THIS GIRL CAN

This Girl Can is our nationwide campaign

to get women and girls moving,
regardless of shape, size and ability

Fear of judgement, lacking confidence, not having enough time – our research shows there
are a mix of practical and emotional pressures that stop many women from being as
active as they would like.

In fact, 40% of women aged 16 and over are not active enough to get the full health
benefits of sport and physical activity, compared to 35% of men.

That’s why in 2015, our groundbreaking This Girl Can campaign was born.

It celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they look, how well
they do it or how sweaty they get.

In a nutshell, it seeks to challenge the conventional idea of what exercise looks like.

We want to inspire more women and girls to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that
judgement, time, money and energy are barriers that can be overcome.

And you can be part of this effort by signing up to be a This Girl Can supporter, which will
give you access to our toolkit.

Lisa O’Keefe, our director of insight, hopes the campaign will convince women they don’t
need to be in shape or super confident in their bodies to take part.

“This Girl Can is about helping women feel confident, so they can overcome the fears
about being judged that our research showed was stopping many from getting active,” she
said.
“Since we launched five years ago, we're seeing more relatable images in advertising and
social media, but there's a long way to go until women's lives are being shown in a
realistic way.

“We've designed the new adverts to show things we're still not seeing - women using
exercise to manage period symptoms or juggling motherhood - all while celebrating
women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds.”

Analysing photographs
Substance
1. What is the title of the piece? Who is the artist / photographer? What date was the
photograph taken? How does this photograph feature in a larger body of work? Why was
this photograph taken? What was the intention?
Composition
2. Is it portrait or landscape?
3. What type of shot is it? Is it landscape? Action? Panoramic? Posed? Candid? Still life?
Figurative? Abstract? Direct approach (confronting a scene in a straight-forward manner,
without using unusual angles or distortion)? What angle is used?
4. Describe the picture: What is in the background? What is in the foreground? (Other terms
– middleground, top right / left, centre, etc) What is the photographer’s vantage point (the
place from which a photographer takes a photograph)?
5. What is the focal point? (Where the viewer’s eyes are drawn first?) Which parts of the
picture are dominant? Which parts of the picture are subordinate? How is this achieved?
(size, colour, location) Where is the emphasis? (The resting place for the eye)
6. What type of shot is it? Angles – Extreme long shot, long shot, medium long shot, medium
shot, medium close up, close up, extreme close up. Angles – eye level, low angle, high
angle, hip level, knee level, ground level, shoulder level, dutch angle (camera is slanted to
one side), bird-eye-view, aerial?
7. Is the image visually balanced? (Balance implies that the visual elements within the frame
have a sense of weight. Large objects generally weigh more than small objects and dark
objects weigh more than light coloured objects. The position of the elements is critical).
Positive space – where shapes and forms exist. Negative space – empty space around
shapes and forms. (Areas of a picture that contain ‘nothing’ are important visual elements
that provide balance in an image.) How is balance achieved? Classical balance is
achieved through a centred subject. Symmetrical balance distributes visual elements
evenly in an image. Asymmetrical balance is found when visual elements are not evenly
distributed in an image.
8. Framing – This is what the photographer places within the boundaries of the photograph.
Describe the edges of the image. What is included? What does the framing draw your
attention to in the photograph?
9. Colour – what colours have been used? Are the photographs black and white or
monochromatic (the use of one colour where only the value of the colour changes, that is it
gets brighter or darker)? Are the colours intense or subdued? Are the colours warm or
cool?
10. Lighting – where is the lighting coming from? Behind the camera, to the side or is it the
camera pointing into it like a silhouette? Is it natural light or has a flash been used? Are
 there harsh shadows or soft shadows? Is the image over-exposed (too bright) or
underexposed (too dark)? What time of day was the image taken?
11. Contrast – do you see any contrasting elements in the photograph? (Colour, shape, texture,
tone)
12. Lines – are there objects in the photographs that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thin,
thick? Do the lines create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines show
movement or energy?
13. Has the rule of thirds been used? (Place the horizon line one third or two thirds of the way
down, in the centre. Most important objects one third or two thirds of the way across the
image).
Television campaign
This girl can - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH4GcPQXpc
This girl can – me again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=60&v=4BKwk8q4H0Y&feature=emb_logo

