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Lizbeth Cantu

Professor Massie

ENGL 1301

3 January 2020

Nike Dream Crazier

The Nike "Dream Crazier" ad was released on YouTube February 24,2019, and

immediately went viral. In the "Dream Crazier" commercial, female athletes are seen coming

together as one while pushing for rights in different sports. The commercial also shows the

women moving forward despite being judged and criticized for what they believe is right, with

all negativity and hate being thrown their way they will keep pushing for what is right. This

advertisement was created to give a voice to many women to advocate for female athletes to

show just how strong and powerful they actually are. Many women face gender bias and suffer

under a label that they don’t stand a chance against males in the athletic arena. This ad flips that

myth and not only reveals a powerful message but also gives consumers a glance of the value in

women's sports, whether as players or coaches or supporters. Nike reaffirms that they are just as

qualified as any man for any sport. In the ad "Dream Crazier," Nike uses motivational

music, voice-over narration with intrinsic language, and visuals of real-life female athletes to

underscore the message of women's equality in sports, attracting the audience to purchase Nike

products that support a feminine cause.

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First, Nike uses motivational music to relay the message of women’s equality in sports.

From the first few notes, the music fills the video with a tune that is positive and empowering.

Sweeping orchestral sounds enhance the motivational message with every scene of real females

working hard at their sport. At the same time, the delicate notes run a nice contrast to the mental

toughness and blood, sweat, and tears pouring out of these tenacious athletes. The music builds

to a crescendo at the highest peak of the ad where the video simultaneously builds up viewers

with admiration and inspiration. While the music plays in the background seeing the pain and

tears of many of these female athletes with their anger and belief for what they believe in

enhances the ad much more for viewers. It makes the viewers feel empowered to fight for what

many of these female athletes believe in, and the constant stream of positive intensity keeps them

engaged and focused. Pathos is created because through the usage of music the consumer feels

moved and galvanized to perceive women as powerful.

Secondly, Nike uses voice-over narration by Serena Williams to empower female athletes

to break through any cultural barriers and fight for equal opportunity. Williams is a tennis

megastar, fashion icon, and entrepreneur, so it would make sense that she would be chosen to

narrate this ad. Her voice is recognizable from the start, and thus ethos is created by using this

familiar athlete and superstar. The ad also uses many athletes to prove their credibility. Starting

with many famous female athletes that are used throughout the ad, including Simone Biles,

Ibtihaj Muhammad, Chloe Kim, members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, and of

course, Serena Williams; these women have served as ambassadors for their sport because they

are elite athletes and also serve as role models to other women and athletes, thus enlisting ethos.

As the ad plays, rather than actors playing a role, viewers are brought to the attention of actual
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sport clips and players of true female athletes as a way to make the statement more powerful and

moving. As the Ad proceeds it comes to show women from all over the world, not just acting

athletes or males, but female athletes that have actually made a change in the world of female

sport. Women from all cultures and ethnicities being criticized for what they love and choosing

to fight for it and continue working towards it, which magnifies to viewers the real-life impact all

these female athletes have in the world of sport, and the adversity they face. Through Nike's

diverse use of actual footage throughout history and Serena Williams as the narrator, the ad

strongly relays their effective efforts of ethos for the audience.

The word choice used by the narrator helps with the commercial's effective use of pathos

on the audience. For example, she starts her “if” statements by saying, “If we show emotion, we

are called dramatic” or “If we want to play against men, we are nuts.” And later, “And even if we

dream of equal opportunity, delusional.” It all falls around “if” and then changes it up to “when,”

which creates a shift in a different direction because these are things female athletes have done.

