YouGov research shows that in the UK 121 girls aged 13-19 give up on their sporting journey every day, in part due to the impact of the online hate that 44% of girls are subjected to.

To bring to life the unfinished female sporting stories lost to online hate, EE has enlisted former Lioness striker Ellen White to launch ‘Unfinished’, a memoir with an important difference, abruptly ending after just 21 pages.

The campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, highlights how Ellen’s incredible career could so easily have been cut short due to online hate.

The memoir tells the story of White’s journey into the sport yet, but after just 21 pages during the former England captain’s teenage years, the book abruptly ends at the same time that many girls in the UK drop out of sport. Stopping the story there, the book imagines a world where Ellen, like many other girls, didn’t reach her full potential due to the callousness of others. The story shows the adverse impact of online abuse and the very real scenario it can result in.

The book has been designed to look like any usual autobiography yet as Ellen’s story progresses the pages begin to darken, reflecting her emotional state as the hate she experiences begins to influence her choices. As the story cuts off the pages turn completely black to mirror the underlying message that online hate can seep and affect people's whole lives.

“Online hate isn't just words on a screen: it breaks and stifles potential. Through my own story, I hope to shed light on the impact of cyberbullying and empower girls so they never stop doing what they love.” says  Ellen White, former England striker.

As well as the physical book, the memoir is also available as an audiobook via EE’s LearnSmart platform and Spotify.

DOOH and social promotion ran on International Women’s Day as part of the campaign, as well as bespoke content on the EE LearnSmart Hub, a learning platform by Digitas UK for young people to learn skills from school and life from a network of inspiring mentors like Ellen White.

The work is the latest phase of EE’s work to tackle all forms of online hate and aims to keep the conversation around online safety going in the wake of the passing of the Online Safety Act last year.

Using the success story of the Lioness to show how hate can snatch away potential, the campaign successfully brings to life the severity of the issue while showcasing EE’s preventative tools to champion the talent of future generations.