Brand: Nike
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here
Target: The Media Establishment
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova makes her Nike advertising debut with this spot.  The ad features Maria during her pre-game routine as she travels from her hotel to center court (the spot has been released to coincide with the U.S. Open, the largest U.S. tennis tournament.)  Along the way, everyone she encounters -hotel bellmen, fans and other players – all are singing “I Feel Pretty.”  Sharapova ignores the attention with a concentrated grimace on her face. . As she enters Arthur Ashe stadium, the entire crowd joins the chorus as the song reaches a crescendo. Then Sharapova’s opponent serves and Maria Sharapova hits an explosive shot, letting out one of her famous grunts.  The audience is silenced instantly.  The Nike logo and ‘Just Do It’ appear.

What Works:
This stunning commercial reinvigorates the Nike brand.  We are reminded that ‘Just Do It’ was a revolutionary statement when Nike first launched the tagline and the brand positioning nearly a generation ago.  Nike plays with the stereotype of female celebrity.  Sharapova is an attractive woman and a media star.  The chorus singing ‘I feel pretty’ around her as she makes her way through her life is attempting to marginalize her, to reduce her to the value of her looks.  This spot does a great job of putting us in Sharapova’s shoes.  We feel the opressive weight of the ode being sung to beauty and how it marginalizes Sharapova as an individual.  Even the tennis establishment plays into it as John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez appear in this spot.

When Sharapova drives her service return past her opponent into the opposite wall untouched, the stunned silence in the crowd mirrors what we’re feeling.  The only sound Sharapova makes in this spot is one of her famous, intimidating grunts.  Without saying a word, Sharapova delivers the most effective possible response to the image-obsessed society she moves through.  Take me for what I am, not what I appear to be, she says.  At its core, this is the essence of the Nike brand positioning.  ‘Just Do It’ means being the most you can be and concentrating on what is really important.

Nike has struggled to maintain a positive consumer image and keep its brands focused as it battles with rivals like Adidas and the media pressure put on a giant company.  By turning its energy back to its core values and using advertising to deliver a timely and important social message, Nike reminds us of the revolutionary company that made athletes and consumers proud to wear the swoosh.

What Doesn’t:
This advertising blog does not miss the irony in this spot - Sharapova was hired as a spokesperson by Nike not just because she is one of the top female tennis players, but because she is very attractive.  So while she works unique well for this campaign, there are still lots of other players who will never have this chance because of the societal values that Nike is taking aim at in this spot.  There is also always some risk associated with making a big statement using an athlete just before she engages in a huge tournament.  Either misbehavior or bad performance could marginalize the effectiveness of this spot.  Fortunately this spot will never look as ironic as the disastrous “Andy Roddick’s Mojo” campaign that Amex ran just as Mr. Roddick was losing his mojo last year.

Branding Bottom Line:
It’s a relief to see Nike back in championship form.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Nike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.