Why the new 'Da Da Ding' video is way better than Nike ad
A grab from Epic Spiritual's The Other Women version of Da Da Ding.
There are ads and then there are ad spin-offs. Advertising, as an industry, is all about selling us yet another unnecessary product, but may be occasionally with a necessary message, perhaps a good story. All good advertisements are essentially very short, very effective movies - something like a flash fiction of the audiovisual variety.
Nike's latest ad featuring Deepika Padukone was something like that. It made a case for Indian women athletes - the forgotten heroines of this cricket-obsessed country.
But can a message about the sportswoman sugarcoated to sell sports shoes be also improved upon? It seems so.
Epic Spiritual took Nike's "Da Da Ding" ad and edited in the everyday Indian women.
The resulting video (see below) is called Nike Da Da Ding: The Other Women.
The powerful skit juxtaposes the urban women wearing Nike shoes with the ones who can't afford them.
"Dedicated to the women who have been doing it anyway for centuries without appreciation, without appreciation and that too in very difficult condition. Definitely without shoes that cost more than what they earn in a month," reads the video description on Youtube.
The video shows women from rural India doing everything they do every day, without fancy shoes, but with a smile. They're working, dancing and simply being.
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| A still from Epic Spiritual's Da Da Ding. |
The original "Da Da Ding" was a positive first step in the direction towards raising awareness about Indian female athletes.
Nike could've easily gone with the same four to five cricketers who tend to be used everywhere as an "accurate representation of the Indian sports scene". But, fortunately enough, Nike took the road less travelled and actually produced a great campaign for female athletes.
Although it was pretty weird that Deepika Padukone featured as a professional athlete and not as a movie star.
There was a section on social media that was upset with the lack of equal representation and eerie capitalism on show in Nike's ad, but the response to "The Other Women" verison has been overwhelmingly positive.
There they are, the barefoot women of India. What does Nike have to say to them? Why should women, whose monthly wage is often less than a pair of decent Nike shoes, need the brand to prove their awesomeness? And what is Nike doing to give these barefoot women a shoe that they can actually afford? How about some accessibility over accessorising?
Nike's Da Da Ding ad campaign modified for the women who have been silently "just doing it" for hundreds of years https://t.co/4XJsFIurUA
— Sachin Kalbag (@SachinKalbag) July 27, 2016
The #DaDaDing #Women dont need fancy shoes that will cost them a month's wage. Just dignity, #EqualPayEqualRights.https://t.co/uCqfZNvjfw
— Neha Dixit (@nehadixit123) July 27, 2016
Nike did a brilliant job on the Da-Da-Ding Campaign, but this one has a different perspective that's even better. https://t.co/KOdUOQRPSF
— Jade (@ImGoanCrazy) July 27, 2016
Sorry @Nike #DaDaDing but this beats the original https://t.co/7DCDzbpPSJ
— Mohita Arora (@mohitaarora) July 27, 2016
I'm not really into ads. I hate 90% of the ads I've seen in my life so far. This one belongs to the 10% category: https://t.co/j0wsTZdTXN
— Rishabh Thomas (@RTtweeted) July 27, 2016
Didn't think it could get better than #DaDaDing? It can: https://t.co/SCpTqpXHXb Best thing I've seen all week #TheOtherWomen
— Saanya Gulati (@BombayDelhiGirl) July 27, 2016