Saskatchewan Roughriders apologize for ‘girl math’ ad that ‘missed the mark’

Photo: Matt Smith/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are backtracking on an advertisement the team admits missed the mark with fans.

On Tuesday, the club emailed season ticket holders the following ad referencing “girl math,” an internet meme that originated on TikTok. Thousands of social media users, mostly women, posted videos of them employing “girl math” to illustrate how spending money on goods and services could be more easily justified under certain circumstances.

The popular trend featured women explaining how buying items on sale felt like saving money rather than spending money. Others illustrated how coffee felt free when purchased with a rewards card that was loaded weeks prior or how paying for an expensive vacation six months in advance made it feel free once it arrived.

It was a lighthearted social media trend and one the Riders unsuccessfully tried to capitalize on with an advertisement that received significant backlash, leading to an apology being sent out on Wednesday. The email, which was procured by 3DownNation, can be read in full below.

Yesterday, we sent an email to you that missed the mark. Our playful attempt at ‘girl math’, a lighthearted TikTok trend created by women where humour is used to explain purchases, ended up not feeling lighthearted at all to our fans. For that, we unequivocally apologize.

This email, intended to be playful, was imagined, developed and deployed by women within our marketing team, however, we failed to recognize that the sentiments captured would not necessarily be perceived as coming from the creativity of women on our team and that our online “voice” is one that is largely considered to be male. You made it clear it didn’t resonate with you, nor did it meet the expectations you have of how we communicate with you. We appreciate that guidance and will use this to learn and do better in the future.

The Roughriders staff is made up of 50 percent women, and we know that our fanbase is also made up of intelligent and creative women too. We value the contributions of women in football, in sport and in our community and that’s why we feel it’s important to apologize for this mistake.

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club