Who Is Cracker Jill? Frito Lays Bets On Women’s Sports Focus
Snack-food maker Frito-Lay has introduced a new character to their iconic “Cracker Jack” snacks, “Cracker Jill,” to raise awareness for women’s sports.
Frito-Lay has promised a donation of $200,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation (WFS) and fans who donate will receive the special-edition Cracker Jill bag with five different representations on the bags designed by Black artist Monica Ahanonu.
The bags will be available for the start of baseball season for $5 donated to WFS and sold at professional baseball stadiums in the U.S.
“We are constantly inspired by the many women who are making history by breaking the mold, and we want to celebrate their achievements while supporting [progress],” said Tina Mahal, vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay North America.
The campaign is meant to highlight the importance of representation and highlight the lack of attention paid to women’s sports by the media and society at large.
“Representation matters - it encourages and inspires the next generation. It’s wonderful to see Cracker Jill come to life, emphasizing the power that representation can have by celebrating women who’ve broken barriers,” said Danette Leighton, WSF’s CEO.
Award-winning singer Normani, who joined Frito-Lay to promote Cracker Jill and sings a song as a part of a reimagining of the famous game-time song “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” said she felt proud to be a part of the campaign.
“As a young girl, I remember being inspired by athletes and artists who looked like me. They made me believe that I could also achieve greatness as I watched them break barriers for women,” Normani said.
Many women athletes have worked hard to shed a lot of light on the disparities between men’s and women’s sports news coverage, pay, and overall treatment.
Buick released a series of ads during March Madness that highlighted a variety of record-breaking women athletes. The series of ads noted that while 40% of athletes are women, women’s sports received less than 10% of media coverage.
The pay disparities were highlighted when the U.S. women’s national soccer team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation over the stark difference in pay between the women and male athletes.
In terms of sponsorships and treatment of women athletes, athletic brands including Nike have been accused in the past of dropping women athletes' sponsorships once they disclosed their pregnancies.
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