Meet the girls

Analysing a television advertisement
Substance
Who is the advert aimed at? What is being advertised? What is the purpose of the
advertisement? What is the narrative? What is the idealisation? When was the advertisement
produced?

Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene refers to the composition of an image. What goes into the frame? How will the
subjects be composed against the backdrop? Should the lighting appear from in front, behind or
the top?
 The Dominant – where is our eye attracted first? Why?
 Lighting – high key? Low key? High contrast? Natural lighting? Combination? High key
lighting – features bright, illuminated, few conspicuous shadows. Low key lighting –
features diffused shadows, atmospheric pools of light. High contrast – harsh shafts of lights
and dramatic streaks of blackness.
  Backdrop / set – where is the advert set? Is it realistic or abstract? What background is
there?
 Positions of actors – are they in the foreground or background? What are they doing?
 Positioning of objects and props – how do these add to the overall purpose of the
advertisement?

Camera shot
 Extreme long shot, long shot, medium long shot, medium shot, medium close, close up,
extreme close up. Why have these shots been used?

Camera angle
 How is the camera tilted in relation to the subject? eye level, low angle, high angle, hip
level, knee level, ground level, shoulder level, dutch angle (camera is slanted to one side),
bird-eye-view, aerial? Why have these angles been used?

Camera lens
 Telephoto lens – a lens that draws objects closer but also diminishes the illusion of depth.
Wide-angle lens – a lens that takes in a broad area and increases the illusion of depth.

Camera movement
 Zoom in, zoom out, Pan (when the subject stays still and the camera moves around it), tilts
(camera remaining static but moving vertically). Why are these camera movements
evident?

Music and sound

 Diegetic sounds are those produced by the things and people in the scene. The source of
the sound is natural. How does the use of diegetic sound add to the advert?
 Non-diegetic sounds are superimposed and are edited after the takes are made. These
include voiceovers and music. Why have these non-diegetic sounds been used?

Colours
 What is the dominant colour? Are there contrasting colours? Is there colour symbolism?

Editing
 How has the editing process been used to create a mood or tone: is there a sense of
urgency, control, excitement, relaxation, confidence, luxury?

Women’s sport advert comes under

fire . . . from men
Martyn Ziegler
, Chief Sports Reporter
Saturday February 01 2020, 12.01am GMT, The Times
S port England’s taboo-breaking This Girl Can advert has generated a hugely positive

reaction for its portrayal of the unspoken challenges that women can face in sport, but has also
led to complaints to the advertising watchdog.
The TV ad, right, shows women dealing with issues such as periods, the menopause and
motherhood — and includes a shot of a woman changing for a yoga session with a tampon
string visible. That proved too much for the sensibilities of about 20 people who have
complained to the Advertising Standards Authority.

The first edition of the ad in 2015 won awards for showing women of all shapes and sizes
getting active, and the latest version — which was launched on TV during Love Island in mid-
January — highlights the challenges many women have to cope with, but which are rarely
discussed publicly. Dina Asher-Smith, Britain’s world champion sprinter and the TV presenter
Davina McCall have been among those who praised its impact.
The complaints included that the ad was scheduled when children could see it, while others
claimed it was too graphic.

Sport England has been unapologetic — it sees the complaints as vindication of the aims of the
campaign to tackle issues that can stop women getting active.

One of the complainants wrote that he “looks forward to the day when an ad for male genitalia
cream interrupts your halloumi”.

It has also not been lost on Sport England chiefs that most if not all of the complaints came from
men.