by Good Oil’s’ Renée Mao, which documents stories of the women’s game. It features sporting icons like Debbie Lee and Erin Phillips, talking about their experience growing up playing a game that was never ‘meant for them.’ It was shot on location in Sydney and Melbourne and uses never-before-seen archival footage, tracing the history of women’s football in Australia.

The integrated campaign, a reinvigoration of Johnnie Walker’s ‘Keep Walking’ philosophy, will run nationally across digital, social, OOH and influencer, with PR led by Leo Burnett’s Publicis Groupe stablemate Herd MSL.

Campaign Credits:
Diageo | Johnnie Walker
Jodi McLeod Marketing Manager
Emma Ryan Brand Manager
Rebekah Allison Brand Marketing & PR

Leo Burnett | Johnnie Walker In Her Boots
Account Management
James Walker-Smith General Manager
Andrew Thistlethwaite Group Business Director
Cameron Dobbelsteyn Business Director
Rosie Dingle Senior Business Manager

Strategy
Dhiv Pillai Senior Strategy Director

Creative
Andy Fergusson National Executive Creative Director
Tim Woolford Group Creative Director
Tommy Cehak Group Creative Director
Stacey Karayannis Associate Creative Director
Rosie Stone Associate Creative Director

Production / Studio 
Justine Dooner Executive Producer
Laura Midalia Senior Integrated Producer
Julie Gunner Finished Artist
Demi Mackrill, Jon Cucinotta Retoucher
Joe Giuffrida, Ed Coyle Editors (web assets)

PR – Herd MSL
Jennifer Brown Chief Client Officer
Janete Sampaio Senior Account Director
Savannah Fielder Account Director

Good Oil – Production Company
Renée Mao Director
Sam Long Executive Producer
Chana McLallen Head of Production
Ellie Craven Producer
Jani Hakli DOP

The Editors Post House
Grace O’Connell Editor
Isabella Key Post Producer
Matt Edwards VXF Operator
Massive Music Music & Sound

Stills
Milos Mlynarik OOH Photography
Nick Bowers Boot Photography & Motion, Photoplay

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