MeUndies, the makers of perfectly serviceable skivvies, just inked a sponsored ambassadorship with esports team the Immortals ... after discovering that one of its members doesn't own underwear. (Wait. We'll get there.)
This week, they released an '80s-style dating video about finding love. In your pants.
Titled "Perfect Pair: The Quest for Immortal Love," it was shared on Facebook and features Huni, Reignover, WildTurtle, Pobelter and Adrian against a laser backdrop, the kind you probably chose for a school picture at some point, if you were stylin'.
"Honestly, I just wanna be comfortable," Huni says, sporting a chain thick enough to make Dinesh jealous, and snazzy fingerless gloves.
The parody also includes esports jokes, like Reignover's add-on to this winsome little poem: "When it comes to true love, my heart knows no fatigue. The only problem is it beats for those way out of my League ... of Legends."
At the end, they appear holding packs of MeUndies, which respond to everything they're looking for—from WildTurtle's need to feel fuzzy (not a competitive plus in the arena of genital gardening) to Pobelter's need for ... love.
"She loves me ... but I love MeUndies," Huni cornily concludes, plucking petals out of a fistful of flowers.
You're probably hearing a lot about esports lately. TV networks like The CW, TBS and ESPN are riding the rising tide. Mountain Dew has a CS:GO league, Red Bull has its own league and coverage, and Pizza Hut is sponsoring various events and content.
But in terms of pure advertising, esports' terrain is surprisingly little-exploited among non-endemic brands, particularly retail—this despite projections that the average fan will spend between $3.50 and $7, a possible value of $1 billion, this year alone. (They're also older than most people think—59 percent of the market are men and women 21-35 years old.)
Many brands simply don't recognize the size of the opportunity. MeUndies had an advantage: Its team is composed of gamers, who saw a teaser vid where Huni claimed he doesn't own any underwear, and decided to send him some. Huni apparently loved them so much, he got the rest of the Immortals on board.
@MeUndies thx for the ship :) SO COMFY finally I have underwear^^ pic.twitter.com/FzqFDVVlNy
— SeungHoon Heo (@IMTHuni) March 8, 2016
The relationship is "more like influencer marketing in the truest sense of the word," explains Greg Fass, head of partnerships and influencer marketing at MeUndies. "We are tapping into their audiences in a way that aligns us with their interests rather than kind of like shoving products down their throat … We're disrupting the underwear industry."
The Immortals will be sporting MeUndies briefs and loungewear during games and at home. They'll also receive an unspecified, performance-based fee.
This curious entrée is only a precursor for what's coming. In the meantime, stock up on underpants à la Huni. Immortals fans get 20 percent off when they visit MeUndies.com/Immortals.
