Maria Sharapova for Cole Haan Sporting Spring 2009 ad campaign unveiled

Last September it was revealed that Russian tennis star, Maria Sharapova had signed with Cole Haan to front their Spring 2009 ads for Cole Haan Sporting as well as act as their “lead collaborator”.

Now the first images of the campaign has been unveiled.

Photographed by Martyn Thompson in Malibu, California, the campaign reflects “the interplay of style and sport, passion and play, that Cole Haan and Sharapova share” with the tennis star posing with a Cole Haan Kyle tote and an image of the Nike Zoom Flywire shoe set to feature on the opposite page.

Sharapova has made history as the first athlete to feature in a Cole Haan advertising campaign (albeit it’s not the first ad campaign she has featured in – she is also the face of Canon, Tag Heuer, Prince, and Nike just to name a few).

“We are able to leverage Maria’s interest in fashion and sport, while connecting with our consumer in a new and unique way,” says Michael Capiraso, Cole Haan Chief Marketing Officer.

In a behind the scenes look at the photoshoot, Sharapova tells Entertainment Tonight that her own handbag and shoe collection for Cole Haan Sporting will be release for Fall 2009.

“This is a project I have been dreaming about. I love design so designing a line of handbag and shoes has been a dream of mine ever since I was young,” Sharpova says of her yet-to-be-unveiled Fall 2009 collection. “It really represents my every day, I can be on the plane, coming off a press conference and I need to have accessories that really match my lifestyle.”

The Maria Sharapova for Cole Haan Sporting Spring 2009 ad campaign will debut in the March issue of Vanity Fair as well as billboards in New York, on buses and at bus shelters.

Check out a behind the scenes chat with Sharapova at the Malibu shoot, thanks to Entertainment Tonight.