As someone who tries to exercise regularly, I’ve watched sporting brands come, go and come back, and I’ve watched them expand their space. Today, sports wear is everyday wear.
New Balance is an example of a brand that’s made a comeback. Once it made only good running shoes, now it makes shoes that you want to wear in every colour, every shape, everywhere. Skechers is also making a new statement in footwear and expanding its footprint outside the US.
Nike, once the darling of the sporting world, is beginning to look very yesterday. “Do It” has become “Done It”.
I have to confess, I hadn’t really heard of Under Armour till lately. I was shopping at Kallang Wave, a sports-themed mall in Singapore, and came upon their clothing in a shop, bought a couple of pieces which were on sale and thought nothing of it.
Then suddenly I saw Under Armour everywhere. My trainer wears and carries nothing but. I asked him why and he says, “Good quality and value.” I ran into random people on my walks and jogs and started seeing the logo everywhere.
Then on social media this week, their new video “Rule Yourself” showcasing Michael Phelps, who’s making a comeback in swimming, went viral. It’s beautifully shot but more than that, it tells the story of how “what you do in the dark puts you in the light”.
It’s moving and stirring and makes you appreciate the work that goes into the making of a superfish-man like Phelps.
Another video (Earn Your Armour) tells specifically of the gruelling hours of training, the discipline, the sweat, the tears that go into the making of a champion, “pretty much anything you can imagine”.
Of his comeback, he says, “I know if I put my mind to something, anything can happen.
“If your goals actually really mean something to you, then you’ll never ever give up on them. That’s how it has to be.”
Then there’s a video showing the emotional reaction of Phelps and his fiancee as they watch the Rule Yourself film.
“That commercial shows a lot of things about me that the world’s never seen,” says Phelps.
It’s like watching Game of Thrones, Season 1 to 3, except nobody dies.
Another video sharing the story of American ballerina, Misty Copeland, is equally moving and has garnered almost 10 million views. It tells the story of disappointments, rejections and again, the hard work, pain and discipline that goes into making her a top ballerina.
“You’ve got the wrong body for ballet and at 13, you’re too old to be considered,” Copeland was told.The Misty Copeland video is part of its “I will what I want” campaign aimed at women and links to a website where stories of other female athletes are fleshed out.
This is storytelling at its finest. At no point do we see their products, we only feel the very human stories of champions.
We may not be champions but we all know rejection, disappointments, failure and now we appreciate the hard work that goes on in the dark that puts these stars in the light.
On a more earthy plane, it makes me appreciate the hard work that goes on in the dark at a company like Booking.com. What we see is a screen that allows us to book a hotel room in a couple of clicks. Can you imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes?
Expedia always talks about the millions they invest in technology – would it make it more real for us if we actually saw the people and stories behind that number? Okay, may not be as romantic watching data scientists crunch numbers as Phelps sluicing through the waters, but there’s an interesting human element that could be told.
Instead of having commercials showing happy travellers with their hotel room and flight, which everyone does ad nauseum, could we go under the armour of travel and share our stories with our customers and make them weep or laugh with us?
All I can say is, Under Armour got under my skin with these commercials. Did they yours?
• Featured image credit (Michael Phelps): YouTube.com