Roger Federer is basking in the glory of his newly-released documentary ‘Federer: Twelve Final Days’. The 42-year-old is as active as ever, constantly traveling around the world for his business commitments. He recently shot a commercial for On Running with famous Hollywood star Zendaya. But this decision of his has attracted criticism from several fans.
Federer is shooting for an ad campaign with Zendaya for On since the Challengers star was recently named as its global brand ambassador for the athleisure brand. However, since the commercial is about tennis, many believe that Roger Federer should have teamed up with Iga Swiatek for the same.
Federer hasn’t shot any commercial for On with the World No.1 women’s singles tennis player, nor has there been any other collaboration between them. This is why some fans feel as if Federer snubbed Swiatek for Zendaya.
Does Roger know he has an actual female tennis player on his brand who he could shoot some ads with? https://t.co/LUgPuNj9Lt
— sage (@iguszkaburner) June 20, 2024
Not that difficult pic.twitter.com/FkhysSWd1G
— Ale (@AleMxxxxx) June 20, 2024
I have no issue in this shoot, everyone knows Zendaya is famous.
My point is Roger has not done a single collab with Iga, and she has been on their payroll since almost two years now, while being the best tennis player on the planet. It shouldn’t be that hard.
— sage (@iguszkaburner) June 20, 2024
You have to keep in mind Zendeya was just singed as an ambassador they gotta have content rolling in
— Memo ¹¹¹ | (@formulamemo) June 20, 2024
she just need 100x more followers
— Philippe (@prostiguy) June 20, 2024
Zendaya, a star of movies like Spiderman and Dune, extended her association with tennis after her standout role as Tashi Duncan in Challengers. The movie also had a strong connection with Federer, as it brought out at least 5 elements from the Swiss legend’s career. One of them was Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) wearing On shoes.
Therefore, this collaboration between Federer and Zendaya for On wasn’t something out of the blue. Roger Federer could have gone ahead with Iga Swiatek for this commercial, but Zendaya’s global popularity could be a big reason behind only she being a part of it.
Zendaya Is a Good Choice for a Campaign With Roger Federer
On is an athleisure brand which is not just limited to tennis and tennis athletes. Therefore, getting a Hollywood star to do even a tennis-related commercial, is a fair call. Perhaps, On might have another plan in mind to utilise Iga Swiatek.
Zendaya also has a much larger fan following on social media than Iga Swiatek. The 27-year-old actress has 183 million Instagram followers, whereas Swiatek has 1.7 million followers. Hence, from strictly a marketing perspective too, it makes perfect sense to get Zendaya on board with On.
On is aiming to topple the likes of Roger Federer’s former sponsors Nike as well as other big players like New Balance and Skechers to establish themselves as the leaders of the American athleisure market. Zendaya, being a bigger name, would definitely go a long way in helping them achieve that goal.
It’s possible that Roger Federer and team could be planning a separate collaboration or campaign with only their tennis stars, i.e. Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and Flavio Cobolli.
