We all saw what happened when Nike used Colin Kaepernick for one of their ad campaigns. Well, now it's Serena Williams' turn.
The campaign focuses on women needing to "dream crazier." Throughout the ad, female role models are used and clips of them in the highlights of their careers. Among them, Gabby Douglas (gymnast), Sam Gordon (female football player), Abby Wambach (soccer player), Sue Bird (WNBA player), Castor Semenya (Olympic middle-distance runner), Kathrine Switzer (first Boston Marathon female runner), Lisa Leslie (first woman to dunk), and Becky Hammon (Spurs assistant coach).
All of the women in the ad have broken records, social norms, and gender roles in sports. The end of the video ends with "It's only crazy until you do it. The message behind the ad is so powerful.
No matter how crazy it may seem, how difficult, or how many people you have against you, anything is possible if you work hard enough. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you aren't capable. If someone wants to tell you no because "that's a man's job," do it anyway. So many of the women in that video were told they couldn't do things that they did anyway. Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon, despite attempts to stop her from running the marathon, she ended up finishing it, which was something no women were expected to be able to do at the time.
In the ad, it is also pointed out the added criticism women receive just for being women. She explains how if we are seen crying than we are seen as dramatic and over-emotional. She also explains how if we as women, stand for what we believe in, then we are in her words "unhinged." I see it as strength and passion, just as many others do when they see men in sports doing the exact same thing.
Serena Williams herself was dealing with that same concept during the US Open where she was fined $17,000 for three code violations during a singles match. Williams became very emotional during that match when she was accused of receiving coaching during the match, which then led to 2 other violations due to her response. She also mentions how once we show our anger then we are "crazy" or "hysterical" which is not usually said when men are acting the same way while they are participating in sports.
Women are extremely powerful. Serena Williams came back to the game after having a baby, you would never be able to tell the difference. Not only is a woman capable of growing a human being inside of her and carrying it for 9 months, but she can also do anything a man can do, and sometimes, they can even do it better. When we as women take the opportunities to step out of our comfort zone, and prove to everyone what we really are capable of, we can do great things.
Way to go Nike.
