Nike’s Crazy Equality Advertisement

Nike‘s stance on equality was demonstrated in an advertisement which aired during The Oscars last night. This particular advertisement showed clips of passionate women engrossed in their sport of choice: showing emotion, defying traditional gender roles (football), taking a stand, even dreaming. Nike‘s ad acknowledged the labels associated with these emotions, defiances, and dreams. Women are seen as delusional, and ultimately crazy. It demonstrates how a woman running a marathon was crazy, a woman boxing was crazy, a woman dunking was crazy, a woman coaching an NBA team was crazy, a woman competing in a hijab was crazy, a woman changing her sport was crazy, a woman landing a double cork 1080 was crazy, a woman winning 23 grand slams, having a baby and returning for more was crazy, and everything accomplished far and in between was crazy.

The ad concluded with the words “It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it.” setting a spark in the overall message of last night’s 91st Oscar ceremony. This years Oscar’s which pulled in 29.6 million views, showed a rise in ratings for the first time in 5 years. For an advertisement with a message of this magnitude to be aired during Hollywood’s biggest night, it truly is crazy, and in this moment, I can’t imagine crazy being anything but phenomenal.