WTA Launches “Strong is Beautiful” Global Advertising Campaign

Written by: Staff on 12th May 2011

WTA Launches "Strong is Beautiful" Global Advertising Campaign |

The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) unveiled today a new global advertising campaign with the tagline “Strong is Beautiful”, initially featuring 38 current and next generation stars of the sport. The campaign includes television, print and digital ads along with social media applications and will be unveiled across 80 markets over the next two years.

Drawing upon athleticism and grace – a unique combination that has turned the stars of the WTA into the most recognizable and followed female athletes on the planet – the “Strong is Beautiful” campaign places the personal stories, pressures and dreams of the players front of stage. The creative is designed to support the WTA’s efforts to establish a deeper engagement with fans around the world and to promote both the sport’s next generation of players along with current established names.

In addition to a WTA driven media campaign to promote women’s tennis and the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, the advertising is expected to be utilized by WTA tournaments around the world, establishing a unified promotional message for the sport.

Famed Los Angeles photographer and filmmaker Dewey Nicks, who produced a series of stunning videos and photos of a select group of WTA players last fall for the cover feature of the New York Times magazine, formed the inspiration for the ad creative and shot the campaign. World-class advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners produced the campaign and developed its iconic tagline.

“We want to develop a closer relationship with our fans and attract a new generation of fans to women’s tennis, and the “Strong is Beautiful” campaign is one way to get it done. This campaign will serve as a creative marketing platform for our players, tournaments, year-end WTA Championships and the entire sport,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “The personal stories of our athletes are inspirational. The unique combination of athleticism, strength and determination on the court and success, interests and inner beauty off the court is what makes women’s tennis so attractive to millions of people around the world.”

“It takes so many elements to reach the top of such a competitive sport as tennis – strength of character, discipline, and will power. All of these things define who we are as people and as athletes. For me the new campaign is able to capture the inner strength of players in a beautiful way,” said WTA World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.

“The “Strong is Beautiful” campaign was an extraordinary project and I was incredibly impressed with these athletes that embody all of the characteristics of physical and mental strength,” said Dewey Nicks. “The raw emotion that spoke from the heart of the players really inspired me and I am thrilled to have been able to portray these amazing women in a beautiful way that I believe fans have not seen before.”

The set of :30 second television and digital advertisements focus on women’s tennis stars’ lives and the intense and sometimes difficult social undercurrents of realizing their dreams as professional athletes. The campaign’s overall focus is on the global nature of women’s tennis and reveals unique and heartfelt storylines that include Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic having to practice in a war-torn Belgrade; Chinese star Li Na having the pressure and hope of 1.3 billion Chinese people on her shoulders, and Belgium’s Kim Clijsters being torn about giving her all to tennis while raising a young daughter. Serena Williams’ ubiquitous self confidence comes through while assuring the viewer that the only reason she brings seven tennis outfits to each Grand Slam is because she intends on wearing them all, for each match she plans on winning.

The end result is a celebration of strong women from all corners of the world. Through all of life’s difficult circumstances, the players’ love for the sport and determination to succeed prevails. The new ad campaign is a life example that being physically and mentally strong is beautiful.

The TV, print and digital elements of the campaign will begin to run globally later this month, culminating at the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on October 25-30, 2011.

Viewers and fans can continue the conversation with the WTA players through social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and a series of Chinese social media networks where the WTA serves up daily in-depth exclusive content from 53 tournaments in 33 countries to more than 17 million fans of women’s tennis.

The ad campaign follows on the heels of an 18 month momentous period during which the WTA relaunched its brand and signed with three new major sponsors – leading European cosmetics brand Oriflame, Chinese apparel company Peak, and Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas airlines. WTA also renewed lead global partner Sony Ericsson, and resigned and significantly upgraded its partnership with USANA, a leading global vitamin and health supplement manufacturer.

To view a series of TV commercials, online videos and print ads, please visit www.wtatennis.com/page/strongisbeautiful.