Nike’s 27-Year Silence Ends: The Ad That Should’ve Happened Long Ago
Nike’s return to Super Bowl advertising after 27 years wasn’t just a marketing move—it was a correction. A reminder that women’s sports have been worthy of this stage all along, even if brands and networks took their time catching up. The 60-second ad, titled "So Win," aired during Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025, and featured a powerful lineup of female athletes, a moment that should feel ordinary—but still feels revolutionary.
Nike last graced the Super Bowl stage in 1998 with "Swoosh This," a commercial that humorously depicted the brand’s cultural ubiquity. The ad was clever, self-referential, and memorable, but it didn’t highlight a single woman athlete.Instead, it reinforced Nike’s presence in the world of sports—a world that, at the time, was still largely built around men. That absence of representation wasn’t an oversight; it was a reflection of the broader reality. Women’s sports had yet to be positioned as a global spectacle, not because the talent wasn’t there, but because the industry wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.
Nearly three decades later, the world has changed—but the skepticism around female athletes hasn’t disappeared. Narrated by Narrated by Grammy Award winner Doechii, Nike’s latest ad challenges those lingering doubts with the same dismissive tone female athletes have heard for generations. "You can't be confident. So be confident." "You can't fill a stadium. So fill that stadium." "Whatever you do. You can't win. So WIN." These aren’t just marketing lines—they’re echoes of the rhetoric that has followed women in sports forever. No matter how dominant, no matter how record-breaking, there’s always a hint of hesitation in the way they’re spoken about.
That hesitation doesn’t exist for the women in this ad. Caitlin Clark isn’t just a star—she’s a phenomenon, redefining expectations for women’s basketball. A’ja Wilson leads a Las Vegas Aces team that dominates the WNBA. Sha’Carri Richardson doesn’t run just to win—she runs to rewrite narratives. Jordan Chiles, Sabrina Ionescu, Sophia Smith, JuJu Watkins, Aryna Sabalenka, Alexia Putellas—each of them is proof of what happens when opportunity meets undeniable talent.
Nike didn’t pick just a few names. They built this moment around generational talent from multiple sports:
Caitlin Clark (basketball – Iowa Hawkeyes, Indiana Fever)
A’ja Wilson (basketball – Las Vegas Aces)
Sha’Carri Richardson (track & field – sprinter)
Jordan Chiles (gymnastics – Olympic medalist)
Sabrina Ionescu (basketball – New York Liberty)
Sophia Smith (soccer – U.S. Women’s National Team, Portland Thorns FC)
JuJu Watkins (basketball – USC Trojans)
Aryna Sabalenka (tennis – world No. 1)
Alexia Putellas (soccer – Spain, FC Barcelona)
They don’t need validation. They don’t need permission. And they certainly don’t need Nike to tell them they can win.
But that’s the thing about brand messaging—it isn’t about the athletes. It’s about the audience. The people who still hesitate, still question, still doubt, still downplay the significance of what women are doing in sports right now. The ad speaks to them, not the players. Nike’s Chief Marketing Officer, Nicole Graham, put it plainly: "We are at our best when we are representing the voice of the athlete and their voice becomes our voice." But voices don’t just need representation—they need action. The Super Bowl ad is a moment, but moments are fleeting.
What’s permanent is what happens next. The investment, the visibility, the airtime, the sponsorships, the infrastructure. That’s the real test. And the thing is, women’s sports aren’t waiting for Nike to pass it. They’re already filling stadiums. They’re breaking records. They’re winning.
Nike returned after 27 years with an ad that says, "So Win." But the truth is, women already were.
🔗 Watch the Ad Here: Nike's 'So Win' Super Bowl Commercial