This week, British lifestyle brand White Stuff launched a campaign that every brand strategist and cultural commentator should be paying attention to.
In an age where authenticity has become currency, this is how you do storytelling with soul. Their new campaign puts the spotlight not on celebrities or influencers, but on the remarkable women who made history in 1972 - when England’s first women’s team played their debut international match.
Meet Julia, Sue, Jeannie, Lynda, Maggie, and Pat: six of the original trailblazers who took to the frozen pitch in Greenock, Scotland, wearing the Three Lions at a time when women’s football was barely acknowledged, let alone supported. Through beautifully candid portraits and raw, first-person stories, White Stuff honours not just a forgotten match - but a forgotten movement.
What sets this campaign apart is its refusal to romanticise the past. It speaks plainly and powerfully about what it meant to play when girls were banned from football, when there were no kits, no wages, no warm-up jackets. Just determination and a ball. And when victory came in the form of a 3–2 win over Scotland, there were no media headlines. No post-match interviews. Just numb toes and lifelong memories.
This is a reclamation of narrative. These women did something special, even if it took decades for anyone to say it out loud. And in elevating them now, White Stuff invites us to think about legacy, progress, and the long road to recognition.
Beyond nostalgia, this campaign taps into a deeper cultural current: that of rewriting history to include the voices long left out of the frame. With the Lionesses’ 2022 Euros win still echoing, this feels timely, powerful, and deserved.
There’s a phrase that sums it up best, delivered casually by one of the players:
“You can have all the money in the world, but you can't have my memories.”
White Stuff hasn’t just launched a campaign - they’ve helped write these women back into the history books.
Why These Stories Matter:
White Stuff reminds brands that the most powerful storytelling starts with real people and real purpose.
The campaign reframes legacy - not as a buzzword, but as a baton passed between generations of women.
It shows how fashion brands can engage with sport meaningfully, without surface-level slogans or pink-washed platitudes.
Just 17% of women's sports stories in UK media feature women over 40 - making White Stuff’s focus genuinely rare.
Only 7% of brand campaigns targeting women in sport spotlight those from non-elite or historic backgrounds, according to WARC.
