South Carolina women's basketball: Commercials for A'ja Wilson's shoes gain recognition for tributes to her childhood
If you have watched any of the WNBA preseason games on TV, or the NBA postseason games, or any sports, really, you’ve seen one of the commercials for A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe.
Wilson’s signature shoe, the A’One, was released earlier this week and sold out in five minutes. The first version is pink, but there are blue and white (or Indigo Girl and OG Pearl) versions on the way.
The shoes might have sold out on their own, but Nike’s commercials, developed by agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland, pushed the launch into the public zeitgeist.
The commercials feature lyrics about Wilson set to the tune of the nursery rhyme “Miss Mary Mack” (if you were a little girl, then you know the song; if you were a little boy, your sisters knew the song), making it instantly memorable.
Dan Shanoff of “The Athletic” called it the best commercial of the year and an instant classic. He compared it to some of Nike’s past campaigns, notably the Lil’ Penny commercials.
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There are two versions of the commercial already airing. One version shows a young girl teaching Wilson how to clap along with the rhyme.
The other features clips from around Columbia and includes many Easter Eggs. They include cameos from Wilson’s parents, Roscoe and Eva, and Dawn Staley. Staley, who once had her own signature Nike shoe, is shown dancing while picking up an order at Big T’s BBQ on Garner’s Ferry.
(Staley attended Wilson’s launch event in Las Vegas wearing the unreleased Indigo Girl A’Ones, which was quite a flex while everyone else tried to get their hands on the pink version.)
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Also prominently featured is a group of Benedict College cheerleaders. Another scene takes place at Saint John Baptist Church, Wilson’s church growing up.
A third version, titled “A’One from Day One,” is scheduled to begin airing on Friday, May 9. It features interviews with people from Columbia.
The advertising push is significant on two fronts.
Wilson is the third WNBA player with a signature shoe, following Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. But does anyone remember commercials for their shoe?
I think I may have seen one for Ionescu, but I’m not sure. They certainly didn’t have the same marketing push, which included an A’One commercial in prime positions like the first spot in the first break of Game 7 of the Clippers-Nuggets series on Saturday night.
The campaign is also part of a broader strategy from Nike to turn around slumping sales. The push began with the ”So Win” Super Bowl commercial, which included Wilson. It was Nike’s first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years.
