Itaú Unibanco: It’s More Than A World Cup

To pay tribute to women’s football athletes of today and yesterday, Itaú Unibanco, sponsor of all Brazilian national soccer teams, has focused their latest ad campaign on the four-decade long ban on women playing the sport, using artificial intelligence to envision Brazilian women’s teams from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The 1941 decree that stated, “Women shall not be allowed to engage in sports incompatible with the conditions of their nature,” lasted until 1983 in the country, crushing the athletic dreams of generations of young women. So, to develop this campaign and honor what might have been, the bank listened to former players, historians, sociologists and specialists who helped describe how it felt to play women’s football at the time. Based on these testimonies and other research, a designer with an expertise in AI generated images of the possible athletes. The result was “Brazilian Teams that have never existed”. Crafted by advertising agency GALERIA.ag, the campaign features print and electronic media pieces that celebrate the imagined teams that never took the field for the 1959, 1963 and 1971 Women’s World Cups. The effort focuses on three pioneers of the sport: Iolanda, a player from Vespasiano during the 60s, who practiced the sport in hiding; Dilma Mendes, a player during the 70s, who is currently the most award-winning football coach in the country; and Pretinha, a player from the 80s, who was part of the first Brazilian women’s team together with Marta and Formiga. The campaign was also supported by football historian and researcher, Aira Bonfim, as well as Giovanna Waksman (better known as Giovanninha), a 14-year-old player on the Sub-17 National Team and a rising star of the sport.