We knew if we were going to make a campaign about the most unique athlete in the world, we had to make it special. To achieve this, we created an online film, content extensions, and 21 different pieces of art to celebrate Serena, as she played in the US Open. Our film utilized a mixture of game footage and home video. Bookended with a clip of Serena at 11-years-old, predicting her own greatness. The art was arranged together to erect a 100-foot mural at the US Open. Each piece reflecting Serena’s unique personality and playing style. And the content extension films allowed for Serena, herself, to explain how her character was shaped. Creating as accurate a depiction as possible of Serena’s rise to greatness, while showcasing the Win From Within drive that makes her like no one else.

The film was released online the morning of Serena’s first match of the tournament, in order to build hype before she played. Along with the film, we constructed a 100-foot mural at the US Open. Comprised of 21 unique pieces of art. Each designed by a different artist and based off an insight from one of her 21 Grand Slam victories. We even partnered with Facebook, using the art to create their first ever integrated Canvas ad. After the initial release, we followed with several content extensions throughout the tournament, which gave a deeper dive into Serena’s mentality. With every victory the focus surrounding Serena grew and we were able to stoke the public interest by feeding them culturally relevant content at the times when they were most responsive. Creating a campaign that was able to maintain peak exposure for all two weeks of the US Open.

The campaign received over 338 million impressions and generated an ad value of more than 6 million dollars. Over 179 different publications wrote articles about the campaign, with every single one of them being positive in tone. Usage of #winfromwithin increased by nearly 5,000 percent and stayed around that number for the entire two weeks of the tournament. Making it the highest and longest running usage of #winfromwithin in Gatorade’s history. Helping to bring cultural dimension to Gatorade’s brand belief and shifting the criticism surrounding Serena into a celebration of her individuality. And at the end of the year, Serena was honored by being the first woman to be named Sportsperson of the Year.