When you’re training for any sport or sporting event – whether its in sweltering Arizona or the Alaskan tundra – your clothes should be able to adapt to your body and the weather. Big brands like Nike and Adidas excel in these areas, but now Under Amour is challenging both brands with their new ad campaign.
“Rule Yourself” is a mix of the typical pro-athlete commercial you see everyday, with a twist to focusing on the self. The marketing staff at Under Armour acquired some of the top professional athletes out there today to participate in the campaign – basketball MVP Stephen Curry, professional ballerina Misty Copeland, Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Master’s champion golfer Jordan Spieth.
In the commercial, all three athletes separately train and practice in their familiar settings, while video frames form “an army of clones” surrounding the athlete. The sweat begins to pour from their heads, but not once do they stop their training. At the end of the commercial the athletes stop for a few seconds to breathe and then they keep going. Progress has been made as another day of practice ends.
As video frames continue to look at the many clones of the athlete, viewers can see that in some of them they are wearing different clothes. Under Armour defines this as the progression of each training day. At some point, most of us have been told that the more you practice, the better you will become. However, instead of saying “practice makes perfect,” Under Armour claims, “you are the sum of all your training.” Watching this army of clones gives you a sense of just how many hours Curry, Spieth, Brady and Copeland spend on their training.
“It redefines what it means to be successful in training and unites all-star athletes around the globe,” said Adam Peake, Vice President of Marketing for Under Armour.
Inspiration for this campaign may not have just been about the hard practices of professional athletes. Malcolm Gladwell once theorized that it would take 10,000 hours of practice to become the best at something. While the commercial doesn’t time how many hours each athlete spends training, it does express the dedication and perseverance that each shows when he or she hits the court, course, field or studio.
But is the campaign enough to excel Under Armour past Nike in the battle to be the most powerful athletic brand in the world? Nike holds title to “most valuable sport brand in the world,” “most valuable apparel brand in the world” and is listed as #18 on Forbes’ World’s Most Valuable Brands for 2015. However, Business Insider reported that Under Armour recently took 2nd place as the world’s most valuable sport brands, surpassing Adidas. There’s no doubt as to which brand has the upper hand, but Under Armour continues to increase in popularity and may continue to thanks to “Rule Yourself.”
Watch the “Rule Yourself” Campaign Commercials:
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