For anyone who could use a bit more positivity and heart-centered awesomeness in their life, Pharrell is here for you right now. (Is there anything the artist/producer/ageless fashion icon can't do?)
His new new Adidas line of brightly colored, '70s-inspired tennis gear doesn't just look cool, but has an important message: Pharrell is using his new campaign, Quiet Please, launched in time for the US Open, as a platform to encourage New Yorkers (and the rest of the world!) to join him in speaking up and inspiring change through love.
The name "Quiet Please" might sound odd for a campaign that's all about raising voices instead of silencing them, but there's a reason for that: "Every tennis match starts with the same two words: 'Quiet, please.' But change can be noisy and our love can transform anything," he says in his manifesto. "Outside the court we will let our voices be heard as loud as we can. If you see the potential for good, speak up. Together, we can change the game for the better."
"Empathy and love are at a deficit right now. I think that this opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time."
What's even better is "love" is actually a term used in tennis, and Pharrell is taking full advantage of the coincidence.
“Tennis was always so interesting to me because it’s such a sophisticated scoring system that took me so long to understand and figure out. It actually took Stan Smith explaining it to me," he told Vogue. "It’s so interesting that one of the terms for a score [a zero] is the word love. As you know that’s something that us, in this country, we need badly. Empathy and love are at a deficit right now. I think that this opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time because we get to weave in these necessary messages."
Starting today, 10 umpire chairs will be placed around New York City so people can climb up and raise their voices as loudly as they want. But you don't have to be standing on one of the chairs—or even be in NYC at all—to be heard, he stresses. "Love is love is love" has a nice echo pretty much wherever it travels.
