Under Armour ‘The Ultimate Team Talk’ – AI speech generation (hedgehoglab.com)
adidas has a grip on the UK soccer scene and the revival of Terrace fashion gives the brand an advantage over every sportswear competitor in the region. This advantage is expanding into sales globally as the Samba and Gazelle, both classic futbol sneakers, are trending. Under Armour doesn’t have a legacy to stand on, but the brand has been adamant about growing connections to consumers in the UK by opening incredible concept stores like the Battersea Power Station:
Anthony Joshua Leads the Charge as Under Armour Doubles Down on Youth Sports in Europe
Nike’s command of the European marketplace can’t be questioned. The brand has bought into almost every aspect of the soccer marketplace and the heritage running category remains as popular as ever in the UK. Nike’s premier entertainment ambassador, Drake, has even gone as far as integrating Nike tech fleece heavily into the UK show he revived for Netflix, Top Boy. The gritty series is driven by a bevy of UK emcees, one in particular is the Top Boy (another name for the head of a street gang), Ashley Walters who plays Dushane.
With Nike and adidas taking up bandwidth in the UK, how does UA subvert the competition? The brand utilizes the buzzy trend of AI to partner with their athletes, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rüdiger, to create a motivational speech delivered by Dushane. While UA touts the roots of sport in the development of the AI spot built between Hedgehog Labs and the Under Armour team, it’s the human voice and emotion of Ashley Walters who will connect with the consumer on a variety of levels. Top Boy is one of the highest rated series on the streaming service and those who follow the show realize that Dushane’s speech is on par with the shift of Dushane from Top Boy to a mastermind making him the perfect choice to deliver this motivational tech driven monologue. Use the link at the lead to read more about how this ChatGPT collaboration came to life in UA’s litepaper. What do you think of the spot? Is it mid, or is it dope?