Tennis sensation and 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams is upgrading her equipment in Intel’s latest advertisement where she joins actor Jim Parsons from CBS’ The Big Bang Theory.
According to Intel Chief Marketing Officer Steve Fund, the technology giant has been searching for the best of the best athletes in their respective sports “to symbolize that they’re the best and we’re the best.” The one-off execution with Williams shows her playing with an old, wooden racket that eventually falls apart. Parsons rushes into the frame to hand an agitated Williams a modern Wilson racket to use.
“We tried to draw a parallel between how the world’s best athletes can’t perform with old outdated equipment and therefore you can’t perform at your best using old equipment or an outdated computer as well. Neither one of you can perform at your best,” said Fund, who added that there are no specific immediate plans to work with Williams after the ‘Upgrade Your Game’ advertisement spot, which promotes the the 7th Generation Intel Core processor.
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In addition to the new advertisement, which will begin airing April 30 and appear on web, digital and social, Intel has made strategic headway in the sports market over the past year. It’s partnered with similar elite sports figures like three-time NBA champion LeBron James and five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady throughout the first quarter. Intel featured both athletes in commercials that highlighted the brand’s 360-degree replay technology for broadcasters to leverage in-game as they bring fans closer to the action. Last October, decorated Olympian Michael Phelps joined the Intel family, partnering with the brand around a fully-integrated marketing campaign following his final Olympics performance in Rio.
Intel formed its Sports Group in 2016 and as part of the move into immersive sports, acquired VOKE VR and re-branded it Intel True VR. As a result, the sports division has placed a heightened focus on virtual reality in sports, collaborating with the likes of the PGA TOUR in addition to Turner Sports/NCAA around March Madness in the first half of 2017.