New Blood Entry — Girls Don't Stop

The high proportion of teen girls discontinuing their participation in sport between ages 14 and 17 is a social issue that Adidas, as a global sportswear brand, wishes to rectify.

Periods are an invisible barrier for women in sport. Research shows that 46% of teenage girls choose not to participate in PE and skip class while on their period, many due to a fear of leaks.

Tennis has been a platform for women to break barriers, with many impactful moments throughout history. For this reason, Wimbledon, with its all-white dress code, has been chosen to launch the campaign message to London and the world: Girls Don’t Stop.

Adidas will collaborate with THINX™ to create a product line of leak-proof activewear that is accessible to all teenage girls, alongside a campaign that breaks tradition and normalises period discussion in sport. Red tennis balls and special edition uniforms will be implemented at Wimbledon to challenge conventions and start conversation. This will be promoted through a strong digital and social media campaign, along with out-of-home media such as posters and metrolites.

From a survey of women who have left school, 59% said avoiding PE classes negatively affected their feelings toward exercise as they got older. Girls Don’t Stop will break the taboo and make young girls feel comfortable enough to talk about their periods in relation to sport, whilst also providing a solution to their fear of leaks through mainstream period-proof activewear. This will make girls more likely to sustain a positive perception of physical activity through later life. Adidas will make girls comfortable enough to talk periods because: Girls Don’t Stop.

This idea was a creative response to a hypothetical brief set by adidas as part of the New Blood Awards programme.