May 6, 2025
The clip received praise for its storytelling and direction by Obama.
Malia Obama continues to make her mark in entertainment. The former president’s daughter directed two visuals for A’ja Wilson’s Nike sneaker commercial.
The first daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama has sat in the director’s chair before, directing her own short film The Heart that made its way to the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Now, the young filmmaker has earned another notch on her resume with this new inspiring commercial for Nike.
The commercial focuses on the release of Wilson’s new signature shoe with the athletic wear brand, fittingly deemed the A’One. Obama directed two videos for the sneaker rollout ahead of the A’One’s official drop on May 6.
One of the videos pays tribute to Black girlhood, as a young Black girl teaches Wilson a reimagined version of the “Miss Mary Mack” hand clapping game. This time, the classic childhood game has lines that pay tribute to Wilson’s basketball career, stating no one can take her top spot.
“A’ja Wilson’s on top, top, top,” the girl sings. “Can’t take her spot, spot, spot.”
“Girl, let me show you how a professional does it,” shared the little girl as she continued the song.
“She’s a real one through through through. Always does what she’ll do do do,” continued the kid.
“She won MVP,P,P. 1 2, and 3, 3, 3. Her game is tea, tea, tea. she made history, -ry, -ry,” she sang. “And if you talk smack, smack, smack, she’s gonna clap back, back, back.”
After Wilson finally “100%” got it, the duo performed that last verse together in the heartwarming clip.
They continued, “Her drips elite, -lite, -lite. It can’t be beat, beat, beat. She’s A’One, its clear, clear clear. Cuz A’ja’s top tier, tier, tier.”
The second video directed by Obama shows Wilson during an interview at Big T’s Bar-B-Que in Columbia, South Carolina. The city is not only her birthplace, but also where she won a NCAA championship with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Her former coach at USC, Dawn Staley, also makes a cameo in the full commercial.
The advertisements received praise, with watchers applauding the clips for its focus on Black female youth expression and community. Obama, who normally keeps a low profile despite her fame, was later revealed as a director after behind-the-scenes footage made the rounds on social media. The photos showed Obama in action as she guided Wilson and her young scene partner during the porch clip.
FUN FACT: Malia Obama was one of the directors on @_ajawilson22‘s latest Nike ad 👏 https://t.co/dbEiFdkA9Z pic.twitter.com/3U4RcsHH3y
— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) May 4, 2025
Obama has held many roles within the filmmaking process, including a writer’s credit for Donald Glover’s 2023 show Swarm for Amazon Prime Video. Now, the 26-year-old is spreading her own wings as she leads new projects.
The full Nike commercial, titled “One of A’Kind” can be seen below.
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