How F&B Huskies Is Tackling Sports Drop-Outs Among Irish Youth

In this era of sedentary lifestyles and digital dominance, the imperative to encourage physical activity among our youth has never been more critical. With childhood obesity reaching alarming heights and screens monopolising attention spans, the call for sports participation resounds with an urgency that shouldn’t be ignored. 

Often, the most impactful forms of advertising are those that aim to service a prominent societal problem. The creative minds at F&B Huskies, spearheaded by Laura Rice and Aoife McCleary, in collaboration with Allianz Ireland, did just that. They set out on a mission to confront a stark reality: 1 in 5 Irish children drop out of sports by secondary school. This represents not only a loss of athletic potential, but also a forfeiture of the countless benefits–joy, camaraderie, health, and life lessons–that sport has to offer.  

At the core of the project lies a powerful symbol: a mountainous heap of discarded sports gear, a poignant reminder of the untapped promise that lies dormant in every abandoned jersey and forgotten ball.

In this interview, we find out how their’s vision didn’t stop at mere awareness; instead, seeking to ignite a movement, engage communities and rewrite the narrative of sports dropouts.

LBB> Can you walk us through the creative process behind developing the campaign? How did you come up with the concept of using a mountain-sized pile of sports equipment to represent the decline in sports participation among Irish school kids? 

Laura and Aoife> While the brief was initially directed at promoting sports participation for ‘everyone’, through research, we quickly realised that the highest dropout rates were among children. With 1 in 5 dropping out of sports by secondary school. As one of the largest sponsors of sports in Ireland, and the largest insurer of schools, and school children, this was an ideal challenge for Allianz to tackle. And #StopTheDrop.

When children start playing sports they’re always filled with so much hope and enthusiasm about it. They proudly show off their new kit. Excitedly run onto the pitch. Celebrate every milestone. However, over time, for a myriad of different reasons, this can fade. And they quit. Leaving the kit to slowly make its way under beds, into closets and garages.

Almost every home in Ireland has a ball or racket lying around. And nothing represents broken dreams more than this abandoned gear. By piling it together, and coupling this mountain with a hard-hitting stat, we bring the extent of the problem to life in a really powerful and visual way.

LBB> How did you work to ensure it resonated with the target audience, particularly children and their parents?

Laura and Aoife> As mentioned, children quit for many reasons. And they’re personal to each child. So instead of focusing on the why, we wanted to focus on the tipping point. That emotionally-charged moment where they decide to stay or go. A moment that every viewer can relate to. But particularly, parents and children who may have recently gone through it.

In our film, the protagonist represents every child in this moment. We follow her journey from leaving the changing room upset, dropping her kit along the way, her resolution growing with every step. Before finally adding her own camogie stick (Irish sport) to the pile. Is this a bump in the road or her final decision? We left that open to interpretation. 

LBB> The #StopTheDrop initiative extends beyond raising awareness to actively engaging the community in promoting sports participation. Can you elaborate on the development of the comprehensive activities offered at Allianz.ie/StopTheDrop and how they were integrated into the campaign?

Laura and Aoife> Instead of just ‘talking the talk’ with a film, we wanted the campaign to make a real impact on participation rates. So we worked with Move2B, to create a robust, child-psychologist led coaching program to help.

Move2B is a social enterprise run by two sisters from Waterford, Niamh and Orna Murray, whose aim is to highlight and deconstruct the hidden practical and social barriers to sport using applied research. They were the perfect partner for this campaign as it strives to empower and educate young people to stay involved in sports and physical activity.

As part of the campaign, Move2B created bespoke lesson plans for teachers, training plans for coaches and resources for parents to create a safe and supportive community - thereby providing an opportunity for children to develop and grow in sport. These are all available on Allianz.ie/StopTheDrop.  

LBB> In what ways did cultural research influence the creative ideation and execution of the campaign?

Laura and Aoife> This campaign comes off the back of an enormous amount of cultural research with Allianz and their research partners, Ipsos B&A. This was undertaken to understand how our audience felt about sport today, and what were the big challenges within it. Participation was a topic that repeatedly arose throughout these conversations, as parents and children alike told their own stories of all of the pressures and influences that contributed to dropping out. 

LBB> Tell us something about the campaign that our readers might be surprised to learn

Laura and Aoife> This campaign was shot bang in the middle of November. It was absolutely freezing and we found ourselves trying to chase any light we could get. Thankfully our actor was incredibly resilient and performed till the bitter end. 

Another fun fact: This was the second time the agency collaborated with Fern Berresford, the director of the piece. 

LBB> What can you tell us about any challenges or obstacles faced during the development or implementation? How were they overcome?

Laura and Aoife> Focusing on children in general, meant we had our challenges in representing all children and all the different reasons they drop out of sport. But in 40 seconds, we wouldn’t have time to do this. So we decided to focus on one child’s journey, and that ‘quitting’ moment, leaving the reason open to interpretation. 

We wanted to find a protagonist who could communicate a whole range of complex emotions in a way that would feel relatable. Tonally, we also felt we had to find a balance between frustration and sad emotions, and something more rallying at the end that says, ‘let’s solve this together’. We feel the balance is right, and a lot of parents and coaches will see their own children and athletes in this advertising campaign.

LBB> How do you measure the success of a campaign like this - Are there any KPIs or metrics you use to evaluate its effectiveness? Have you seen any tangible results or positive impacts since the launch?

Laura and Aoife> The ultimate number we want to see changed is the 1 in 5 statistic. As part of this, the campaign’s ambition is to start the conversation, and then help our audience keep kids in sport for longer by using the evidence-based coaching resources developed with Move2B as support. 

This ambition will be driven through the campaign, as well as the numerous sports partnerships and sponsorships Allianz Ireland has, that give the brand such an influential role in the Irish sporting landscape. 

As the campaign is still in its very early stages, the only results we have so far are anecdotal. 

LBB> How has the campaign aligned with F&B Huskies’ broader mission and values as an agency?

Laura and Aoife> We believe in the power of ideas that get remembered, build fame and shift culture. Ideas that have a positive impact on our clients’ businesses, and on society. And that’s exactly what this campaign set out to do. 

Through the campaign, we want to draw attention to and action the worrying decline of sports participation among children in Ireland. We want to influence societal change to improve the shocking statistic of 1 in 5 children drop out of sport by secondary school. We want the Irish public to get behind this rallying call and encourage children, of all ages, to continue to play sport in whatever capacity they can. 

LBB> Anything else you’d like to add?

Laura and Aoife> F&B Huskies were incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Sandra Corbally. Sandra was the AD on this shoot, and has been the AD on the majority of our big shoots over the last number of years. Our condolences to Sandra’s family, friends, and colleagues in the industry. She will be terribly missed.