I will what I want

Under Armor killed it today with the release of a new ad, featuring ballerina Misty Copeland running through a practice routine, while the voice of a young girl read the rejection letter Misty received back when she was 13 years old.

The ad hits on all the big points: empowerment, grit, determination, sweat, and reward.

But what jumped out at me wasn’t those messages, it was the last slogan that flashes under the UA logo:

That’s an AMAZING series of words. One of my favorite ever commercials was for Dow Chemicals. It talked about The Human Element, and how, when combined, metals act with hardened resolve, potassium looks to bond with potential. It’s beautiful and easily overlooked.

Whoever came up with I WILL WHAT I WANT deserves a medal.

It invokes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”: what I want, I will achieve.

“I will” declares. It insists. It demands. And that’s what training is all about: dominating, insisting, demanding so much of yourself—your time, your energy, your blood.

“What I want” is what happens after you exert your will. “After I’m done training, I CAN do whatever I want.”

It’s an amazing ad, it’s an amazing story, it’s just amazing all around.