Nike’s campaign lends support to women in sport
Caster Semenya is one of those who feature in the apparel company’s advertisements
“IF we show emotion, we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts.”
Serena Williams’ voice, fronting Nike’s new Dream Crazier ad campaign, hits you with force as the images of women crying, trying, winning, flash across the screen.
Nike never does anything by half measures. When trying to ally itself with a cause, the sports apparel company goes all in.
When its new ad aired during the Academy Awards social media went into overdrive.
It’s a social commentary on how women can never be one of the boys. It hits close to the bone.
I watched the video with a lump in my throat, trying hard to quell the emotions that coursed through my mind and then I realised showing emotion made me appear neurotic, not in control of my senses.
But isn’t that what the ad was trying to portray?
Caster Semenya features, making it an even more powerful portrayal of the fact that when women are deemed too good, there’s something wrong with us.
The ad is an ingenious stroke on Nike’s part as the International Association of Athletics Federations has ruled that women who have high levels of naturally occurring testosterone may not compete in women’s middle-distance races unless they take medication to reduce those levels.
Nike is not a company to shy away from controversy.
A case in point is the Colin Kaepernick ad campaign. The US football player was a central figure in the NFL’s “take a knee” protests. Once the campaign went viral, Nike and Kaepernick were public enemies No 1 as fans angrily destroyed their Nike gear.
And still, the company continues to launch campaigns that fill some with emotion and, most importantly, get them talking.
Other women in sport set to feature in the campaign include Olympic-gold-medalwinning gymnast Simone Biles, sabre fencer Ibtihaj Muhammadt and Williams.
Dream Crazier tries to make a call to the sports community to take female athletes seriously and for toxic masculinity to stop.
Yes, we’re temperamental and emotional, but at the end of the day we get the job done. And that’s all that matters.