The campaign introduces the "40 love" strapline and stars female tennis legends of the past and present. It was the brainchild of WTA's in-house creative team led by Andrew Walker, the chief marketing officer, and Mary Jane Orman, the vice-president of global marketing and PR.
It includes 30- and 60-second TV spots entitled "give" and a second 60-second TV spot titled "time flies", both of which feature archive footage of past legends alongside the leading lights of the current tour.
Both spots are narrated by WTA founder Billie Jean King, who opens the "time flies" spot by saying: "Has it really been 40 years?" and concludes it with the endline, "We've come a long way, baby".
Meanwhile, both versions of the "give" spot open with King asking: "What must we give to live our dream?" Current stars, including Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, give their answers to this question before the spot concludes with the same endline, this time spoken by Williams.
The print element of the campaign, which launched this week – ahead of the start of the Wimbledon tournament next week – comprises five one-page press ads, each pairing a legend of the game with a current star, with the headline, "Forty years of breaking barriers. Thank you for inspiring us".
Design agency Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv created both the print campaign and the new "40 Love" logo, while James Allen of post-production company Visual+Aid directed the TV spots.
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