Advocacy Group Debuts Ally Hoop, a Mascot That Calls for Pay Equity in Women's Sports

Not so fun fact: The three top mascots in the NBA—Rocky the Mountain Lion, Harry the Hawk and Benny the Bull—each pull in considerably more money annually than Jackie Young, the highest-paid player in the WNBA. With this statistic in mind, an advocacy group has created its own mascot called Ally Hoop, coinciding with the WNBA’s debut in Canada. The animated character, developed by Toronto creative agency Hard Work Club and 1stAveMachine, aims to call attention to an outsized wage gap and raise money through a branded merchandise line. Using the no-nonsense tagline, “Ally Hoop: The Equal Pay Mascot,” the campaign comes from Fast and Female, a charity founded in 2005 by Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford. The organization’s mission is to empower 8- to 14-year-old girls through sports and physical activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxCAN-UFP_c Ally Hoop, the character, is described as “an ally for achieving net net equality in sport—she’s here to hype the game, like only a mascot can, and close the gap.” Not to be outdone by her human counterparts, Ally shimmies, stomps and twerks her way through a game-day dance routine in a video announcing the program. The light-touch approach was intentional, per Meghan Kraemer, co-founder and executive creative director at Hard Work Club. “Campaigns around equality are often sports montages treated with an earnest tone that detractors simply tune out,” Kraemer said. “We saw an opportunity to come at the issue differently, with a sense of fun that disarms the ‘haters’ in the comment sections of female athletes’ feeds.” It may be an “unconventional way” to grab eyeballs, according to Gabriela Estrada, executive director of Fast and Female, but “a mascot’s role is to hype fans, so why not hype them up to be more engaged in pushing for pay equity?” Ally Hoop T-shirts and other swag are on sale on the Fast and Female website, with proceeds going toward the cause. A custom-created line of merchandise supports the "Ally Hoop" program. The campaign will spread out across digital outdoor ads, in-restaurant posters and social media ahead of the first-ever WNBA game played in Canada at the Scotiabank Arena this Saturday. Additional support will come from Canadian broadcasters, influencers, athletes and Olympians, with women’s soccer player Janine Beckie and WNBA player Laeticia Amihere as official spokespersons. “Women’s sports are advancing because of people in sports doing exactly this—choosing to fight for better,” Beckie said in a statement. “We can’t sit on the sidelines and hope for change. We need fans to join the movement: Buy merchandise, tune into games on TV, share opinions publicly, bring friends to events, call out sexism and hold humanity to a higher standard. There are so many great ways to get involved, but we need to keep raising the bar for visibility.” 'It's Happening' In a separate campaign from WNBA sponsor DoorDash Canada, the brand is dropping a short film called "It's Happening" as "a love letter to the girls picking up a basketball for the first time and the women who never let it go as they pursued the sport." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swt6OCwZC5Q The home delivery service, working with director Vanesa Millado and creative agency No Fixed Address, filmed on- and off-court moments with the WNBA and Canadian youth leagues such as the Hoop Queens, Albany Avenue Basketball Association and Hoops for Her. Inspiration for the film came after findings were released from the 2022 Canadian Women & Sport Rally Report, which found that 50% of girls in Canada quit sports before adolescence. Why More Brands Should Add Gender Equity to Their Playbooks After This March Madness The video will air on the Jumbotron at Scotiabank Arena during this weekend's pre-season game between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx, with DoorDash Canada hosting women's teams from the University of Alberta and the University of Carlton in Ottawa for the event. The effort is a continuation of DoorDash Canada's commitment to women in sports, which includes a corporate partnership with Project 8 to help kick off a pro women's soccer league in Canada in 2025.