Under Armour and their athletes... watch out.

I'll admit it, I like Under Armour.  I remember seeing a pamplet I had in 2000 that I picked up somewhere and thought "this is going to be huge!"  I didn't even know about branding as a profession/art/science but I knew that they had something going on back then.  What I didn't know about them is that they would grow from a humble former University of Maryland football player to a multi-billion dollar company.  Along the way they have always tried and for the most part been on the cutting edge of athlete endorsements.

The initial endorsed athlete was Eric Ogbogu a teammate of the founder Kevin Plank at U of M.  He was the initial guy to shout "We must protect this house!"... and it stuck.  He played in the NFL for a bit but no one really knows that, in fact he's way more popular for yelling that.  Along the way there have been the endorsements for lesser known athletes such as Heather Mitts, Jeff Samardija, and others... The push has always been on the training and how those athletes train.  The first big pick up for UA came with Ray Lewis.  A Baltimore Raven, it made sense to grab a local guy.  Reebok had nabbed him for their version of UA but when his contract ran out he quickly came over to UA.

UA has tried to pick up and comers before the NFL combine.  They like to use those players to showcase the products as a way for training for the combine.  Ironically they have also struck out a couple of times too.  Jeremy Bloom the two sport star from Colorado who was an Olympic skier and a remarkable returner for Colorado was endorsed by UA... well, it didn't last long, he was drafted by the Eagles, hurt before the season started and was eventually cut before his second season.  Meh, it was a good try.  Then there are the not so fitting but still successful athletes.  Eric Weddle, the mighty might from the University of Utah had a decent combine and has had a solid NFL career leading his team (the Chargers)  in tackles multiple times.  He just didn't fit the mantra... no edge to him, he was a white guy that looked white, acted white, played well, just didn't fit in.  So he was quickly let go.

The second and largest pick up for UA came in the form of Tom Brady.  He signed in November of '10 and basically said "I like being part of something cool, plus I get a piece of the company".  He ditched Nike and moved on.  Nike has to be scratching their heads right now thinking of how they can make their brand of workout clothing "cool".  (Figuratively not litterally).  UA has a pretty good batting average with athletes.  They have some of the top Bow Hunters and Fly Fisherman in the world, they have a couple of the best football players of all time.  They are delving into basketball with the release of the shoes.  Baseball has Jose Reyes leading that group (Side note, UA is big in Japan, really big, check out this commercial, I'll write more about it later )... but the one that I get why they did it but have risked a lot is, wait for it... Cam Newton.

I love Cam's game.  He's a quarterback in a TE's body but moves better than Culpepper.  He has the arm strength, he's a proven runner, he's got a great feel for the pocket (although that will be tested in the NFL because of the speed), he has gotten better at every level he has played... he MIGHT be a good NFL player.  UA has risked it all on this guy... ok not all, but alot.  He has signed a $1MM/year deal with UA.  I don't know how to say it other than this.  He brings baggage.  He brings a certain stigma to your brand and to have Tom Brady and Cam Newton in a commercial together doesn't make sense.  He has a serious image rebuilding job to do and when his Heisman is taken away and the National Championship forfeited it's going to be a black eye on UA.  Then again, they'll probably just cut him loose and stop showing any relationship with him.  It's risky, he's a boom or bust and who knows.  With little experience on the big stage and honestly, you have to wonder about the kids character, it could be a rough go round for UA.  Then again, they probably did their research and saw enough to say that they wanted to take the risk.  Ahhh... the branding and marketing ploys with athletes.  It'll be fun to see what happens.