2005

There's been a lot of talk lately about brands featuring realistic women in their advertising, and Kaddoura, 28, is partly responsible. Her in-your-face images turn what is considered less-than-perfect body parts into assets for Nike. Print and Web ads for Nikewomen.com proudly state, "My butt is big," "My knees are tomboys" and "I have thunder thighs" with close-up images of the body parts."We were just looking at ourselves, [thinking] what do we criticize, what do we love about ourselves, hate about ourselves," says Kaddoura, who developed the ads with freelance copywriter Kathy Hepinstall. "That applied to way more women out there. We don't have perfect bodies, and we all work really hard to work out and stay healthy. Even after all that, we still don't have a great perfect model body."Print and banner ads sprung from that idea, mixing black-and-white images with illustrated splotches of color. Photographer Max Cardelli was chosen for the rawness of his images (no airbrushing), and illustrator Stina Persson because Kaddoura found her work "fresh and beautiful." Kaddoura chose the graphic solution to make the imagery, shot against an often-seen white background, look new. "It was clean but also a very interesting and provocative way of getting [people's] attention," she explains. "The more you're unexpected, the better you'll be at getting people's attention."Kaddoura, the daughter of Lebanese humanitarian workers, was born in Egypt and grew up in Toronto. She attended VCU Adcenter after graduating from the American University of Beirut. Advertising seemed to perfectly combine her love of design and film. She interned at Wieden + Kennedy in Portland in 2001. Graduating in 2002, she assumed she'd work in Europe, but while she was visiting agencies abroad, Portland called. Wieden creative director Hal Curtis says Kaddoura's work has substance as well as style. "There are a lot of young art directors that you kind of feel the computer when you look at their work," says Curtis. "When I look at her work, I see her."In addition to Nike, Kaddoura works on Belvedere Vodka, Powerade and Diet Coke, as well as on new business. In her spare time, she practices the four languages she speaks (French, English, Italian and Arabic) and takes dance classes and yoga. She doesn't know where she'll be in five years, but it could be Wieden. "As long as it stays interesting and challenging, I'll probably stay," she says. She certainly has fans at the agency, including her boss, who values her opinion—even on his own work. "I've been told I'm good at print, but if I were ever to do a print ad now, the first person I would show it to would be Mira," Curtis says. "She's good."

Brand Marketing

2005

Mae Anderson

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Mae Anderson