OBJECTIVE: Earn the respect of young Black women in America.

SITUATION:

The women of the WNBA had ousted a racist from team ownership and political office - in the same month. It was the hottest story in sport’s news, but their role in the social justice movement was nothing new. America was just finally acknowledging it.

“We’re finally being heard. It took two pandemics happening simultaneously for people to sit down and listen. While it is about (the lack of) coverage, it’s also about (the WNBA being 70%) Black women.”

- Sydney C.

Black women are used to being undercelebrated, and underpaid overachievers. The invisible force getting things done but getting zero credit. But just because they’re used to it, doesn’t mean Nike had to be okay with it.

THE BRIEF:

This moment didn’t appear out of anywhere.

It’s not Black girl magic. It’s Black girls doing the work.

Black women are rarely recognized for the hard work they put in.

It’s not just magic, they are the real thing.

Earn the respect of Nike’s young BIPOC audience, by finally giving Black women their flowers on a national stage. Starting with Nike’s own athletes.

Most brands reserve this kind of celebration for Black History Month. Nike strategically waited until March - the time of year when the country’s content fades back to white. Nike hijacked an event that exists to celebrate male athletes: the NBA All-Star Game, and redirected the spotlight to Black women.

The We Play Real message was seen and felt throughout the game via a 10-minute on-air roundtable featuring prominent Black women, court signage, rejoins, and anchored by the TV premiere of the film. We then continue to amplify the message via strategic media partnerships that would distribute the film and spark conversation in culture. We deployed a full media mix consisting of social, TV, custom digital activations, streaming audio, streaming video, and impactful OOH.

-Reach 125 million across North America.

-Performed better with BIPOC women than any other Nike work this year. (Beat benchmark by 19 percentage points)

-Nike saw a “huge uptick” in membership signups in the campaign period.

-Saw +9% Positivity Lift in social sentiment for Nike Brand overall from all Americans.