tennisIlove09
Jun 23rd, 2003, 06:47 AM
WTA launches new ad campaign
By Greg Garber
ESPN.com
WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Magdalena Maleeva and Daja Bedanova were lined up in front of the media in their pink girl-power T-shirts with this legend: "Get in Touch with Your Feminine Side."
Serena Williams prepares for Wimbledon, which begins Monday.
Capriati stuck out her chest -- just in case someone missed the point -- and then she laughed.
"It's selling us for what we are," Capriati said later Sunday. "Not just sex."
Thus, the new WTA Tour's global brand marketing campaign was unveiled in a lovely garden just a few hundred yards from the All England Club. Engineered by the San Francisco office of TBWA/Chiat/Day -- the folks who brought you the Energizer bunny and produce some memorable and edgy images for Apple Computers and Adidas -- it is the most comprehensive attempt to increase name recognition in the Tour's 30 years.
It is also, according to the WTA Tour, the biggest such effort in the history of women's sport.
"It doesn't happen overnight," said Larry Scott, the WTA Tour CEO of two months. "It's about a direction."
The direction is decidedly different from previous regimes that leveraged the sex appeal of the players. In the new 30-second commercial that will be offered to the Tour's 60 tournaments, the images of Williams, Capriati and others -- with classical music playing underneath -- are muscular and sinewy.
"New," Capriati said. "Neat. Cute. I like it."
The cliché-turning spirit of the campaign can be seen in the print ads, too. In one, William is seen crushing a backhand, teeth barred and lethally focused. "Some things," the copy reads, "need a woman's touch." Similarly, Capriati can be seen unloading a forehand accompanied by "Hell hath no fury like a woman scored on." How about Venus Williams following through with "Serves that travel faster than gossip." And, finally, a Monica Seles vehicle adorned with "Grunt if you like women's tennis."
The players were consulted during the creative process and, according to Serena Williams, "a lot of changes were made."
Another change: The players have vowed to be more accessible to the media. On the first day of each tournament, usually a Monday, a number of players will be made available in a round-table format
By Greg Garber
ESPN.com
WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Magdalena Maleeva and Daja Bedanova were lined up in front of the media in their pink girl-power T-shirts with this legend: "Get in Touch with Your Feminine Side."
Serena Williams prepares for Wimbledon, which begins Monday.
Capriati stuck out her chest -- just in case someone missed the point -- and then she laughed.
"It's selling us for what we are," Capriati said later Sunday. "Not just sex."
Thus, the new WTA Tour's global brand marketing campaign was unveiled in a lovely garden just a few hundred yards from the All England Club. Engineered by the San Francisco office of TBWA/Chiat/Day -- the folks who brought you the Energizer bunny and produce some memorable and edgy images for Apple Computers and Adidas -- it is the most comprehensive attempt to increase name recognition in the Tour's 30 years.
It is also, according to the WTA Tour, the biggest such effort in the history of women's sport.
"It doesn't happen overnight," said Larry Scott, the WTA Tour CEO of two months. "It's about a direction."
The direction is decidedly different from previous regimes that leveraged the sex appeal of the players. In the new 30-second commercial that will be offered to the Tour's 60 tournaments, the images of Williams, Capriati and others -- with classical music playing underneath -- are muscular and sinewy.
"New," Capriati said. "Neat. Cute. I like it."
The cliché-turning spirit of the campaign can be seen in the print ads, too. In one, William is seen crushing a backhand, teeth barred and lethally focused. "Some things," the copy reads, "need a woman's touch." Similarly, Capriati can be seen unloading a forehand accompanied by "Hell hath no fury like a woman scored on." How about Venus Williams following through with "Serves that travel faster than gossip." And, finally, a Monica Seles vehicle adorned with "Grunt if you like women's tennis."
The players were consulted during the creative process and, according to Serena Williams, "a lot of changes were made."
Another change: The players have vowed to be more accessible to the media. On the first day of each tournament, usually a Monday, a number of players will be made available in a round-table format