Under Armour is lightening things up with a new web video starring Tom Brady that premiered today on Funny or Die.
The video features the New England Patriots quarterback in a Los Angeles Dick's Sporting Goods store, when he is accosted by a store employee -- not because he's famous, but because he has a "Boston accent."
"I can't understand a word you're saying," says the store employee. Other people in the store, including Jackie Clarke, who was also, coincidentally on the web series "The Real Housewives of South Boston," chime in with the same absurd observation.
"We were looking for a way to show the athletes in a different light as well as our brand," said Steve Battista, VP-creative at Under Armour. "It's a very young brand that we have, and we concentrate on making athletes better on a training side, for which there is a downside, there is a humor side."
So far, Under Armour creative has been of a more serious variety. Most recently, CP&B introduced the "Are You From Here?" campaign for Under Armour, an integrated positioning that included an anthem spot that showcased the blood, sweat and tears an NBA athlete has to go through to make it to the top, as well as a number of 15-second spots featuring athletes Brandon Jennings and Kemba Walker. The films were shot with a gritty, real-world feel, highlighting that behind all the glam and glitz in an NBA athlete's life, there is hard work involved.
Mr. Battista and his team reached out to Funny or Die to showcase the brand's lighter side. "The internal creative team [at Under Armour] was looking at several scenarios and then asked Funny or Die to help out," he said. The video was directed by duo Matt and Oz, who are repped out of Caviar Content and are well known for humorous web videos. Writer and comedian Dave Ferguson wrote the script.
This is not an attempt to reach a different, perhaps younger consumer, said Mr. Battista. "It's just giving a different spin on the life of an athlete," he said. Where previous commercials focused on the hard work an athlete does, this one shows that there are lighter moments in their lives as well.
Over the next few weeks, there are plans to also release a behind-the-scenes video featuring Mr. Brady -- and perhaps even content pieces featuring different athletes. "It's the first in many you'll see from us," said Mr. Battista. "We've already had a couple of other athletes tell us they've got their own ideas."
