Nike celebrates the stars of the Women’s World Cup in its latest ad campaign, from agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland, which picks up the multiverse themes seen in Nike’s star-studded ad for the Men’s World Cup last year.
The commercial opens with a father and his daughter watching the 1999 World Cup final between the US and China. As Brandi Chastain scores, making the US a world champion, the man slips on a banana peel and is set 24 years into the future.
When he wakes up, his daughter tries to bring her dad rapidly up to date by making an analysis of this year’s football stars. Set to “Who’s That Girl” by Eve, the film features 11 footballers, including Australia’s Sam Kerr, of whom she says “she’s flipping the game”, Brazilian star forward Debinha, Megan Rapinoe, “a new American hero”, Chloe Kelly, which the daughter describes as England’s secret weapon, Ada Hegerberg, who “takes everyone from stop her from scoring”, Alex Morgan, who makes the hardest play look effortless,” Asisat Oshoala, who’s “faster than fast”, Chloe Kelly, Debinha, Grace Geyoro, Kadeisha Buchanan, Sophia Smith, described as “so good it’s scary”, and Wang Shuang, “the heart of Chinese football”.
When the daughter, who’s obviously now a grown-up, explains how Kadeisha Buchanan “controls the tempo”, the ad features slow-motion scenes to illustrate the idea and when she mentions Grace Geyoro’s delivery, which is “the most reliable delivery service in the world”, the ad makes an analogy with a product being seamlessly manufactured, ordered and shipped.
As the spot ends, Brandi Chastain shows up at the man’s front door and hands him a cake that reads “Congrats on waking up” and the daughter tells him “It’s a good day to be awake”. “Just ask your granddaughter,” she also tells him. “What the f…?” the man tries to ask, but the toddler says “football”.
