Serena Williams Is Wonder Woman in DirecTV's Retro Romp

Serena Williams morphs into Wonder Woman 1984, then time-trips back to a Reagan-era shopping mall for a wild romp with robots that shoot tennis balls like missiles?

You cannot be serious, DirecTV!

Actually, they are, judging from this clip, which boasts all of the above, plus a catchphrase cameo from John McEnroe amid campy callbacks to the days of Dallas and Dynasty:

Who needs a golden lasso when you’ve got that gilded racket? Crank up those keytars, let’s moonwalk all the way home!

The campaign from TBWAChiatDay L.A. introduces the rebranded DirecTV Stream, formerly AT&T TV. Ads hype the dual nature of the service, which offers on-demand Hollywood fare plus sports and other live events. G.O.A.T Serena will appear in more movie-themed ads moving forward.

“Wonder Woman 1984 is a great vehicle that calls to mind everything we love about a big-budget, popcorn-munching, tentpole film people expect to see offered more and more by their TV provider,” agency associate creative director Ryan Buckley tells Muse. “It doesn’t hurt that we’ve wondered once or twice if Serena isn’t a real-life superhero herself.”

Stink directing collective Traktor shot scenes with Williams in France (to fit her globe-hopping schedule), while filming Hall of Famer (and voice-over ace) Johnny Mac in L.A. The ball-bots appear via VFX.

“We needed so many tennis balls to shoot around the mall that we completely bought out the entire inventory of the city of Nice during production,” recalls Buckley. “Many places weren’t open due to lockdown—so we were having folks fly in more tennis balls and drive two cities over to find more.”

From a business standpoint, DirecTV seeks to portray its streaming service as a means of simplifying the fragmented viewing experience. Of course, the company is battling upstream in a crowded market, but Serena brings potent superstar power to bear. (Mac’s presence gives the work a neat cross-generational feel, too. We’re serious!)

Digital, radio and OOH elements are also on tap, along with an interactive game and a comic book (Wonder Woman would approve).

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