Nike, the brand synonymous with “Just Do It”, is aiming to inspire and empower with a new three-word phrase… “Da Da Ding.” Less mantra and more battle cry, it’s an anthem backed by blood pumping beats and powerful lyrics that’s been brought to life in this new music video, which delivers a stunning visual showcase of the badassery of India’s top women athletes. The purpose is to “urge India’s next generation to break conventions and define their own success by bringing sport into their lives.”
The video, which is part of a new Nike Just Do It campaign, the very first from Nike India, features Indian actress Deepika Padukone and Indian national field hockey player Rani Rampal, alongside other leading Indian athletes who have disrupted the world of sports in a country where athletics have remained male dominated. They include India’s first professional female surfer Ishita Malaviya, one of the youngest fully-trained Stott Pilates instructors in the world Namrata Purohit, world-ranked champion squash player Joshna Chinappa, sprinter Shweta Hakke, footballer Jyoti Ann Burrett and cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandana and Shubhlakshmi Sharma. It’s set to “Da Da Ding,” a song which Nike describes as “a thumping anthem” by Gener8ion, featuring American rapper Gizzle that “charts the rise of female sport across a diverse range of passions, including basketball, football, running, training and India’s national obsession: cricket.”
The concept draws on sociological findings that suggest “female participation in sport helps to alter a girl or woman’s self-image in numerous ways, including feelings of control, competency and strength.” Padukone and Rampal, two of the video’s stars, echo this sentiment, both attributing their respective success to the discipline and increased confidence they gained from early participation in sports.
In 2010, Rani Rampal became the youngest player on the Indian women’s national field hockey team at just 15. And Deepika Padukone, who played national-level badminton before turning her full attention to acting, says everything she is today and everything she’s achieved connects back to years of playing sports. To drive that point home and to celebrate the release of the video, she posted the following to her Facebook page, which is followed by almost 32 million fans…
When I was growing up my father said to me, “To be the best, always remember the three D’s – Discipline, Dedication and Determination. Follow your heart. Do what you are passionate about.”
Sport has taught me how to handle failure. It has also taught me how to handle success. It has kept me grounded. It has taught me humility.
Two years ago I struggled with depression. I was sinking. I almost gave up. But it was the athlete in me that gave me the strength to fight and never ever give up!
And so I want to say to every girl and every boy and every woman and every man…play a sport…because it changed my life…and it will change yours too!
Sport has taught me how to survive! It has taught me how to fight! It has made me unstoppable!