For instance, she reframes it as “when we stand for something, we are unhinged,” which means

that many of these female athletes are perceived as crazy for standing up for what they believe

in, and when they do, it's out of the ordinary. Then expands to “when we are too good, there’s

something wrong with us.” People will use this as a statement of insult and will say anything

except admit that a woman could actually be better at something than a man. They use criticisms

of emotion or cheating to step on these female athletes. But none of these insults is quite as harsh

as the criticism of being called crazy. Thus, Williams expands upon this so-called crazy myth
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and says, “And if we get angry, we are hysterical, irrational or just being crazy.” Repetition of

the word "crazy" to show how people marginalize women by saying that they are unstable. This

ad is clearly comparing women and men when it comes to sports and the way that they are

perceived. Many people can see an athletic man losing it on television and aren’t seen as crazy or

irrational. On the other hand, when a woman does it, they are just that--crazy, unhinged, or

women who have lost their minds. In fact, Williams is one of these female athletes who has been

criticized in the past for several things that men don't get critiqued for, such as yelling or

throwing things. According to an article "Serena Williams Deserves Share of Blame for Her

Actions" in The Undefeated, journalist Jerry Bembry admitted that "men have long gotten away

with abusing chair and line umpires in tennis" while simultaneously saying that Williams "has

been an advocate for securing equal rights for female players on tour” (Bembry). Williams has

been judged more harshly than she should for just wanting rights for female players and

advocating for them and giving them a voice. But in this ad, she does give female athletes a

voice and does so by embracing crazy. Williams shifts the perspective to show crazy in a

positive way, saying women are in fact crazy--crazy for running a marathon, boxing, dunking,

coaching an MBA team--all of which are crazy. Also “winning 23 Grand Slams, having a baby,

and then coming back for more” falls under crazy. By reframing the "crazy" argument, the

advertisers show how strong and powerful women actually are. This proving that the language

and word usage of the narrator reinforce the emotional meaning behind the ad, strengthening

their use of pathos.

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Lastly, there are so many visuals and real-life experiences that support the overall

message of women's equality in sports. Visuals of women in every type of sport are used--

basketball, running, tennis, lifting--to show that women do all the same sports that men do,

which is an example of logos. One of most significant and heartbreaking scenes that evokes

pathos is of a woman being physically pulled out of a race by a man just because she is a woman;

she refuses to be held back and continues running the marathon. This moves viewers because it

shows empowerment--that this woman is fighting for what she believes in refusing to be held

back while doing what she loves. The Nike "Dream Crazier" ad ends with the statement “If they

want to call you crazy, fine show them what crazy can do.” This statement serves as a rebel call,

a dare, an impetus to give the perfect push to all of the female athletes out there and their

supporters to move the chains to equality in sports. According to Tubular Insights, “While Nike

of course uploaded its “Dream Crazier” ad across all its social channels, the spot pulled in the

most views on Twitter with 29.7M views since February 24”. (TubularInsightsPara11) The ad's

viral nature shows how much of an impact this marketing campaign made and how much of an

influence it had for millions of viewers. From start to finish, this Nike ad is so well crafted and

captivates viewers with its essence of empowerment, of striving for the best, and of fighting for

what you believe in.

Through its uses of motivational music, voice-over narration, and visuals of real-life

female athletes, this ad underscore the message of the importance of women's equality in sports.

The ad makes a statement for all the female athletes that are treated unfairly that do not get the

recognition they deserve. It states that women need to keep pushing and striving for the very best

and if the world calls them crazy, then women should show them exactly what crazy can do.
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Works cited

Brouwer, Bree. “Nike's ‘Dream Crazier’ Ad Wins the Show at the Oscars.” Tubular Insights, 31

July 2019, tubularinsights.com/nike-dream-crazier-ad/.

“‘Dream Crazier.’” Nike News, news.nike.com/featured_video/dream-crazier.

Jerrybembry. “Serena Williams Deserves Share of Blame for Her Actions.” The Undefeated, The

Undefeated, 17 Sept. 2018, theundefeated.com/features/serena-williams-deserves-share-of-

blame-for-her-actions/.

“Nike's New Serena Williams Ad Encourages Girls to ‘Dream Crazier.’” CBS News, CBS

Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/serena-williams-oscars-2019-nike-ad-colin-

kaepernick-dream-crazier/.

YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY.

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