“Da
da ding, da da ding, da ding, Wake up in the morning, coz I got goals and I
won’t take no for an answer, Got the grace of a dancer, The heart of a
panther..”
The lyrics of the new Nike commercial,
written by the ad agency Weiden + Kennedy and Genera8ion has the song sung by
the latter in collaboration with rap star Gizzle, is not only peppy but also
quite inspiring. It focuses on the panther inside a sportswoman that propels
her to train to the limit and perform to her best. The 2 minutes 53 seconds video
directed by a French director Francois Rousselet has been garnering its share
of bouquets with close to a million views just about a week after its release
on YouTube. It features many Indian sportswomen, some who are popular and some
representing sports that aren’t yet popular in India, like surfing.
Below
is a brief about three such ladies:
Rani
Rampal was the youngest player in the Indian
women’s national field hockey team in 2010. She was the only 15. Hailing from a
small town near Delhi she’s the only Indian to be nominated for the
International Hockey Federation Women’s Young Player of the Year Award.
Jyoti
Ann Burret began her soccer journey with the Indian
football team in 2013. Interestingly she also has a Masters Degree in Sports and
Health Science from University of Exeter, had plenty of lucrative job offers,
yet chose soccer as her career.
Ishita
Malaviya is India’s first professional female
surfer, who is working very hard to promote India’s peninsular coastline as a
surfing destination.
Why
the craze about this ad?
It’s serious when an ad creates such a buzz
in the internetscape. I am writing about this advert because it’s a definite
feel good, it’s a commercial that propagates something genuine, implores people
to worship their bodies like temple and to maybe “just do it”. In a world where
Govts are trying to reduce consumption of junk food by imposing ‘fat taxes’,
this ad’s concept, I found it to be rather refreshing.
There are many sportswomen in our country and
I believe it’s time we started celebrating Indian women sports personalities.
What with the Sanias, Sanias and Mary Koms dominating their respective areas.
It’s time, in India we worshiped our women sports stars just like we do the
men, we paid them as much and gave them just as much publicity.
A
burgeoning sports market in India
Nike may have its agenda of tapping into
the Rs. 6000 crore sports business in India, especially after Reebok’s
successful foray into gym wear with a sweaty and calorie burning Kangana Ranaut
playing the lead in their adverts. Overtime as women have become important
customers of sportswear and sports products, companies like Nike, Puma, Adidas,
Columbia, Asics are pumping money into the Indian market.
Well yes, there is Deepika Padukone in the
video, but even she is seen doing her athletic stuff.
The ad is a step away from focusing just on
the artificial glamorous side of the world and raises its eulogy to
sportswomen. And that should leave viewers with a smile on their faces and a
lovely tune in their ears which is quite humble, to say the least.
“Da
da ding, da da ding, da ding…”
- Ms. Monica Mor
Sr. Faculty, INLEAD
No comments:
Post a Comment