Nike aired a new commercial during last night’s Oscars — voiced by Serena Williams and focusing on female empowerment.
The commercial highlights women who have broken down barriers, and is a follow-up to Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ commercial from last year featuring Colin Kaepernick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I
Serena Williams’ version starts by looking at some of the labels historically put on women in sports, including being called “dramatic” when crying, “nuts” for wanting to compete against men, and “delusional” simply because they want equal opportunities as men.
Others include being labelled “unhinged” for standing for something, such as calling out a bad call by the referee, or being called “hysterical”, “irrational” — or “crazy” — for showing anger.
And that’s when the commercial takes a turn, pointing to all of the supposedly “crazy” things that women have done in sports that have helped change history — including when a woman first ran a marathon, boxed, or dunked a basketball.
The commercial sends a strong message, saying that doing what some may brand “crazy” can actually end up breaking down barriers.
As well as Williams, the ad also features gymnast Simone Biles, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, 15-year-old female football player Sam Gordon, and the US Women’s National Soccer Team, among many female athletes.
Williams says in the voiceover: “If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts. And if we dream of equal opportunity, delusional.
“When we stand for something, we’re unhinged. When we’re too good, there’s something wrong with us. And if we get angry, we’re hysterical, irrational or just being crazy.
“But a woman running a marathon was crazy. A woman boxing was crazy. A woman dunking, crazy. Coaching an NBA team, crazy. A woman competing in a hijab; changing her sport; landing a double-cork 1080; or winning 23 grand slams, having a baby, and then coming back for more, crazy, crazy, crazy, and crazy.
“So if they want to call you crazy, fine. Show them what crazy can do.”
Watch the commercial below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY