More than an ad, an experience of tennis heritage and passion. "Ashe Versus" ran during one of the biggest cultural events in sports—the US Open—telling the powerful true story of one of the world’s greatest (but little celebrated) heroes, Arthur Ashe, whose name lives on the US Open stadium, but whose life outside of tennis was unknown to millions. Our fast-paced edits and mixed cinematography techniques brought him back to life in a powerful Noir look and feel, combined with an original jazz soundtrack that grabbed the attention of fans on screens in-stadium and at home.

Racial inclusion in clinical trials is neglected in the US pharmaceutical space. Experts say an ideal scenario involves recruiting 30-40% minority participants to match the population. Still, less than 5% of clinical trial participants are Black or African American, according to the FDA.

Moderna is an unsung leader who was born already ahead of this industry issue; back in 2021, they developed their COVID-19 vaccines for all, with a never-before-seen 37% of minority population participants in trials. They even delayed trial timelines to ensure representation.

Similar to pharmaceutics, there's another area that needs more diversity: professional tennis. Only 9% of Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players are black.

However, an inspiring transformation is happening in the US. As a result of decades of advocacy from Black athletes and allies, there has been a surge in tennis participation, particularly within diverse groups, with a 5.9 million increase in the last 3 years. People of color now represent 38% of the total US tennis player population (including amateur players), which surprisingly is the same representation of minority participants in Moderna's COVID vaccine trial.

African American tennis players quickly become role models and sports idols, like the Williams sisters and, most recently, Coco Gauff and Frances Tiafoe. But the history of racial equality in tennis goes way back, sparked by an icon that unfortunately is not remembered as he should–Arthur Ashe.

Through a range of mixed techniques such as digital and analog images, 2D animation, B&W photography, and analog bullet time in stop-motion, the film shows 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 being the first Black man to win the US Open. Playing against a mist of uncertainty, Ashe battles against apartheid, a heart surgery, and even HIV.

Moderna ties the story together as a like-minded change-maker brand that also pushes health forward with its disruptive attitude and technology.

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 UaS Open to increase awareness and openness to Moderna and make the brand relevant by itself, beyond its strong association to COVID-19.

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