The Power of Pink

Your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a pink tennis shoe. If you haven't seen or heard already, this is the colorway for Roger Federer's 2013 Australian Open campaign. Here is how this shakes out for me:

1. Pink is not for girls. I was ahead of the curve on pink. I wore a brown tux with pink vest and tie in my wedding. That was in 2007! You are 6 years late Nike!

2. Federer can wear whatever he wants. He could come out in a polka dot shirt, zebra stripe shorts and glitter Nike Vapors and he would still own the mental edge over virtually every opponent. He has earned respect on court no matter what he has on.

3. Tennis is becoming an increasing fashion platform. Federer is already seen as somewhat of a style icon for the men's game and this is just an extension of using him as on court fashion model. Tennis gear has increasingly become about making a statement in the last couple years. Prime examples are the custom designed Adidas Barricades and Nike Vapors now available as well as the rainbow (aka "unicorn vomit") Asics shoes this year. I doubt Federer would be caught dead in any of those, so to me the pink seems like a way to put him on the "edge" while still having him be the "elegant" player many describe him as.

4. This feels like a missed opportunity to me. How is this not tied to a breast cancer campaign? Obviously I'm being idealistic about Nike's responsibility as a corporate entity, but if there is a better product in their stable right now to use as a tie in, I don't know what it is. Also, let's be honest. Their other cancer related effort is in a little bit different light right now (Thanks doper Lance Armstrong!). Using this pink theme wouldn't have had the same reach as Livestrong but it would have been a nice addition to their platform.

All in all, it's good to see some new colors on court. I always like this season better than the Wimbledon whites. And after all, it's not like Nike is forcing him to wear this:



"I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."
                                   -Robert Frost