Client: Sky Ireland | Agency: Core
For Sky’s Belief is Better, we joined forces with Core and Sky Ireland ahead of the Irish Women’s National Team’s World Cup qualification play-offs, creating a campaign across film and photography built around one simple shift: from hope to belief.
Having already made history on the world stage, this wasn’t a team hoping they belonged there anymore. They had the proof.
Directed by Cara Gaynor, the film strips away the usual hype of sports advertising and lets the players’ own chemistry carry the idea. Set against the natural rhythm of a Sky photoshoot, their conversations collide with archive from the moments that got them here.
Photography pushed that same attitude further. Rather than soften the players for camera, we leaned into hard light, low angles and confident portraits that give them the space they’ve earned. Film and stills share one visual language, presenting the WNT not as a team waiting for their moment, but one with the experience to know exactly what they’re capable of.
Credits
Production Company: Vibrant
Director: Cara Gaynor
Executive Producer: Michael Roulstone
1st AD: Meghan O’Shaugnessy
Director of Photography: Naoise Kettle
1st AC: Lewis Thompson
2nd AC: Matt Hollis
Key Grip: Jordan Heath
Gaffer: James Duffy
Location Sound: Adam Bertenshaw
MUA: Jadarosé Brown-Senior
MUA: Abigail Adegbemiro
Studio: Mammoth Studios
Rental: Cinepups, Independent Grip Company + Pro Centre
Editor: Herman du Toit
Sound Design & Mix: Folding Waves
Colour Grade: Matthieu Toullet, Company3
Photography
Photographer: Kevin Goss-Ross
Photography Assist Day 1: Dylan Madden
Photography Assist Day 2: Emmett Banahan
Photography Assist Day 3: Harry Rhys Thomas
Featuring:
Courtney Brosnan
Abbie Larkin
Emily Murphy
Katie Mc Cabe
Aoife O’Callaghan as Crew Member
VO Artist: Tara O’Callaghan
Core
Business Director: Kate O’Callaghan
Creative Partner: Rob Murray
Creative Director: Austin Richards
Client Director: Hannah Hewetson
Junior Producer: Jessica Hopkins
Sky
Director of Marketing & Brand: Caroline Donnellan
Marketing Controller: Louise O’Mahony
Social Media Manager: Dean Moore
FAI
Head of Sales & Partnerships: Conor Cullen
Commercial: Jacob Hermon
Social Media Manager: Emma Clinton
Over two days, we travelled to London to shoot at Mammoth Studios. Working alongside DOP Naoise Kettle and gaffer James Duffy, we created a minimal yet striking lighting setup that gave the film its distinctive look, keeping the focus firmly on the players and their performances.
Having documented the Ireland Women's National Team during their historic first World Cup campaign, director Cara Gaynor understood first-hand what that journey meant to the players and Irish football. So when Core approached us with "Why hope, when belief is better?", it immediately resonated. Cara had seen what that hope had achieved and why this next chapter was about belief.
That connection carried through to the creative process. Cara wrote the film's voiceover, while the World Cup memorabilia featured came from her own collection, using memories of the team's past achievements as proof of what they could do again.
About the Photography
Photography was led by Kevin Goss-Ross, marking his third time shooting OOH for Sky x Ireland Football. By now, he knows the team pretty well and has a strong understanding of how best to represent them.
Anyone who knows Kevin knows his brain works in ways the rest of us can't quite comprehend. So when the brief came in to shoot the players individually in London, but make it look as though they were together in the Aviva Stadium, he knew it would be a challenge. Luckily, Kevin loves a challenge.
The shoot spanned three days between Mammoth Studios and the Aviva Stadium. From individual plates and multiple flashes to carefully lighting each locker and even the seats in the tunnel, every detail was considered.
The result?
a series of striking images that capture the team's strength and determination, bringing together two locations and three days of work into what feels like a single moment.
