“Most impressive athlete ever,” Serena Williams becomes recipient of huge praise from famous director of Super Bowl’s ads
Pytka praises Serena Williams, calling her the 'most impressive' athlete he has worked with on Super Bowl.
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About 80 of the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl were directed by Joe Pytka. Among them are advertisements for Gatorade, Pepsi, and Nike. As an experienced ad director, Pytka has had an impeccable career, working with the world’s most coveted athletes. And for him, Serena Williams is the “most impressive” athlete he has ever worked with.
Despite working with countless players like Larry Bird, Muhammad Ali, and Tiger Woods, the director feels Serena is the most captivating of them all. Only 10% of the advertisements Pytka has directed featured tennis players. This is because Pytka is frequently commissioned to produce advertisements for very large audiences only.
Pytka has directed Williams on two occasions for Super Bowl ads, for Gatorade and IBM. While writing about her on his website, he described Serena as an athlete with “overwhelming power and charisma”. Furthermore, he explained how they had to call in a male pro to play with the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Pytka wrote, “The first time I commented on her stroke looking a little strange and her handler told me she was hitting left-handed. We had to get a male pro to hit with her because the female pro we had hired couldn’t get the ball back properly. She is the most impressive athlete I have worked with, male or female. Magic.”
Also read: Carlos Alcaraz speaks of the difficulty of life on the sidelines amidst a long break from tennis
“A transcendent athlete like Serena can reach a big population,” Pytka says it is ‘rare’ for tennis players to do so
Recent athletes like Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and John McEnroe, in Pytka’s opinion, have a unique kind of crossover appeal. A tennis player, though, is unlikely to reach that kind of cultural standing. Pytka has also worked with Jimmy Connors and John Newcombe also. Pytka talked about how he worked with McEnroe under pressure.
“When you have a transcendent athlete like Serena or [John] McEnroe, you reach a big population,” said Pytka. In a Canon camera commercial, Sharapova was featured. Although Pytka thought she was very professional, he also pointed out, “It was impossible to connect on any personal level, not that I tried. The Japanese client thought I was a genius, though, because I made her smile.”
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Tanisha Mohanty
(172 Articles Published)