Serena Williams (and Daughter Alexis) Star in Powerful New U.S. Open Spot for Chase

If Serena Williams has proved one thing in the past year or so, it's that she's unstoppable. The tennis champ—who has won 23 grand slam titles throughout her tennis career—nearly died while giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. (whose father is Williams's Reddit co-founder husband, Alexis Ohanian) in September 2017. Less than a year later, she's preparing to compete at her first U.S. Open since she gave birth—and that's just a few months after she came in second place at Wimbledon this summer. Oh, and don't forget, she won the Australian Open in 2017 while she was pregnant. Heading into this year's U.S. Open, Williams is undoubtedly the tourney's biggest star and her matches are some of its most anticipated. And this year, U.S. Open sponsor Chase is showing its support for Williams with an emotional new spot crafted by Droga5, featuring not only Williams, but her daughter, too. The video opens with Williams cradling her daughter before placing her in her crib, walking out of the room as she prepares to head to the court. It's a fitting depiction, as Williams has been open about the difficulties of balancing her grueling training and competitive schedule with motherhood. (Earlier this summer, she candidly tweeted that she cried after missing her daughter's first steps while she was on the court.) Short clips of Williams saying goodbye to her daughter, palm trees moving in the breeze and a pensive stare from the athlete all appear on the screen as Williams recites the lyrics to LL Cool J's hit Mama Said Knock You Out. These lyrics, which include the lines "Don't call it a comeback / I've been here for years / Rocking my peers / Putting suckers in fear," feel eerily-applicable to her current life situation, as the public seems to have dubbed Williams's first season back postpartum her own "comeback." [kickout id="1"] She closes out the minute-long video standing on the court, looking directly at the camera, uttering the song's title: "Mama said knock you out"—which also happens to be the title of this campaign. Droga5 said that the ad is supposed to serve not only as an show of support to Williams as she heads into the Open, but also a reminder that she's not "coming back" to the court from motherhood—she's simply started a new chapter. In the ad, "we see the vulnerability that comes with being a new parent, but we also see that she draws strength from it," said a release from Droga5. "Motherhood is not something that’s holding her back. It’s giving her the strength to press forward." [kickout id="2"] Mama Said Knock You Out Credits List Client CHASE Campaign Mama Said Knock You Out Title Mama Said Knock You Out Agency Droga5 NY Creative Chairman David Droga Chief Creative Officer Neil Heymann Founding Partner Duncan Marshall Group Creative Director Lauren Costa Creative Director Jake Shaw Creative Director Ash Tavassoli Senior Copywriter Nedal Ahmed Senior Art Director Julia Melograna Chief Design Officer Jason Severs Design Director Anna Fine Designer Andrew Diemer Designer Kelsey Lynch Chief Creation Officer Sally-Ann Dale Head of Film Production Jesse Brihn Executive Producer, Film Kyle Wright Music Supervisor Mike Ladman Head of Business Affairs Jocelyn Howard Senior Business Affairs Manager Tom Vendittelli Co-Director of Interactive Production Tasha Cronin Co-Director of Interactive Production Justin Durazzo Senior Producer, Interactive Nicole Bazzinotti Associate Producer, Interactive Emily Blumhardt Head of Art Production Cliff Lewis Producer, Print Riely Clough Chief Strategy Officer Jonny Bauer Co-Head of Strategy Colm Murphy Group Strategy Director Dan Ng Strategy Director Hayley Parker Strategist Graham Jones Head of Communications Strategy Dean Challis Communications Strategy Director Danni Patterson Senior Communications Strategist Kevin Wilkerson Deputy Head, Account Management Agnes Fischer Group Account Director Susan Pratchett Account Director Pauline Tastenhoye Account Manager Niamh Walsh Group Project Manager Rene Ramirez Legal Sarah Fox Celeb Talent Relations Lindsey McElroy Client CHASE Kristin Lemkau Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Pilarcik Managing Director, Head of Retail Brand John Anderson VP, Brand and Advertising Katherine Schoff Marketing Director, Sports & Entertainment Production Company Epoch Director Martin De Thurah DOP Monika Lenczewska Executive Producer Melissa Culligan Line Producer Leah Allina Edit Company Exile NY Executive Producer Sasha Hirschfeld Head of Production Evyn Bruce Editor Shane Reid Assistant Editor Cutler Gray Producer Lauren Pullano & Dale Nicholls Photography Second Child Photographer Paul McGeiver Producer Kim Santella Retouchers Mike Vorassi, John Clendenen Graphics Studio Manager Virginia Vargas Post Production Method Flame Randie Swanberg - Flame Lead / CD Colorist Sofie Borup - Colorist Angela Lupo - Executive Producer Adrienne Mitchell - Executive Producer Tsiliana Jolson-Senior Supervising Producer Camara Edwards -vfx coordinator Suzanne Dyer -Flame Artist David Piombino - 2D Comp Supervisor Scott Minter- 2D/Nuke Compositor Chris Hunt - Flame Artist Ed Lopez - Flame Artist Glen Bennett - Flame Artist Music LL COOL J Song Mama Said Knock You Out Sound Q Department Creative Director Drazen Bosnjak Zack Rice Executive Producer Molly Young Producer Erick Magnus QD Location Sound Recordist Josh Audio Mixer Graphics Production Company Second Child Quality Control Manager Lisa Bishai Graphics Studio Manager Virginia Vargas Graphics Studio Coordinator Nereida Valles Production Artist Joseph Barrile Print Production Company Second Child Photographer Paul McGeiver Producer Kim Santella Digital Tech Meindert Smith Photography Assistant Huston Ochoa Don’t miss Brandweek, coming up September 23-25 in Palm Springs. No panels, no sales pitches—just three days of interactive discussion, problem-solving, entertainment and networking. Learn more here.

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Serena Williams (and Daughter Alexis) Star in Powerful New U.S. Open Spot for Chase

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