Since 2018, NIKE has been the official outfitter of the NBA. But, it wasn’t until earlier this year that the brand became one of the league’s most important equity investors.
With their capital and campaigning efforts on behalf of the WNBA, NIKE hopes to help redefine the sport for a new generation of players, fans, and most importantly, girls. To encourage girls to get involved in sports is to empower them, and this campaign could have a huge impact on the lives of many girls in sports across America today.
As a girl who grew up playing basketball, and a woman who knows that women’s sports often don’t get the recognition they deserve, I was honored to be a part of NIKE’s Run It Back campaign.
The campaign involves several commercials, all set in an old-school video store called Run It Back Video– imagine Blockbuster but for women’s sports stories exclusively. This collaborative campaign between NIKE and the WNBA will further the league’s storytelling, increase visibility for its athletes, and help to recruit more women into the sport in a natural way.
As a voice actor, I was proud to narrate a spot for the Run It Back campaign. In the commercial, I introduced Run It Back Video and highlighted some of the athletes whose stories are featured in the campaign, including Sylvia Fowles, Jonquel Jones, Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, and more.
As a voice actor, an entrepreneur, a lover of sports, and a woman, I feel proud to be a part of this campaign. Using my voice to help people and brands tell their stories is my passion, and when a campaign is as personal as this one, it’s extra rewarding.
Another spot in the Run It Back Video series features basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes, the first player to be signed to the WNBA, and three-time WNBA MVP. As the clerk at the video store explains to customers, the movie details the WNBA superstar’s life as she conquers the world of women’s sports and becomes a cultural icon. From her career to her pregnancy and her ultimate return to the court where she leads the Houston Comets to victory in the first WNBA championship series, this movie has it all.
In a third spot, a customer is looking for an action-packed sports story, and the helpful clerk is eager to recommend “Hoop on Fire,” a film about Lisa Leslie’s rise to the top in the WNBA, and her mission to dunk the ball and save the world. Pretty incredible, right?
Each video in the multi-video campaign aims to highlight WNBA players, all of whom are incredibly talented athletes, even though their stories aren’t as prominent as their NBA counterparts. As a creative, I admire the intention behind the NIKE and WNBA campaign collaboration. And I think we can all agree that the world is a better place when we give voice to women.
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