While tennis requires a relatively simple set of equipment—ball, racket, net—fashion brands intrinsically tied to the sport have continued to up the ante when it comes to staging productions to tout their latest tennis star-endorsed gear. To wit, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger hosted back-to-back tennis tournaments in advance of the U.S. Open that presented the public fan base with an all-or-nothing marketing attitude.
On August 24, Nike gathered nearly a dozen of tennis’ biggest starts in the meatpacking district for a two-fold occasion: the launch of its new NikeCourt collection and the celebration of its iconic “NYC Street Tennis” commercial starring Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. The selling point of nostalgia—the clothes were through-and-through modern—came through via the tennis champs, not to mention Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, all of whom recreated the original commercial.
The next afternoon, in sweltering heat, Nadal made a second cameo in Manhattan, this time at the behest of Tommy Hilfiger, whose underwear, tailored suiting, and TH Bold fragrance campaigns he stars in. The pop-up tennis court in Bryant Park, which was also open to the public, pitted the 14-time Grand Slam winner against some of New York’s best-dressed model in a one-of-a-kind rapid-fire tennis competition. Mother New York consulted on the project, and NA Collective handled production.
Nadal faced off in several rounds of tennis with top models including Chanel Iman, Constance Jablonski, Hannah Davis, Noah Mills, Arthur Kulkov, and Akin Akman, all dressed in custom Hilfiger looks. Each time a team scored a point their opponents removed a piece of clothing, eventually unveiling the new men’s and women’s underwear designs.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner Nadal, who wore a Tommy Hilfiger Tailored suit, challenged an assortment of well-known models in a rapid-fire tennis competition that featured a fun twist: whoever lost the point had to remove one accessory or article of clothing.
To celebrate the arrival of the U.S. Open in New York and introduce its newest NikeCourt apparel, Nike commandeered Washington Street in front of the Standard High Line hotel in the meatpacking district for a one-night-only tennis match reuniting Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
The Nike "NYC Street Tennis" event commemorated the 20th anniversary of an iconic Nike guerrilla street tennis commercial starring the two retired tennis greats that aired in 1995.
Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, and Roger Federer (pictured, left to right) were among the tennis celebrities who participated in the street tennis match, retreating to their front-row seats to watch Sampras and Agassi battle it out.
In total, between the players represented, the event featured 86 major singles titles. While V.I.P.s and editors were invited to sit "courtside," the August 24 event was, by and large, a surprise to passersby. To reinforce event nostalgia, Sampras and Agassi arrived in a vintage Chevrolet Caprice Classic taxi.
With Maria Sharapova having dropped out of the U.S. Open, all eyes are now fixed on Serena Williams, who is aiming to become the first woman to complete the calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf did it in 1988.
On August 25, Tommy Hilfiger launched its global brand ambassadorship with Rafael Nadal for Tommy Hilfiger underwear, Tailored, and TH Bold fragrance with a pop-up tennis match in Bryant Park. The event, which was open to the public, featured the brand's logo created as a tennis court on an elevated platform in the Midtown Manhattan park, flanked by a bevy of branded blankets on the lawn and a rise of bleachers on the concrete.
Tommy Hilfiger erected a makeshift court in the middle of Bryant Park, enlisting Jane Lynch to play referee as coach Sue Sylvester, her character from TV's Glee. Despite 90-degree temperatures, international press, personalities, and mobs of Nadal fans turned up to give the tennis champ a hero's welcome before the official start of the U.S. Open.
Actresses Jane Lynch and Lake Bell hosted the event from the umpire's seat as Nadal took victory in three consecutive games battling models ranging from Chanel Iman and Noah Mills to Hannah Davis and Constance Jablonski.
With the participating models all dressed in custom Tommy Hilfiger looks, the game was set: each time a team scored a point, their opponents removed a piece of clothing—eventually unveiling the new men's and women's underwear designs.
The Bryant Park setting allowed for the soaring skyscrapers to serve as the ultimate urban backdrop for the tennis game. As an American designer, Tommy Hilfiger also helped reinforce the notion of his hometown as a leading fashion capital.
