I recently听read 听titled 鈥淲ant to Sell Me Sportswear? Show Me an Athlete,鈥澨齛nd it resonated with me听as a professional athlete.听It made me ask: Why do big athletic companies, like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, often , rather than draw from the ranks of the numerous professional athletes they sponsor?
Here are just a few recent examples of this happening: is the face of a new Nike campaign听for听the Cortez sneakers, originally designed for runners in 1972; models Adidas鈥 fashionable performance line, Stella McCartney; and听听plays a boxer听for Reebok鈥檚 鈥淧erfect Never鈥 campaign.听These听images of female 鈥渁thletes鈥 suggest that it is more important that women look stereotypically feminine and lean听than be able to听perform at an elite level.听This doesn't happen nearly as often with men: sports brands seldom use male models as the faces of their fitness lines, instead opting for professional male athletes.听
I find it insulting when major brands choose fashion models instead of real athletes. That tells me they value a certain look and body type over听my own skill and the fact that I actually use their performance clothing to听辫别谤蹿辞谤尘.听Even on a simple marketing level, choosing athletes makes sense to me. Period. Brands need to maintain loyalty to their products and their consumers. Part of the way athletic-wear companies should do this is by marketing their gear on the athletes who actually use it鈥攊t鈥檚 that simple.听
So why are female athletes passed over in favor of models?听
Well, for one, they have massive social followings that help sell product. game (34.9 million followers)听is more than three times greater than professional boxer听听(9.7). I understand the lure of those numbers.听I also understand that celebrity endorsements do not always parallel one鈥檚 actual profession. It鈥檚 common to see actors or musicians promoting skin care lines, perfumes, cars, and so on.听Athletes will often promote items tangential to their sports, too: I have been part of campaigns that have nothing to do with rock climbing, including working with a tire company. (They wanted to exemplify grit and grip.)听 听
But I believe outdoor brands鈥攅specially mainstream ones like Nike and Adidas, which have the broadest reach鈥攈ave a responsibility to remain authentic. These athletic-wear brands are selling apparel, accessories, and shoes for performance, and they should show the people听who have worked every day to perform in that sport at听their peak skill level.听听
If these brands don鈥檛 remain true to that base, they risk alienating people, especially women, from participating in the outdoor world. When we sell sportswear with models, we鈥檙e celebrating one body type and failing to depict what strength actually looks like in that sport. When I see a performance brand advertising an athlete, I want to see what those听athletes听actually听look like鈥攎uscle intonations, powerful thighs, ripped biceps, and all.听
Some brands are getting it听right. Under Armour's marketing campaign听featuring听听and听听is incredibly听powerful. Even Adidas has done a good job showcasing professional female climbers wearing听its Outdoor line.听We need more of this.
Brand advertising should reflect a balanced,听realistic view of female athletes鈥攆rom grace and beauty to physical strength, endurance,听and power. With this imagery, we can听encourage, inspire, and rethink what 鈥渇it鈥 looks like. If the marketing campaigns fail to recognize the power of the image of the authentic听female athlete, we threaten the empowerment sport听can bring.
High-fashion polish is wrong for the outdoor industry. We need to show the grit, unconventional strength, and diverse body types required by the sports we love.听