Billie Jean King and Scotiabank Capture the Excitement of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Second Season

November 30th marked the start of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s second season. As a proud founding sponsor of the PWHL, Scotiabank is at the forefront of celebrating the League. Introducing it’s her time, a new broadcast spot by Scotiabank featuring PWHL stars including the Toronto Sceptres’ Natalie Spooner and Montreal Victoire’s Catherine Dubois as well as sports icon, and PWHL advocate, Billie Jean King. In fact, all the players in the featured in the spot are currently in the PWHL.  

The spot follows Natalie Spooner, who from the first time she hit the ice was ready to be a champion of the game and a steward of its future. Now, like so many of her fellow PWHL players, she is helping to celebrate the League while recognizing there are still barriers to break down for future generations. Billie Jean King is both an international sports icon and a champion for women’s sport who saw the importance of this League for women since day one.

Rethink led the campaign on strategy, creative and PR, with PHD on media. The fully integrated campaign went live beginning on November 29 and is anchored by a :30s with :15s and :6s cut downs and is running across English and French Canada.

Laura Curtis Ferrera, chief marketing officer, Scotiabank, said, “As a longtime supporter of women’s hockey across Canada, Scotiabank is proud to put a stake in the ground, welcoming this new era of female hockey players to the ice. I would like to personally thank Billie Jean King for lending her voice and sharing her passion for advancing women’s sport. Through hockey for all, we have been working on creating positive change in the game for a long time including through one of our marquee initiatives, Girls HockeyFest, and we’re thrilled to continue to be a champion of women in sport as the League drops the puck on its second official season.”

John Rocco, vice president, global brand management, Scotiabank, said, “It’s rare to be presented with such a unique marketing challenge – often we work with actors depicting what our research, data and insights prove, here, we worked closely with the professional athletes who are close to the game, have lived it, and have shared it. They are the real leaders of the game, so It’s her time celebrates the willingness of athletes to support other athletes, to break down barriers and to champion the sport they love. As the PWHL’s second season kicks off, we’re absolutely thrilled to be a part of it and couldn’t be prouder of the campaign we’ve developed to support it."

Natalie Spooner, Toronto Sceptres, PWHL, said, “Growing up, almost every winter, my dad built an ice rink in my backyard that I loved to practice on, day and night. I know how lucky I was to have had that kind of access - and I want every girl who wants to play the game to experience that kind of excitement and passion. We need to work together to make the ice available to the next generation of female hockey players.”

Crystal Sales, group strategy director, Rethink, said, “In working with Scotiabank to build this campaign we started off with an insight that came from the game’s players and advocates: it’s the right thing to do. From there, we worked together to build what we believed was a campaign that would resonate – inspiring generations of hockey players to come. Scotiabank has a proven track record of driving meaningful impact through hockey partnerships, and we will continue helping to open up the sport so everyone feels welcome.