{"id":501138,"date":"2026-03-03T11:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501138\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:53:09","slug":"for-aja-wilson-storytelling-is-so-key-with-a-new-signature-shoe-european-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501138\/","title":{"rendered":"For A\u2019ja Wilson, \u2018storytelling is so key\u2019 with a new signature shoe, European tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Nike began to assert its dominance in the sneaker world in the 1980s and 1990s, a key component involved storytelling in its commercials. They were fun, creative and uniquely connected to the athletes featured.<\/p>\n

Those components made the commercials for A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s A\u2019One signature shoe from Nike one of the best campaigns in years<\/a>, with nods to how Wilson grew up and her journey to becoming a premier WNBA player \u2014 highlighting her career all while incorporating a remixed version of the children\u2019s hand game \u201cMiss Mary Mack.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, the sneaker world was dominated by men, and sneaker talks focused on men\u2019s shoes. A pink colorway sometimes was the most visible nod toward women in the sneaker space. That\u2019s shifted in recent years, with more women having signature shoes and the women\u2019s game continuing to grow in popularity.<\/p>\n

The A\u2019One shoe allowed Wilson to tell the story of a young, Black girl\u2019s life with images that connect with a younger generation. She\u2019s now interested in telling another story with the upcoming release of her second signature shoe, the A\u2019Two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a beautiful thing when you have a company that is willing to figure you out and be like, \u2018Now how can we present you as your true, unapologetic self to the people?’\u201d Wilson told The Athletic in an exclusive interview. \u201cI think we executed it perfectly, literally back home. \u2026 Those small pieces go a long way, and I think it\u2019s something we haven\u2019t really seen at Nike for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n A detail of A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s A\u2019One signature shoe (Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Wilson will be on a European tour from Tuesday through Sunday to promote the upcoming release. The A\u2019Two is scheduled to be released May 2. The A\u2019One quickly sold out with its initial release<\/a> last May.<\/p>\n

At a time when the WNBA\u2019s collective bargaining agreement, which Wilson declined to discuss, is a big topic and the Unrivaled championship game is scheduled for Wednesday in Miami, Wilson\u2019s basketball focus in Europe will be to connect with people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so glad that I can go over there on nice, calm terms, because any other time, I\u2019m playing for an Olympic gold medal or playing for something, and it\u2019s like the stakes are high,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI want to give people more so they can have things to really relate to me other than just watching me run up and down the basketball court. I\u2019m super excited to go on this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the court, Wilson had another dominant season in leading the Las Vegas Aces to another WNBA championship, her third with the team. She became the first player in the WNBA or NBA to win a \u200b\u200bchampionship, league MVP, finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and a league scoring title in the same season.<\/p>\n

Wilson said it\u2019s important that women\u2019s stories are told, not just on the court but also in how their merchandise is showcased. She is intimately involved in the details of telling her story, whether it be through the shoe ads or for the shoe itself, in which she said she\u2019s \u201c99 percent\u201d involved by providing input and hidden messages in the design.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t something that we just slap a logo on or slap a name on, make it pink and say, \u2018OK that\u2019s a woman\u2019s shoe,’\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt\u2019s more like let\u2019s do a deep dive into these women and showcase why they are greater, what they do and why they deserve this signature shoe or this P.E. (player edition) or anything that they\u2019re working on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the storytelling is so key, particularly as to who we are and what people want to grab onto. I\u2019m excited that we\u2019re finally getting to showcase the love that we need and the respect that we\u2019ve worked so hard to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea behind last year\u2019s commercial to advertise the A\u2019One was to create something memorable. Coming up with an idea to showcase the A\u2019Two, she said, will be a welcomed challenge. She added that she still gets excited seeing her shoes worn by others \u2014 celebrities included.<\/p>\n

One such moment still stands out from last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsher came to a game, and he had a pair of my A\u2019Ones on. He was sitting courtside, and I\u2019m, like, that\u2019s pretty crazy,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cSomeone that\u2019s so big in Black culture and music culture as a whole is rocking the A\u2019Ones, I think that was super cool to see. But anybody that wears the A\u2019Ones, I\u2019m always beaming with so much light, because it\u2019s like, oh my gosh, that\u2019s something that I\u2019ve been working on. But Usher was probably the top one.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the commercial for the A\u2019Two shoe, expect it to follow in the footsteps of the A\u2019One. Look for it to tell a new story of Wilson\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to top it,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we\u2019ve got some things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Nike began to assert its dominance in the sneaker world in the 1980s and 1990s, a key…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[690,4677,99,1794,434],"class_list":["post-501138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-culture","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-sports","tag-sports-business","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}