Phenomenon, the Los Angeles-based integrated marketing agency founded by former DDB Worldwide CSO Krishnan Menon in 2006, launched a large scale campaign for Wilson, built around the star-studded 60-second spot, “Nothing Without It.”
“Nothing Without It,” as well as the campaign as a whole, is built around an examination of the relationship between athletes and their equipment. “We’ve been together during my darkest hours,” says a young baseball player at the opening of the spot, presumably speaking to his glove. From there the conversation is continued by a series of enthusiastic amateur and professional athletes, including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Dustin Pedroia, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Brendan Steele and Grigor Dimitrov. The spot ends with the line “This is my equipment. I’m nothing without it, and it’s nothing without me,” followed by a call to viewers to submit their own footage with their Wilson equipment, using the hashtag #MyWilson. Wilson will collect the footage and use selected clips for “remix” videos shared on the brand’s social media channels. Additionally, the brand has pledged to donate a dollar in new sports equipment, up to a total of$250,000, for every original consumer video and photograph posted using the hashtag from now until December 31 to national and community-based organizations. The brand also partnered with Whistle Sports Network, from which over 20 creators will share personalized versions of the spot with their followers.
“In developing this campaign, it was critically important that we show young and pro athletes side by side,” said Wilson vice president, marketing Amy Weisenbach. “While many brands in the sporting world show moments of greatness, we wanted to show the shared ‘moments of truth’ that are a part of every athlete’s story – the real highs and lows that are the common thread between the best in the world and those just starting out.”