Is Caitlin Clark’s Super Bowl commercial one of the best ever?

Nike unveiled a powerful commercial during Super Bowl Sunday, featuring Caitlin Clark and other renowned female athletes. There’s been a lot of reaction to the ad, which is likely what Nike wanted. Could the new commercial go down as one of the most popular athlete-based spots ever? We’ll take a closer look at the commercial itself, and some other memorable ones over the years.

The commercial highlights the things that female athletes can’t do or can’t be. The narrator says “you can’t be demanding, you can’t be relentless, you can’t put yourself first, you can’t be confident, you can’t challenge, you can’t dominate, you can’t flex, you can’t fill a stadium, you can’t be emotional, you can’t take credit,” and so on.

With all of these hurdles facing female athletes, the narrator builds up to a crescendo and finally says, “you can’t win, so win.”

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As part of the montage, Clark is shown drilling three pointers, pumping up the crowd, and reveling in her accomplishments. Other stars like Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson and Jordan Chiles are also shown in the same light.

Nike brought some of the most impactful female athletes on the planet to make a huge statement, and it’s created a forum for discussion since the commercial aired on Super Bowl Sunday.

XX-XY Athletics CEO Jennifer Sey said on social media that the ad was “inauthentic and desperate.” She continued “I have zero doubt that Nike made that terrible Super Bowl ad as a response to calling them out for not supporting women.”

Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice posted, “ridiculous defeatist mentality that we reject completely as women. Hey Nike, bring back ‘just do it’ for everyone.”

Athlon Sports and others noted that Nike doesn’t usually partake in Super Bowl advertising. Before Super Bowl LIX’s ad, the company hadn’t featured an ad during the big game since the late 1990s. It’s clear that the iconic apparel brand wanted to make a splash.

After the commercial aired, Clark herself took to social media to double down on the message. She wrote, “you’ll be told you can’t do it. So do it anyway.”

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WNBA legend Lisa Leslie was impressed by the ad, posting, “literally the best commercial tonight, loved it!!!!!”

Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark’s All-Star teammate with the Indiana Fever, was also a huge fan of the commercial. Boston posted, “Oh you ate this up” in all capital letters.

From time to time, Nike puts together advertisements that are meant to start larger conversations. Another one that comes to mind is one from 2019, featuring embattled quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The commercial dared viewers to ask if their dreams were crazy enough.

Another memorable Nike spot that comes to mind is a 1993 commercial featuring NBA star Charles Barkley. The basketball legend memorably proclaimed, “I am not a role model,” forcing people to think about the notion of athletes as people the next generation should blindly follow.

Another iconic Nike spot was released in 2012 during the London Olympics. The message talks about hard work, and how people have greatness within them if they continue to push towards it.

In 1997, Nike highlighted the amount of times Michael Jordan failed. Jordan says during the commercial, “I missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost more than 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life, and that is why, I succeed.”

A Gatorade commercial from 1997 pitted women’s soccer star Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan against one another on the pitch, and the court, and in other sports too. It was an early message encouraging women to strive for greatness, just like their male counterparts.

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