Sky Sports killed off its female-focused Halo brand after just three days
Sky Sports killed off its female-focused Halo brand after just three days
Sky Sports launched a female-focused Halo brand on TikTok, but it was met with swift and strong backlash from female sports fans.
The brand’s content was criticized for being overly feminine, using phrases like “hot girl walks” and posting shipping memes, which were seen as infantilizing and patronizing.
The criticism also accused the brand of lacking focus on women’s sports and failing to elevate female voices in a male-dominated business.
Despite the outcry, Sky Sports deleted all of Halo’s posts after just three days and announced it would be ceasing activity on the account.
The head of audience development at Sky Sports claimed that the brand was driven by women from within the company, but many are skeptical of this claim given the backlash received.
Girls like pink and peach, right?
That Sky Sports felt the need to launch a TikTok channel specifically marketed towards women and billed as its “lil sis” was questionable enough. But once people got a taste of the content on Halo, it was clear the company had absolutely no idea what it was doing.
Halo didn’t focus on women’s sports, nor did it seem to be doing a good job of elevating female voices in a male-dominated business. Instead, it slapped pink sparkly letters on videos, talked about “hot girl walks,” matcha, and posted shipping memes. Unsurprisingly, the backlash was swift and strong.
Head of audience development and social media at Sky Sports, Andy Gill, posted on LinkedIn that he, “couldn’t be prouder and more excited about this launch. Proud, because this has been driven by the women in our team…” However, it seems hard to believe, considering the outcry from female sports fans, that Halo’s development was actually driven by the women at the company.
Q. Why did Sky Sports launch Halo, its female-focused brand?
A. Sky Sports launched Halo as a TikTok channel specifically marketed towards women and billed as its “lil sis”.
Q. What was the main focus of Halo’s content?
A. Halo focused on lifestyle and entertainment content, including pink sparkly letters, “hot girl walks”, matcha, and shipping memes.
Q. How did female sports fans react to Halo’s launch?
A. The backlash from female sports fans was swift and strong, with many calling out the brand for its lack of focus on women’s sports and its patronizing tone.
Q. What was the outcome of Halo’s launch?
A. After just three days, Sky Sports deleted all of Halo’s posts and announced it would be ceasing activity on the account.
Q. Why did Andy Gill, Head of audience development and social media at Sky Sports, claim to be proud of Halo’s launch?
A. Andy Gill claimed to be proud of Halo’s launch, stating that he was “couldn’t be prouder and more excited” about it, despite the backlash from female sports fans.
Q. Did the women at Sky Sports actually drive the development of Halo?
A. It seems unlikely that the women at Sky Sports were behind Halo’s development, given the strong backlash from female sports fans and the brand’s lack of focus on women’s sports.
Q. What was the term used to describe the “Barbification” of Sky Sports’ sports coverage through Halo?
A. The term used to describe the “Barbification” of Sky Sports’ sports coverage through Halo was “infantilizing”, “patronizing”, “sexist”, and “misogynistic”.
Q. How did Sky Sports respond to the backlash against Halo?
A. Sky Sports deleted all of Halo’s posts and announced it would be ceasing activity on the account.
Q. What can be inferred about Sky Sports’ understanding of its female audience through Halo?
A. It appears that Sky Sports had a poor understanding of its female audience, as they failed to create content that resonated with them or addressed their interests in a meaningful way.
Q. Did Halo’s launch serve as a learning experience for Sky Sports?
A. While the article does not explicitly state this, it can be inferred that Halo’s launch was a learning experience for Sky Sports, as they quickly deleted the account and announced its cessation of activity.
