# Nike "So Pretty" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008 "2006-08-24T06:24:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/1 "2006-08-24T06:24:47Z")
So, my last attempt to post this topic… well, broke. Apparantly. Anyhow, I just saw this commercial for [Nike](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ijO5T_1lM) on ESPN, with Maria Sharapova going to a tennis match with numerous bystanders singing “I’m So Pretty”. Anyone else like it? What’s your thoughts on it? Any favorite/least favorite parts? Comon, Discuss. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/2 "2006-08-24T15:47:11Z")
I liked it, especially when the judge and line judges joined in, but stonefaced. I also like the song, so that helps. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/3 "2006-08-24T15:57:33Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I liked it, especially when the judge and line judges joined in, but stonefaced. I also like the song, so that helps. [/QUOTE] I like the little pause/catch where they are supposed to say “gay” but turn it to “bright”. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/4 "2006-08-24T16:06:45Z")
[QUOTE=astro] I like the little pause/catch where they are supposed to say “gay” but turn it to “bright”. [/QUOTE] Where is “gay”?[http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/pretty.html](http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/pretty.html) ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/5 "2006-08-24T16:54:16Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Where is “gay”?[http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/pretty.html](http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/pretty.html) [/QUOTE] I have always heard it as [gay](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/West-Side-Story/I-Feel-Pretty.html). I suspect they changed the lyrics to match the times. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/6 "2006-08-24T17:14:13Z")
I thought that I had always heard it on the [Original Cast Recording 1957](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000056TB2/sr=8-4/qid=1156439318/ref=pd_bbs_4/002-8781996-9244057?ie=UTF8) (I remember that album cover) and heard “bright” and “tonight”. Of course the amazon clip starts after the first verse! I’ll have to go home and check the vintage of the copy I have, but I’ve been listening to it since the mid 70s and never heard “gay”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/7 "2006-08-24T17:39:30Z")
I feel pretty, oh so pretty I feel pretty and witty and [gay](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/West-Side-Story/I-Feel-Pretty.html) And I pity any girl who isn’t me today. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/8 "2006-08-24T18:07:26Z")
Sorry, but I absolutely hated this commercial. I’m not even sure I get it. Maria Sharapova stomping through a hotel lobby to a tennis court not cracking a smile and everyone singing that stupid song with the enthusiasm of someone getting a root canal. I’m sure there’s a cool point I missed, but it didn’t even make sense to me and it just seemed painfully long. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/9 "2006-08-24T19:18:55Z")
Does anyone else think that the commercial is unintentionally making her out to be ugly? So ugly that everyone around her feels gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/10 "2006-08-24T19:28:31Z")
The point is that she slams the ball past her opponent and makes them all shut the fuck up about how pretty she is. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/11 "2006-08-24T19:28:52Z")
I love that comercial. I particularly love it when she smashes the ball back to her opponent and the music stops. Makes me want to go buy some nikes right now. And maybe beat somebody up. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/12 "2006-08-24T19:33:37Z")
From one semi-source, the stage version is “pretty and witty and bright” (to rhyme with “night”) as on stage, the scene happened at night. In the movie, the scene happens in afternoon so - Maria becomes “pretty and witty and gay,” because nothing rhymes with “afternoon.” I wanted to like the commercial, but it didn’t quite pull it off. I was waiting for a punchline that never came. But I do like the song. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/13 "2006-08-24T19:35:42Z")
Since I don’t follow sports, my reaction was, “Am I supposed to know who this sour-faced bitch is?” ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/14 "2006-08-24T19:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] I feel pretty, oh so pretty I feel pretty and witty and [gay](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/West-Side-Story/I-Feel-Pretty.html) And I pity any girl who isn’t me today. [/QUOTE] This is the way I have always known it and I am a big fan of West Side Story. In fact, I started singing along with the commercial and it really tripped me up when they changed the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/15 "2006-08-24T20:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] From one semi-source, the stage version is “pretty and witty and bright” (to rhyme with “night”) as on stage, the scene happened at night. In the movie, the scene happens in afternoon so - Maria becomes “pretty and witty and gay,” because nothing rhymes with “afternoon.” [/QUOTE] [These](http://www.nodanw.com/shows_w/west_side_story.htm) [synopses](http://www.mtishows.com/show_plot.asp?ID=000077) mention the “I Feel Pretty” scene happens at 9:15 pm so bright/tonight fits the stage show. ACT II I FEEL PRETTY (Maria and the Girls) ACT II 9:15 P.M - A Bedroom Act Two Unaware of the tragedy under the highway, Maria sings to her girl friends about how beautiful she feels (“I Feel Pretty”). She speaks of marriage, and her friends assume she is thinking about Chino. Anyhoo, I figure the commercial is to say that Maria Sharapova can win, unlike other pretty girls who didn’t, aka Anna Kournikova. ---
**Author:** ![Emeria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Emeria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emeria)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/16 "2006-08-24T20:47:45Z")
[QUOTE=duality72] The point is that she slams the ball past her opponent and makes them all shut the fuck up about how pretty she is. [/QUOTE] This is what I took from it, too. I liked the commercial. Everyone else goes on about how she’s pretty, presumably implying she’s nothing more, and she’s proving she’s more than just a pretty face. That’s why she’s so stonefaced and angry looking. For the record, I’ve always heard it sung as “gay,” too, and it was the first thing I noticed about the commercial (and probably made me pay attention to it more than I might have otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/17 "2006-08-24T20:48:55Z")
My favorite parts of the commercial were the announcer guys, the guy sitting in the cool looking chair with the microphone, and the really cute smiling girl with the ears towards the end. Close runner up is the overly enthusiastic camera guy who punctuated his line with a sigh. 😃 And yeah, the first two or three times I saw the commercial, I was confused cause I didn’t know who was in it or what was going on (While I know of Maria Sharapova, I’d never paid enough attention to recognizer her on sight). At first I thought maybe it was a commercial for a hotel. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/18 "2006-08-24T20:49:31Z")
[QUOTE=duality72] The point is that she slams the ball past her opponent and makes them all shut the fuck up about how pretty she is. [/QUOTE] Exactly. In real life, too, the buzz is always about how gorgeous she is; nobody wants to talk about the game. Scads of Google hits every day for **pictures** of her. She gets more and more steamed as she walks past all the adoring “pretty” fans. Then she gets on the court, and her racket does the talking. Pow! How’s that for pretty? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/19 "2006-08-24T20:50:00Z")
Oh, and another guy who heard the song sung with the line “gay”. It always just seemed to flow better that way. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008/20 "2006-08-25T00:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] Exactly. In real life, too, the buzz is always about how gorgeous she is; nobody wants to talk about the game. Scads of Google hits every day for **pictures** of her. She gets more and more steamed as she walks past all the adoring “pretty” fans. Then she gets on the court, and her racket does the talking. Pow! How’s that for pretty? 😛 [/QUOTE] I don’t really follow tennis. I didn’t know who she was and didn’t think she was very attractive at all, just sour looking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nike-so-pretty/370008.md?page=2)