New campaign from Under Armour aims to help fuel self-confidence in youth athletes and provide new opportunities to forge their own path to greatness—no comparisons necessary
Source: EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION TO BE THE ATHLETE NO ONE SAW COMING
Under Armour just made a commercial with the voice of the heavens. I have to imagine, when everyone in the world dreams of hearing the beauty of life, they hear Morgan Freeman’s voice. Under Armour has endorsed Tom Brady forever, but the images I have of Tom Brady are from “The Gregory Brothers – Those Balls Are Perfect” and the irriating “Let’s Go,” from the Hertz commercial. It’s a similar issue for Steph Curry. There isn’t a defining image of the elite champions connected to UA athletes. The strange thing is UA has more MVPs and championship athletes to market than almost every brand. It’s not that UA doesn’t create compelling copy and media. Media is so fractured it has to be shared throughout various platforms and then when a brand can land time in live sports, the people watching drop their heads to their phones during commercial breaks. In naming this post “Build and not Abandon,” here are things to consider here:
- Under Armour creates amazing campaigns.
- Under Armour often abandons those campaigns, or they rely so heavily on social media the stories are lost over time. With the reduced attention span and the quick scroll and flick nature of social media users, the narratives created have a shelf life equivalent to the fleeting beauty of a butterfly. The colorful wings of a Monarch aren’t fast, but if you look away for a few seconds a butterfly can disappear and the memory fades of that moment. It’s the unfortunate problem of a society that lives through a mobile device created to allow users to move from one catchy topic to the next.
Under Armour doesn’t allow their campaigns to breath and build slowly, but in all honesty, they can’t. Social media can deliver a million views and impressions quickly, but how sticky is that moment. Does that moment invite the return to the content. Ten years from now will that content resonate and be remembered? Does anyone remember #IWILL, or the #MVP most valuable pairing? Does anyone remember “Shoot Your Shot” on YouTube? Is #UnlikeAny still relevant? If you aren’t aware each of those hashtags and sayings are from campaigns Under Armour has created over the years. They aren’t very memorable, and they are all a part of the wealth of content available on YouTube. The brand dropped a masterpiece in “The Athlete No One Saw Coming”. Watch below:
For years Under Armour has treated Tom Brady like Puma treated Usain Bolt. Puma had the fastest man in the world on their roster, with the perfect name. They never made a signature sneaker, never tied a running shoe to Bolt and there was never any merchandising around Bolt of significance. Under Armour is following suit. There isn’t a Tom Brady signature, and it’s too late now as he appears mired in controversy around unretiring and is in the twilight of his career. Without that signature sneaker or collection built around Brady, they’ve created an amazing work of art in the video above. The video on YouTube is purposefully clear of links to product, but as powerful as the video is, the short moment Brady is on the screen, the colors are muted, black and this feels like a passing of the torch. Could Under Armour have utilized this moment to dress Brady in something black, but bolder in design? That would of course distract from the messaging, but the only Under Armour apparel Brady has been connected to is sleepwear under the TB12 line. Brady, like Bolt, has always deserved a lot more. This letter is an opening salvo. It’s an opportunity for celebration of a career that isn’t over. It’s a chance to highlight and create Brady’s legacy. While Brady may not be driven to create an apparel collection, there is a chance for a smart elevated collection catering to both fans and athletes.
Here is the thing, Under Armour is great at creating the idea, but when they deliver the one liner, the catchphrase, the hashtag and slogan, it doesn’t stick. Protect this House remains the shining slogan out of every concept the brand has generated. This doesn’t mean that UA isn’t doing the work. It simply means the brand is in a similar place to every brand not named Nike. When Nike landed on Just Do It, they slapped it out of the park. Which shifts this discussion. Protect this House is the slogan and everything else is temporary meant to highlight moments and introduce product. Maybe “The Athlete No One Saw Coming,” becomes Brady’s swan song. If Under Armour doesn’t abandon this, it could be the turning point in legacy for the brand. Maybe Brady becomes UA’s Pre.