Serena Williams narrates Nike’s star-studded Oscars advert championing women’s sporting achievements
- Tennis star heads follow-up to Colin Kaepernick commercial for US sportswear giant
- Social media reaction to advert championing women is overwhelmingly positive
“If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic,” says 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams in the opening line of Nike’s new advert championing women.
The 90-second spot, entitled “Dream Crazier”, was released during the Oscars.
It is packed with some of the best known female athletes and their pioneering achievements.
Williams’ voiceover highlights athletes such as South African runner Caster Semenya, US Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and members of the US women’s national football team.
Women boxing, dunking a basketball and defying race organisers to run a marathon also feature.
Williams stars in the ad alongside footage of US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who competes in a hijab, and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, the only female coach in the NBA.
It ends with Williams encouraging women to “Show them what crazy can do”.
Nike released another Williams campaign last August ahead of the US Open. The tagline was “It’s only crazy until you do it” and it referenced the Williams sisters journey from Compton to the top of tennis.
Williams reached the final of the US Open, losing to Naomi Osaka in a match that saw an angry Williams exchange words with the umpire.
The company courted controversy by backing Colin Kaepernick when he was in a dispute with the NFL over his anthem protests.
Nike released a Kaepernick-voiced commercial in early September to kick off their “Dream Crazier” campaign to mark the 30th anniversary of the company’s Just Do It advertising.
Many Americans responded by burning their Nike branded shoes and clothes, or boycotting Nike.
However, the brand’s stock rose from the day it announced that Kaepernick would be the star of the advert in May with US$6 billion added to the company’s value by the end of September.
This advert, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times on YouTube, was made by Wieden and Kennedy in Portland, Oregon, and directed by Kim Gehrig, who recently directed a Gillette commercial taking aim at toxic masculinity.
Reaction to the advert has been overwhelmingly positive in both mainstream and social media, with many praising its message.
However, some pointed out it was also an opportunity for Nike to introduce gender parity and more diversity at its top level.
