Iconic Skipping Girl reimagined as ‘Scrolling Girl’ in Dairy Farmers’ call to get Aussie kids moving again in new campaign via The Royals

With new research highlighting the impact of screen time on the vitality of Aussie kids, Dairy Farmers and The Royals have unveiled ‘Scrolling Girl’, alongside a grassroots partnership with Team Kids that will deliver 450,000 skipping sessions in schools nationwide.

For almost 90-years, Melbourne’s iconic “Skipping Girl” sign stood as Australia’s brightest symbol of youthful vitality, but last night it was switched off and reimagined by Dairy Farmers in a confronting new sign of the times: Scrolling Girl. Hunched over the side of the same iconic building in an endless scroll, Scrolling Girl was created by neon artist Jack Pullen, whose family lineage goes back to the designers of the original Skipping Girl sign.

Says Bega Group’s General Manager, Marketing and Innovation, Matt Gray: “For more than 125-years, Dairy Farmers has been about nourishing growing bodies and active lives. This campaign is about raising awareness and offering positive, practical ways to help families bring more vitality and Oomph into everyday childhood.”

Says Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, renowned child psychologist: “The fact that we’ve replaced a play based childhood with a screen based childhood has been a disaster for the psychological and physiological well being of children. I regard this project as one of the most important campaigns we’ve run in Australia for many years.”

At the community level, Scrolling Girl launches a 10-week skipping challenge in 270 schools by afterschool care provider, Team Kids, including distribution of almost 8,000 skipping ropes to children across the country.

Says Steve O’Farrell, Founder and Managing Partner at The Royals: “When a problem of this magnitude challenges a brand’s core values, it presents an incredible opportunity to create real impact by sparking conversation and driving action. Huge credit to the Dairy Farmers team for having the Oomph to make it happen.”

Global skipping icon, Lauren Jumps, has also landed in Australia to inspire kids to find a better balance between phone time and physical activity. Lauren is the new face of Dairy Farmers’ protein smoothies and will feature in a ‘skip off’ alongside World Champion Aussie jump roper, Luke Boon, plus Gold Coast Suns players next Friday, April 17th in Burleigh Heads, Queensland.

Scrolling Girl can be seen at 651 Victoria St, Abbotsford.

Full research report: https://yougov.com/about/methodology/australian-polling-council

Campaign website: https://scrollinggirl.com.au/

Client: Dairy Farmers
Executive General Manager, Bega Group – Darryn Wallace
General Manager, Marketing and Innovation, Bega Group – Matt Gray
Marketing Manager, Flavoured Milk, Bega Group – Anjali De Silva
Assistant Brand Manager, Bega Group – Isabella Lucas
Senior Manager, Bega Group – PR & Social Media – Hannah Saliba
PR Manager, Bega Group – Caroline Roe
Social Media Lead, Bega Group – Jordanna Roth

Partner: Team Kids
Founding Director – Sam Hoath
Head of Marketing – Tash Aarons-Clark
Campaign & Communications Coordinator – Maree Vaynberg

Creative Agency: The Royals

Neon Artist: Jack Pullen
Sign Builders: Good Sign Co.
Installers: Peak Installations

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