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Adidas's new ad campaign features six powerhouse runners catching speed as a male announcer lists their perceived “womanly shortcomings,”: Not tough enough. Not fast enough. Not strong enough. These are just a few of the stereotypes about female athletes Adidas is dispelling through its Fearless AF campaign. The video’s announcer echos what many believe, in preconceived notions of what femine looks like: “Femininity is about appearing small and vulnerable.” For its vision, Adidas has a different definition: Bold. Creative. Determined. Boss. Fearless. “We’re past the point of empowering women. Women are already empowered,” said Alexa Andersen, Adidas’ category director for women’s running, in a press release. “This campaign is about celebrating real women who tackle challenges head-on, defy conventions, express themselves and fuel creativity in the name of sport.” Featured in the video is Boston Marathon woman runner Katherine Switzer, appearing 50 years after being attacked mid-race in 1967 for daring, as a woman, to run the Boston Marathon. Fearless AF pays homage to the famous moment by including images of the attack and showcasing a powerful black-and-white of Switzer unfazed as men in suits grab at her. “I was so certain, even at 20 in the first Boston Marathon, that other women would love to run if they only had the opportunity to try,” Switzer told Refinery29. “Now I am seeing that running is totally transformational for women — what we’ve done is created a social revolution, well beyond running itself, that has changed their lives quite fundamentally.” The video also features three-time New York City Marathon women’s champion Mary Keitany, Girls Run NYC founder Jessie Zapo and three-time Olympic distance runner Jen Rhines, as well as ultramarathoner and Peloton VP of fitness programming Robin Arzon, supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss. Ultramarathoner Arzon agrees with Switzer’s message interpretation: “Fearless AF means feeling the fear and doing it anyway — leaning into the knowledge that you’ve survived 100 percent of your worst days, and a community of women is cheering you on,” she told Health. Related articles:
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