Watch Serena Williams Master the Matrix for DirecTV Stream

“Whoa!” to those who oppose Serena Williams in “The One,” DirectTV’s new spot that spoofs tropes from the Matrix franchise.

Red and blue tennis balls, Neo-shades, chill hand gestures and other references to the reality-bending sci-fi films abound as Serena aces out a replicating rival.

It’s fab-tastical fare from TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles and Stink directing collective Traktor, following the team’s earlier efforts with La Williams based on Wonder Woman ’84 and scary movies.

Tagged “Get Your TV Together,” the campaign memorably touts DirecTV’s mix of sports and entertainment. “The One” breaks ahead of The Matrix Resurrections, which hits theaters and HBO Max on Dec. 22.

“The Matrix is truly an iconic franchise, and so many moments from the films have become part of our lexicon,” agency associate creative director Mark Winters tells Muse. “It’s also a story about digital worlds colliding and merging—which is a great backdrop to show how DirecTV Stream is bringing together live TV and On Demand content.”

“The new release is a great cultural signal boost—but really, once we imagined Serena diving towards a bullet-time tennis ball, we knew we had to see it,” Winters says. “We borrowed specific effects from The Matrix to get the right look. Digging back into that aesthetic was a blast, from the bits of code raining down to the way we achieved the lighting in post for our dystopian tennis court.”

Fun factoid: “Keanu Reeves was going to join us for a cameo, but his John Wick 4 schedule made lockdown travel impossible. So, we got a squirrel instead,” reveals Ryan Buckley, also an agency ACD. (The rodent makes a suitably “glitchy” appearance at the ad’s conclusion, in classic Matrix style.)

CREDITS

DIRECTV Marketing

Vince Torres – Chief Marketing Officer
Kendall Thaker – VP, Advertising and Go-To-Market
Mandy Martin – AVP, Marketing Management
Sheri Holmes – Director, Product Marketing Management
Nick Bianchi – Director, Social Media
Jenn Wang – Lead Product Marketing Manager
Jessica Elizardo – Lead Product Marketing Manager
Tracy Threlkeld – Lead Product Marketing Manager

TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles

Erin Riley – President

Renato Fernandez – Chief Creative Officer
Ariel Abramovici – Creative Director
Bruno Acanfora – Creative Director
Mark Winters – Associate Creative Director
Ryan Buckley – Associate Creative Director
Will Holmes – Art Director
Tyler Archibald – Copywriter
Andrew Bae – Jr. Art Director
Yashashree Samant – Jr. Copywriter
Bruno Regalo – Head of Design
Jake Skirving – Senior Designer
Andrea Nazarino – Jr. Designer

Guia Iacomin – Director of Content Production
Jack Cutler – Senior Producer
Brandon Loftin – Associate Producer
Hashi Clark – Executive Art Producer
Dessiah Davis – Director of Traffic Operations
Robin Rossi – Director of Business Affairs

Jen Costello – Chief Strategy Officer
Jesse Unger – Group Strategy Director
Jonathan Handy – Associate Strategy Director
Krystal Hawkins – Sr. Strategist
Hannah Schweitzer – Jr. Strategist
Albert Kim – Head of Connections Planning
Kevin Bautista – Associate Director of Connections
Laura Mayer – Data Director

Matt Theisen – Brand Lead
Lani Reichenbach – Brand Lead
Caitlin Miller – Account Director
Oyinda Elias – Management Supervisor
Carlos Quintanilla – Account Supervisor
Sarah Newton – Account Supervisor
Bridget Derraugh – Account Executive
Lawrence Gonzales – Project Manager

Critical Mass

Val Carlson – Chief Creative Officer
Andrew Lavery – Group Creative Director
James Maclean – Creative Director
Javier Olivares – Assoc. Creative Director
Megahn O’Neil – Assoc. Creative Director
Ryan Mesnchuk – Senior Art Director
Megan King – Senior Art Director
Taylor Lumley – Art Director
Ana Benitez Duarte – Designer
Peter Lagosky – Senior Copywriter
Melissa De Sa – Senior Copywriter
Daisy Swain – Copywriter

Jen Goldberg – Group Strategy Director
Kyle Bottoms – Strategy Director

Maria Hodgeson – SVP Client Partner
Lauren Rappaport – VP Client partner
Andrew Burke – Account Director
Haley Dodd – Sr. Account Manager
Olivia Knight – Account Manager

Sydney Woodman – Executive Producer
Audrie Sham – Sr. Producer
Ashleigh Fehmie – Sr. producer
Christine Spitler – Producer
Vicky Patel – Sr. Producer
Lexi Scott – Producer
Sylvia Brach – Producer
Ethan Cole – Producer

Production Partners

Stink – Production House
Daniel Bergmann – President
Mungo Maclagan – Executive Producer
Traktor – Director
Pär M. Ekberg – DOP
Leah Allina – Line Producer

Arcade – Editorial
Alexa Atkin – Executive Producer
Jeff Feruzzo – Lead Editor
Brad Wasekwich – Lead Editor
Ryan Andrus – Assistant Editor

JAMM – VFX
Asher Edwards – Executive Producer
Ashley Greyson – Senior Producer
Alexandra Rickards – Production Coordinator
Anna Dood – Color Producer
Adam Scott – Colorist
Andy Boyd – VFX Supervisor
Jake Montgomery – VFX Artist

Lime – Mix
Susie Boyajan – Executive Producer
Matt Miller – Head Mixer
Ian Connie – Assistant Mixer

String & Tins – Sound Design
Laura-Leigh – Producer
Culum Simpson – Sound Designer

Search Party – Music
Meghan Currier – Music Producer
Chris James – Composer
Dylan Nowik – Composer

South – Music
Ann Haugen – Head of Production
Ignacio Das – Producer
Vladimir Berkhemer – Writer
Britt Darling – Writer
Dan Pritking – Writer
Jon Darling – Writer

Diego Speroni – Retouching
Diego Speroni – Digital Artist
Francisco Speroni – Digital Assistant
Freddy Fabris – Digital Producer