In 2023, the Moderna brand started to lose momentum and presence as US society turned away from COVID-19 pandemic–related topics. The brand needed to carve its own space and relevance in people's lives.

This initiative's goal was to partner with the US Open to increase awareness and openness to Moderna and make the brand relevant by itself, beyond its strong association to COVID-19.

Ashe Versus is about celebrating the transformative power of the change-maker spirit. For the first time, a major brand partnered with Arthur Ashe, one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, the first black champion of the US Open, and an important voice on equality, to bring his legacy to life and in a way never seen before.

It does so by bringing to life a match between a live-action version of Arthur Ashe and animated representations of the opponents and obstacles he had to face during his lifetime. We follow Ashe from segregated tennis courts in Richmond to literally changing the game with his historic US Open victory. Playing against a mist of uncertainty, Ashe battles against apartheid, a heart surgery, and even HIV.

Moderna presents this story as a like-minded brand that also pushes health forward with its change-maker attitude, technology, and industry-defining inclusive approach to clinical trials.

Our research into US cultural trends, the Moderna brand, and the US Open identified Moderna's industry leadership in clinical trials diversity as the biggest communication opportunity.

Just like in pharma clinical trials, tennis and the US Open overwhelmingly lack diversity and representation (only 9% of ATP professional players are black) and have historically depended on strong voices that reject "blending in" to push the topic forward.

Going deeper into Moderna's core enterprise segments, we identified that these audiences also index high as tennis fans, sports enthusiasts, and equality supporters, and that they align with Moderna's values of transformation, progress, and inclusion.

Shedding a raw light on Arthur Ashe's story and achievements allowed Moderna to tell a relevant story to the audience while "flexing" one of the brand's biggest strengths, showing up not as an advertiser, but as an enabler of Ashe's legacy and the audience's passion for the sport.

Our art direction took inspiration from film noir and jazz album covers, reflecting Ashe’s mysterious and elegant personality. The dramatic shadows combined with the theatrical lighting gave Arthur Ashe the sense of gravitas he deserved. As a champion of black rights and someone who marched against apartheid, Arthur Ashe dared to shine a light on discrimination and brought racism out of the shadows of tennis and the world. Through the execution, Moderna celebrates Ashe as a Change Maker, connecting his story to the brand’s motto: This Changes Everything.

The strategy of partnering with an icon and a major sports event surpassed expectations:

• Boosted openness towards Moderna: led to +7 percentage points brand preference and +70% brand favorability, as measured by lift study

• Record brand reach: The film was seen by ~14 million people within the target audience on linear tv and another ~3 million people on digital properties during the US Open

• Outstanding creative that generated business results: The initiative generated a whopping 4.6X ROI