Serena Williams stars in an "emotional new spot" for Chase that features "not only Williams, but her daughter, too," according to Diana Pearl of ADWEEK. The 60-second ad, which comes via Droga5, N.Y., ahead of the start of the U.S. Open, shows Williams "cradling her daughter before placing her in her crib, walking out of the room as she prepares to head to the court." Clips of Williams "saying goodbye to her daughter, palm trees moving in the breeze and a pensive stare ... all appear on the screen" as she recites the lyrics to LL Cool J's song "Mama Said Knock You Out." The ad closes with Williams "standing on the court, looking directly at the camera, uttering the song's title," which is the name of the campaign (ADWEEK.com, 8/23). FAST COMPANY's Jeff Beer wrote it sounds "like a lullaby as Williams is softly serenading her young daughter," but the "shift between the hushed mother-daughter moments and approaching the tennis court with a quiet steel belies the confident intensity behind one of the greatest athletes ever" (FASTCOMPANY.com, 8/22).
IT ALL ADS UP: FORBES.com's Kurt Badenhausen reported Williams is the "top-earning female athlete" from June '17-June '18 despite just $62,000 in on-court winnings during that time. Her off-court earnings of $18.1M are "still best among female athletes for the third straight year, thanks to an endorsement portfolio unmatched among women in sports." Only 16 male athletes across the globe earned more than Williams over that 12-month stretch from endorsements, and she "made twice as much off the court as any other female athlete." The top five was comprised wholly of tennis players, as Williams was followed by Caroline Wozniacki ($13M total earnings), Sloane Stephens ($11.2M), Garbine Muguruza ($11M) and Maria Sharapova ($10.5M) (FORBES.com, 8/21).
FASHION FAUX PAS: The N.Y. Times' Christopher Clarey cited a passage from France's Tennis Magazine in which French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli indicated that Williams' "surprise bodysuit at Roland Garros this year would not be tolerated in the future." Giudicelli in the magazine said, "It's a bit late because the collections are already designed but we are going to nonetheless ask the manufacturers to let us know what is coming. I believe we have sometimes gone too far. Serena's outfit this year, for example, would no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place" (TWITTER.com, 8/23).
