THE Caitlin Clark-led Super Bowl commercial became the most watched Nike video in record time.
The $106 billion brand returned to the Super Bowl stage for the first time since 1980’s ‘Swoosh This’ with a bold message.
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The “So Win” ad featured an all-star cast of top female athletes like Clark, gymnast Jordan Chiles and sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.
Nike’s Super Bowl commercial attempted to confront the challenges women in sports face.
It aimed to highlight the doubt surrounding their abilities, with the slogan: “Whatever you do, you can’t win. So win.”
Narrated by Grammy-winner Doechii, the ad declared, “You can’t be confident. So be confident,” and ‘You can’t fill a stadium. So fill that stadium”.
Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, WMBA star A’ja Wilson and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu also feature.
Already one of the most influential athletes of her generation, Clark took center stage in the ad after being named TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year in 2024.
The Indiana Fever guard has a $28 million, eight-year endorsement contract with Nike that includes a basketball sneaker of her own design.
Nike uploaded the commercial on its Instagram handle on Sunday.
And it had gathered more than 66 million views by early Monday afternoon.
It became the most-watched commercial on Nike‘s Instagram in record time.
The ad the record previously held by Phantom Luna soccer sneakers that was released on Friday and has 55.9 million views.
But the campaign has sparked outrage in some circles.
Many viewers accused the sportswear brand of sending a “horrible message” to women.
Sour fans said that while Nike‘s campaign was trying to empower women, it ultimately came off as demoralizing.
Jennifer Sey, CEO of XX-XY Athletics, a company supporting the protection of women’s sports, slammed the ad as “inauthentic and desperate“.
Sey said on X:”I have zero doubt that @nike made that terrible Super Bowl ad as a response to calling them out for not supporting women.
“They should have kept ignoring us. That did them no favors. The inauthenticity and desperation was far to obvious.”
Meanwhile, The Scoop posted on X: “Ridiculous defeatist mentality that we reject completely as women. Hey @nike, bring back ‘Just do it’ for everyone.”
Despite the overwhelming backlash, there were still Super Bowl fans that praised Nike‘s ad.
One wrote: “THIS. GOES. SO. HARD!”, while another added: “This is the best commercial I’ve seen in a long while.”
Nike’s campaign launched at a critical juncture as the company aims to reverse declining revenue.
The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win the Super Bowl.
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