The hardest way to revive a brand is by trying NOT to offend anyone.

Under Armour needs younger customers.

Like, desperately.

Its North American sales have fallen again. Market share continues to fizzle.

Meanwhile, Adidas, On and Hoka are grabbing up the very consumers Under Armour once knew how to win.

Doing more of the same on the run-up to 2027 wasn’t gonna change those trajectories.

So the company pulled something pretty unexpected.

Instead of launching another campaign around an elite real-life athlete, it hired François Arnaud, star of the hit series Heated Rivalry, as the face of its HeatGear campaign.

Image/Video: Under Armour

That’s a wildly different kind of ambassador.

The series has built an intensely loyal following, particularly among women and LGBTQ audiences.

It has also fired up critics who see it as pushing an agenda into professional sport.

Under Armour totally knows that. The timing was no accident, either.

Under Armour launched the campaign during what can be North America’s hottest week of the year, giving HeatGear, Heated Rivalry, and the weather a neat little convergence we’re likely to remember.

One of the themes I explore in I Need That is how every positioning decision attracts some customers while making others LESS aroused.

Great positioning ain’t about universal appeal.

It’s becoming more meaningful to the folks you MOST want to serve.

That doesn’t have to mean deliberately provoking controversy.

It‘s recognizing that meaningful brands almost always make choices that repel some buyers.

The real question isn’t whether this campaign will upset anyone.

It certainly will.

The question is whether the customers Under Armour gains are more valuable than the ones it’s jettisoning.

If their research is right, this campaign could prove remarkably hot.

If not, it will become an expensive reminder that attention and preference aren’t the same thing.

Either way, Under Armour has done something many struggling brands never find the courage to do:

It made a choice.

The market will decide pretty quick whether it was the right one.

What’s your take? Hit reply and let me know!

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.