Johnnie Walker World Cup campaign features ‘Ted Lasso’ star Hannah Waddingham

Johnnie Walker is using the Women's World Cup to further its support of female athletes, with some help from “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham.

The actress will be featured in the new “Match Day Memos” campaign from the Diageo-owned Scotch whisky brand. From today through Aug. 20, people can sign up online to receive these video memos, which include daily FIFA Women’s World Cup schedules as well as inspirational reminders and statistics to boost viewer support for women’s sports. The memos will be sent via text message every morning to those who sign up.

The memos were scripted and produced in partnership with Hello Sunshine, the media company founded by actress and producer Reese Witherspoon with the mission of broadening the opportunities for women in the media.

​​For every signup, Johnnie Walker will make a $10 donation, up to $100,000 in total, to its nonprofit partner, the Women’s Sports Foundation. Johnnie Walker is also collaborating with Just Women’s Sports for the initiative. The digital-first media platform will help amplify Waddingham’s call to action to tap into a community of dedicated women’s sports fans. 

Selecting Waddingham for a soccer (or football)-related campaign makes sense to “Ted Lasso” fans. Waddingham has won one Emmy and been nominated for three consecutive years—including this week—for playing club owner Rebecca Welton.

“Match Day Memos” is part of Johnnie Walker’s First Strides program, a commitment the brand made in 2022 to invest in diverse creators and programming. Previously, the brand hosted its own Oscars red carpet to celebrate female filmmakers who were snubbed at this year’s Academy Awards. 

While viewership and investment in the National Women’s Soccer League is on the rise, there is still work to be done, said Sophie Kelly, senior VP of whiskies at Diageo North America.

“We have an issue with the infrastructure of viewership and broadcast," Kelly said. "So how can we take a cultural moment where so many people will be tuning into women's soccer and remind people they can help just by watching?”

A study conducted every five years by the University of Southern California and Purdue University found that 95% of total television coverage focused on men’s sports in 2019, with social media being equally unequal. This was despite the NCAA reporting that 44% of collegiate athletes and 16.4% of professional athletes are women.  

Johnnie Walker has shifted some of its marketing efforts to include more branded content in recent years, including sponsoring the four-part travel series “You Are Here” hosted by “Fear the Walking Dead” star Colman Domingo.

As the “Match Day Memos” initiative grows, Kelly hinted there may be a branded content angle for the campaign in the future. 

“I think when brands are on the ground walking the talk and there are experiences that people are participating in, we want to grab those experiences and push them out there as content,” she said. “We’re working on a few ideas at the moment.”