Gender gaps remain significant in Japan as traditional roles for men and women are strongly reinforced in society and through mass media, leaving no opportunities for women to realize their dreams. Japan has long grappled with gender inequality, not just in the workforce but also in sports. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 120th among 156 countries in the global gender gap rankings in 2021 - in last place among advanced economies. There are also several sports that still don’t offer an equal opportunity for female athletes, such as sumo & baseball. With Nike’s audience of young women 18-24, the brief was to celebrate those who fight and don’t let their dreams be stopped due to gender inequality.

The film follows a mother-to-be as she learns she is having a baby girl, and the subsequent reactions and outdated expectations of various family members upon hearing the news. The film accelerates to the moments leading up to the birth of the new girl, as we see how culture-changing athletes break barriers and inspire the family to dream of positive futures for the new baby girl. We see visions of the baby in future moments of her life, playing sport and racing towards a fairer society for all women. It is a story of hope that celebrates all women actively breaking new ground in sport and culture and serves as an empowering call to action for all women to join the movement.

The film features key appearances from women currently active on gender equality initiatives in Japan. These women were involved in the writing of the script and consulted during the research phase of the creative development. Like professional football player and female empowerment activist Ami Otaki, high-school sumo wrestler Rizumu Kasai (who plays for the men’s competitive high school sumo team as the only female athlete), baseball player Ayuri Shimano (who has played on all-male teams and is currently leading a female baseball team on the national level), and figure skater Marin Honda. The film also features cultural change driver Momoko Nojo, who rose to national prominence for calling out the sexism of public remarks from the president of the Olympic Organizing Committee Yoshiro Mori, forcing his resignation.

The world run on for 4 weeks on YouTube Mastheads, Twitter, Facebook and IG channels of both the brand and athletes / personalities showcased in the story. Along with the film, Nike launched a large-scale Digital Out of Home takeover in the giant multi-screens of in Shibuya and Harajuku in Tokyo. On the Nike side, for the first time ever, sumo training sessions were made available via Nike YouTube and NTC/NIKE App. The sessions were based on the training routine of Rizumu Kasai, the athlete featured in our film. And since it is still challenging for female sumo athletes to find rings that allow them to train, we built one that is open and free for anyone who wants to play in the Nike Space at Toyosu Park (Tokyo).

According to the brand tracking report, the campaign helped solidify Nike's leadership position as the #1 favorite and inspiring brand in the category, especially amongst the core female audience, with a +5 increase in points "favorite brand", and +2 points in "Inspires me", while key competitor Adidas saw a decline of -1 on both metrics. On top of that, Nike's key metric of "represents my values" increased by +16 points year on year, +5 and +4 on "motivates me" and "empowers me". All these metrics show the campaign had a significant impact on creating a deeper connection with the key audience, driving brand love and preference, but more importantly, it inspired and motivated young women to chase their dreams despite the cultural challenges they face. Nike CEO specifically called out Nike Japan as a lead contributor to the APLA region's 76% revenue growth in Q4'21.