Last September, Nike began a new advertising campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. As we noted then: “The controversial use of Kaepernick is widely supported by some customers. Yet, it has resulted in footwear and apparel burning by others. What do YOU think?” The results of that campaign turned to a social media and sales success. On Sunday during the Oscars(r) telecast, Nike pushes the envelope again. This time, it promotes women and has a Serena Williams voice over.
Please keep in mind that last week started off in a very stressful way for Nike. Why? Ad Age reports that:
“Nike Inc. is looking into what went wrong after college basketball’s biggest star sprained his knee when his shoe fell apart, one of the most high-profile apparel failures in basketball history. Duke University star freshman Zion Williamson, the consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s National Basketball Association draft, tumbled to the court less than 35 seconds into last night’s loss to in-state rival North Carolina.”
Thankfully for Nike, the Sunday Oscars(r) video drew much more attention.
“Dream Crazier”: Nike Pushes the Envelope Again
After decades of paying little attention to women’s athletics, in recent years, Nike and others have stepped up their efforts. Nike’s new “Dream Crazier” ad campaign has two goals. One, to empower women to ignore existing societal stereotypes. And two, to encourage women to participate in sports.
Here is the ad, followed by an Ad Age commentary. Note: In less than one day, the YouTube version of the ad scored about 5.5 million views.
“The new spot, narrated by Serena Williams, is called “Dream Crazier.” Nike blasted the message to its NikePlus members via E-mail on Sunday afternoon, with the spot scheduled to run during the Oscars that evening. In the clip, Williams speaks about the head-shaking dismissiveness female athletes regularly endure — many of those who have broken barriers in sports have been called ‘crazy.'”
“‘If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts,’ she says. And Williams notes other words such as ‘delusional,’ ‘unhinged,’ ‘hysterical,’ and ‘irrational.’ Williams concludes the commercial with, ‘So if they want to call you crazy, fine. Show them what crazy can do.’ Text then appears on the screen, ‘It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it.'”