--- title: Nike Indian Athletes Ad VIDEO description: This Nike ad is one of those ads that can bring a tear to the eye of even the most cynical ad watcher. canonical: https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-11T16:11:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:15.255Z og:title: India’s Female Athletes Take Stage in Nike’s Powerful New Ad og:description: Just do it og:url: https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: India’s Female Athletes Take Stage in Nike’s Powerful New Ad twitter:description: Just do it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # India’s Female Athletes Take Center Stage in Nike’s Powerful New Ad by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 11, 2016 4:11 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 11, 2016 4:11 PM UTC Nike has just released a powerful ad celebrating India’s female athletes on their way to besting their buddies on the cricket field or representing their country in the [Olympic Games](http://time.com/4400508/gymnastics-us-olympic-games-rio-team/?iid=sr-link3) in Rio. The ad features strong women running, jumping, and just doing it while “Da Da Ding” from M.I.A. collaborator Gener8ion (featuring L.A.’s rising rapper Gizzle) provides the perfect heart-pumping, Rocky Balboa–inspiring soundtrack. It’s one of those ads that can bring a tear to the eye of even the most cynical ad watcher wary of selling female empowerment back to the women it’s meant to empower. But behind the glossy ad, lies an even more powerful message. One of the athletes starring in the commercial is Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, who posted the video [on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/DeepikaPadukone/videos/vb.370020619738714/1134552296618872/?type=2&theater) along with a powerful message about how sports helped her manage her depression: “Two years ago I struggled with depression. I was sinking. I almost gave up. But it was the athlete in me that gave me the strength to fight and never ever give up! And so I want to say to every girl and every boy and every woman and every man…play a sport…because it changed my life…and it will change yours too!” Read the full message [here](https://www.facebook.com/DeepikaPadukone/videos/vb.370020619738714/1134552296618872/?type=2&theater). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/"},"headline":"India’s Female Athletes Take Center Stage in Nike’s Powerful New Ad","datePublished":"2016-07-11T16:11:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:15.255Z","description":"Just do it","url":"https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Nike","Athletes","India","Advertising","Summer Olympics","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4401029/indias-female-athletes-take-center-stage-in-nikes-powerful-new-ad/","name":"India’s Female Athletes Take Center Stage in Nike’s Powerful New Ad"}}]}] ```