A stumbling Nike is making its return to the Super Bowl after 27 years with a commercial highlighting the biggest athletes in women’s sports.
The 60-second spot will feature basketball players Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Sabrina Ionescu, gymnast Jordan Chiles, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, and tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
The company’s last Super Bowl ad, in 1998, also included two famous women in Lisa Leslie and runner Suzy Favor Hamilton, but they shared the spotlight with David Robinson and Ronaldo.
Nike has struggled recently with decreased demand in its signature products and success of rival shoewear companies like Hoka, On, and Brooks— and even Skechers and Anta.
On their latest earnings call in December, Nike reported an 8% drop in quarterly revenue year-over-year. New CEO Elliott Hill said the company would be “taking immediate action to reposition our business,” while CFO Matthew Friend said Nike is making “progress in shifting our portfolio.” Nike also announced a 10% sales dip in October and a lackluster report in June that included the sneaker giant’s worst sales growth in more than 20 years, excepting the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2008–09 financial crisis.
Its stock has plunged 34% in the last year, even as S&P 500 has grown by 20% in the same period. At the same time, On’s stock rose 91% in the past year, and Deckers, the parent company for Hoka, saw its stock rise more than 19% during that time. On reported an all-time record for quarterly sales in November.
As Nike seeks relevance and revenue, it’s betting on its women’s sports superstars, who have become some of the most recognizable athletes in all of sports. Clark’s meteoric rise to A-list fame—maybe best demonstrated by her last college game outrating the men’s final—has helped elevate national interest in all women’s sports. In other words, leaning on the women is not just an attempt to be politically correct or on the right side of history. The company knows its women are major celebrities.
It also helps that Clark is a lifelong Chiefs fan. She recently made an appearance on Travis Kelce’s podcast and sat in a box with Taylor Swift at a game.
On Tuesday, Nike dropped A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe, making her the first Black women’s basketball player to debut her own shoe since Candace Parker 15 years ago.
