…but not in the way you may think. This time there are no girls in short golfing skirts, no naked female golf pros in a bath full of golf balls, this time the gentlemen are doing their part to entice new players into the game.
Female golf pro Jan Stephenson in an 80s campaign
PGA Australia’s new campaign is called ‘Pro Golf Exposed’ and it features young, handsome, muscled men in various stages of undress posing for the camera in a fashion-style photo shoot, all in an effort to draw more women to the game, who at the moment represent only 15% of all players.
For many, sex and golf are two disparate concepts, and when professional golfers are mentioned, we imagine white-haired, beer-bellied men clad in ridiculous pants. But according to the CEO of PGA Australia, Brian Thorburn, this is exactly the stereotype, which is often deters younger players from joining the game, that the campaign aims to challenge.
The young men are showcasing the fact that Golf is not just a sport for old fogies, like any other game it has rising stars and fresh, young players, and more importantly, it really is a sport, requiring participants to be fit and athletic.
The campaign is for the ladies, with the website offering visitors the chance to win a golfing lesson for the winner and their mother (just in time for mothers day) if they share the images of the guys with their friends on Facebook.
However, we really struggle with why, call us old fashioned, PGA Australia don’t use women to attract women? Wouldn’t they be really targeting women more directly by engaging aspirational women who we can relate to in their communication? I struggle with how this is any different to using women to get men’s attention. Surely they realise that what would largely be an AB target, are be smarter than this? Overall, lets hope this campaign might lead to more interest in and recognition of the women in golf.
No Comments