‘Advantage Nadal’- Nike releases new campaign celebrating Rafa Nadal surpassing ‘frosty ex’ Roger Federer
Follow Us
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
The 2022 Australian Open was truly a historic event. Firstly, the whole Novak Djokovic saga was unprecedented. Never has a world superstar like Novak Djokovic been deported from a country. Rafael Nadal too made history, becoming the first person in history to win 21 Grand Slam titles. The manner in which he won was historic too, coming from 2 sets down against higher ranked Daniil Medvedev to win the title on a 4% win probability.
The fans would look back at the tournament with fond memories, with some beautiful tennis being played and some monumental records being broken.
Nike rolls out campaign to celebrate Nadal’s title and a huge deal
Nobody can forget the frosty relationship between Roger Federer and sports apparel giant Nike. The two were long time collaborators, with the Swiss maestro being their face in the world of tennis. However, Federer made a shock move to walk away from Nike in 2018 with reports the company was not willing to budge on a deal that was worth $10 million annually. He penned a deal with Japanese apparel chain Uniqlo on a bumper 10-year deal which extends through to 2028 — when he will be 46-years-old — worth a staggering $300 million. That effectively trippled his deal and also left room for him to sign a footwear sponsor.
Thus, Nike have undoubtedly enjoyed Nadal’s record breaking title, which moved him past Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles. As soon as the Spaniard sealed the title, Nike put up a tweet with the simple caption “Advantage Nadal.”
The campaign was further celebrated in a series of billboard advertising signs posted around the globe, including in Times Square in New York, Picadilly Circus in London and in Los Angeles, parked in front of the city’s major indoor stadium, formerly known as the Staples Centre, where the Lakers and Clippers play.
Nike is now dishing out Nadal’s “Raging Bull” range, with it being difficult to imagine the lifestyle brand would take such interest and put such a huge effort had the Federer fiasco not happened in 2018. After all, what’s better getting the better of a frosty ex?
Stay Updated!
Akash Mandal
(433 Articles Published)