BALTIMORE, Md.—Michael Phelps and Under Armour were, in a sense, born at the same moment.
The performance sports apparel brand was founded here in 1996 by Kevin Plank. Right around that same time, Phelps—then an 11-year-old kid from the Baltimore suburbs—began to train under coach Bob Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.
The rest is history.
At 15, Phelps became the youngest swimmer ever to set a world record (in the 200-meter butterfly). Three years after that, in Athens, he won his first eight Olympic medals, including six golds—beginning a run that has netted him a record 22 Olympic medals in all, and a staggering 18 golds. If he makes this year's Olympic team (which isn't a given), he will almost certainly add to that total in Rio, which he firmly says—and you can believe him this time—will be his last Olympics.
Under Armour's growth, of course, wasn't as meteoric. It takes more time for companies to rule the world. But in the sports apparel business, UA is now a solid No. 2 to Nike, and gaining all the time. It had sales of $3.96 billion in 2015, up 28 percent from the year before, and forecasts sales of $7.5 billion by 2018.
UA attributes much of its success to innovation and a singular vision. But much of it can also be credited to the brand's endorsers, and how they're framed in the advertising. This is a company that chooses wisely, and then frames an athlete's image carefully, focusing on the journey, not the destination.
In 2013, it took a chance on Stephen Curry for less than $4 million a year, after Nike balked, and now has him locked down through 2024—in what may prove to be the best signing since Jordan and Nike. UA also hit the jackpot with golfer Jordan Spieth, signing him to a 10-year deal shortly before he won two majors last year and rocketed to the No. 1 ranking.
Phelps is a little different, of course. He's not an athlete who's in the spotlight every day, or every month. He mostly gets attention quadrennially, during the Olympics. But UA is clearly going big with Phelps this year, ahead of what should be a closely watched and hopefully heartwarming trip to Rio.
A UA endorser since 2010, Phelps got a hero's welcome when he arrived at the brand's Locust Point headquarters here in Baltimore on Tuesday. He spoke to the media, offered a glimpse into his workout routine and raved about his new Under Armour ad from Droga5—a beautiful, haunting 90-second tribute that shows Phelps at his most raw and solitary, summing up his decades of cold pools and sacrifice out of the spotlight.
"For me, it's without question an honor to have my own spot," Phelps, 30, told Adweek as he reflected on his place in the UA advertising pantheon, which has famously included stars like Curry, Misty Copeland, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen. "To have a spot done like this one was, it's remarkable. It shows the raw things I've gone through to get to the point where I'm at. And that's something a lot of the public hasn't seen."
He added: "It brought tears to my eyes, it brought tears to [fiancée] Nicole's eyes. My mother, without question, tears—multiple times during the commercial. And the music makes it, too. I think it's a deep commercial, and it's really incredible how they did it."
It really did make Phelps cry, too. In a sly bit of in-house content creation, UA filmed Phelps and Nicole watching the ad for the first time. She is practically weeping by the end, and Phelps himself wipes away a tear. Check out that footage here:
New #RuleYourself spot featuring @MichaelPhelps drops tomorrow. See his emotional reaction the first time he saw it.https://t.co/gc6OclXLOB
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) March 7, 2016
Asked if he thought Under Armour could equal or surpass Nike in terms of exciting advertising, Phelps said no one should underestimate Plank, the former University of Maryland football captain who started Under Armour from nothing.
"I was telling Kevin while I was here, I'm amazed at how much they've been able to do, even just in the last year," Phelps said. "Kevin is literally one of the biggest visionaries I've ever met in my entire life. For him, the sky is the absolute limit. I'm sure he will do everything and anything to get to No. 1, if he's not there now."
As for Nike? Well, Phelps says he's never even tried on one of their sneakers.
"For me, growing up in Baltimore, Under Armour is the sports line. It's what I grew up with my whole life," he said. "I don't know another brand. To be honest, I have never worn a pair of Nikes in my entire life. I couldn't even wear Nikes when I was with Speedo, before Under Armour. I've literally never tried on a pair of Nike shoes." (He later backtracks on this a little, and admits to having worn them on the podium when Nike was a team sponsor. But he insists he's never done so recreationally.)
Asked whether he has an expanded role with UA during this Olympic year, Phelps said just wants to do anything he can to help Plank succeed.
"I think if you ask all the athletes—we'll do anything we can to help promote his brand," he said. "They don't have to ask me to put on a shirt. I walk out of the house every day in shorts and a T-shirt, or a sweatshirt and sweats, a pair of sneakers. It's every day. You can wear a quarter zip to dinner, you can wear a polo to dinner, you can wear a button-down to dinner. They have literally everything. It's comfortable, and it's what I live in."
He added with a smile: "I'm a good shoe salesman, too. I know all the shoes. You have any shoe questions?"
It's been a long four years since London 2012, the last time Phelps was squarely in the public eye—and, in his own estimation, underperformed at the Games because of a lack of motivation. (Most gallingly, he was out-touched at the wall in the 200-meter butterfly final, losing by 5/100ths of a second. Phelps is normally the guy who out-touches his rival, and that loss clearly still bothers him—he mentioned it several times on Tuesday—even though he did win six medals, including four golds, in London.)
The new Droga commercial certainly reintroduces Phelps to the public in style. But the backstory is different this time. Phelps, who will soon be married and is expecting his first child in May, says he has never been so happy in his life, or so committed to swimming—and it is showing in his performances. This isn't the ambivalent Phelps of London. It's the legendary champion giving everything for one last chance at glory.
That's a story UA can squarely get behind, and may help explain why the brand released the new spot so early—a full five months before the Games kick off in August.
"As marketers, we've seen a lot of film," says Adrienne Lofton, UA's svp of global brand marketing. "And when we saw this [new spot] out of the can—rough, color not done—we all got the chills. From Kevin on down, we were blown away, because it represents Michael and everything he's done in his career. It allows us to honor him, and take a moment and say: No matter what, pre-Rio, he never stopped working. He never stopped pushing."
In addition to the new Phelps spot, UA took the opportunity on Tuesday to unveil its official 2016 Olympic uniforms for USA Gymnastics and USA Boxing, which which it has sponsorship deals. (Overall, the company says, it is outfitting some 250 Olympic hopefuls in 19 sports from 32 countries.)
Check out the Team USA uniforms, and some UA outfits for other countries, below:
