Nike issues rallying cry to women featuring Serena Williams
Nike is telling women to “make the world listen” in a campaign featuring local and international talent via global creative powerhouse Wieden+Kennedy.
The campaign features glimpses of 23-time grand slam tennis champion Serena Williams – who is currently at the centre of a racism and sexism storm following her dramatic loss at the US Open and the subsequent depiction of her in the local News Corp Press – and comes immediately after Nike caused a stir internationally with its ad featuring rebellions NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
Created by US-based agency Wieden+Kennedy, the campaign – which was shot prior to the Williams scandal – aims to highlight the power of female determination and show the ways in which women break down barriers through sport.
The local campaign features AFLW Carlton player and boxer Tayla Harris and soccer star Samantha Kerr and will roll out across the Asia Pacific.
The one-minute ad shows women in states of physical distress, before being motivated to cry out and ‘just do it’.
It concludes with a mammoth knock-out punch in the boxing ring, with the call-to-action: “Make the world listen”.
Nike said the women in the ad are doing more than yelling.
“A rally cry is more than a yell,” Nike collateral explains. “Its a visceral response to a mental reaction – frustration, elation and every emotion in between. It’s a call to assemble. It’s a call to advance. In sports, the rally cry can turn the tide of a game, and in the process, change the trajectory of a life.”
The timing of Serena’s standing up for herself could not have come at a better time for Nike.
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The media conspiracy theorists are going to love this
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Crybbeing the key word here they are piggy backing on her tempter tantrum and his will make young athletes think it is ok to speak to officials in that manner.
She went too far, she blatantly called him a thief and went on like a 2yr old demanding an apology.
She left him with no choice but to enforce the rule or you would have every player lying on the court having a winge till they get their way.
Once again another moment that has taken the spotlight of a new young, mature champion in osaka- she’s the real hero here and no one is giving her any praise it’s been turned into a media storm about Serena and she has played the gender card to gather support. I agree the gender issue needs to be addressed but hers was not gender it was unprofessional, it was inappropriate- and she deserved to be penalised. You would think someone of her vintage and Calibre would be able to keep her cool on the biggest stage in one of the most important finals for her to reach 24 grandslam but instead she throws the toys out of her pram.
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Spot on Cry, this had nothing to do with her gender.
She has always been a bad sport and a bully (“I will shove this tennis ball down your throat!!!”) and was called out for her brattish behaviour by Ramos, not because she was a woman, not because she was black, but only because she was totally out of line.
The defence of her has been ridiculous. I even heard one (so called) expert commentator saying that it was “a harsh call by the match referee to invoke a game penalty given that the score was 4-3”. Rules are to be enforced no matter what the score so what this idiot was saying/inferring was that if Serena was up 6-1, 5-1 it would’ve been OK to give this same penalty.
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Correct.
Just ask John McEnroe who lost a match in similar circumstances (apart from being male and white and perpetually obnoxious).
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