With winning medals and world fame embedded in culture ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 and Paris Olympics, adidas is focussed right now on encouraging young footballers to handle pressure with its You Got This catchcry, while Visa’s focus is on young people’s tenacity, reminding them at “Rome wasn’t built in a day”?. Visa extends it campaign to all those with stars in their eyes.

Wieden + Kennedy has produced the short film, Prodigies, for Visa that highlights the humble beginnings of various stars, the hard work they undertook, and the small steps that got them to the top in their field.

Prodigies features music legend, Pharrell Williams; tennis superstar, Iga Swiatek; Olympic medalist in skateboarding, Sky Brown; Visa Cash App RB driver, Daniel Ricciardo; chef and entrepreneur, Roy Cho; and artist and designer, Gemma O’Brien. The film uses their stories, to show the early dreams, relentless hard work and challenges each person faced before becoming a household name, dispelling thew idea of the prodigy by presenting the real, often arduous journeys behind every “overnight success” and “unfairly gifted” individual.

Prodigies speaks to the universal experience of chasing a dream and the many efforts required to turn those dreams into reality.

This campaign will be seen in advertising campaigns, activations and direct communication on social media. The objective is to ensure that every customer and stakeholder understands and connects with Visa’s belief in the power of small steps.

The campaign film is running online and on broadcast channels globally. It will initially launch in North America on June 15 and will roll out in portions of Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa starting in July, weighted for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to align with the spirit of perseverance and excellence celebrated at these global events.