MINI is teasing its “Defy Labels” Super Bowl ad from Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners with a pair of videos featuring retired soccer player Abby Wambach and tennis player Serena Williams.
Other celebrities featured in the 30-second spot, in addition to Wambach and Williams, include skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, rapper T-Pain and actor Harvey Keitel. In her video, Wambach, who starred in TBWA\Chiat\Day’s “Forget Me” for Gatorade last month, discusses the various labels she’s had hurled at her during her life, such as “girl,” “tomboy,” “lesbian,” “butch” and “dyke.” Wambach brushes off the labels, saying, “Those are things that, for me, never defined who I was, never defined how I played, never defined my individuality or my authentic self,” adding that she “accepted who I was at a pretty early age.” In her video, Williams takes on labels of her own, explaining that her mother instilled in her the kind of confidence necessary to deflect any criticism. Both stars follow up be answering “Why MINI?” connecting the “Defy Labels” theme to the brand and giving a pretty clear indication of what to expect for the big game ad, as the brand seeks to move past such labels as “chick car” and “too small.”
“This campaign is a way of acknowledging those labels while at the same time showing people that we’re more than that,” a MINI spokeswoman told AdAge. “Our brand has grown up; our product is more sophisticated. We have defied the labels that have been put on us for years and have defined ourselves in a powerful way.”