Should UnderArmour embrace the kink side of it's Brand?
posted 3 weeks ago
I was scrolling on Instagram and UnderArmour is doing a new campaign with François Arnaud, from Heated Rivalry. This campaign features him in HeatGear collection in a sweaty, see through, white shirt. UA has long been a brand that we associate with sports gear fetish and spandex in general. I think they need to embrace the kink side of their brand. The prime example is the jocks, the spandex jocks are fucking amazing, the first gen was made for a cup, but the send gen were just spandex jocks. These are jocks that need to be made year round. I'm curious you guys thought on the brand and the kink side.
posted 3 weeks ago
I don't mean to be a boner-killer, but looking at who their key market demographic is, I don't see Under Armour or any other major sportswear company doing that and jeopardizing the positioning, branding, and identity they've spent years and ten's of millions of dollars to create. I suspect Speedo would give anything to break the association of their swimwear with gay men, which sadly, and like it or not, is a major reason they have no hope of ever going mainstream. They've gone so far as to file lawsuits against bloggers who created Speedo-centric fetish websites, on the basis of trademark infringement and damaging their reputation. UA is great gear and I love the look and feel of some of it as much as the next guy, but I think we just need to enjoy and do our thing. UA is a mass-market brand, and as a group, we as fetishists wouldn't add up to even a decimal point of market share.
Last edited: 3 weeks ago
posted 3 weeks ago
posted by: Swimmer2004I don't mean to be a boner-killer, but looking at who their key market demographic is, I don't see Under Armour or any other major sportswear company doing that and jeopardizing the positioning, branding, and identity they've spent years and ten's of millions of dollars to create. I suspect Speedo would give anything to break the association of their swimwear with gay men, which sadly, and like it or not, is a major reason they have no hope of ever going mainstream. They've gone so far as to file lawsuits against bloggers who created Speedo-centric fetish websites, on the basis of trademark infringement and damaging their reputation. UA is great gear and I love the look and feel of some of it as much as the next guy, but I think we just need to enjoy and do our thing. UA is a mass-market brand, and as a group, we as fetishists wouldn't add up to even a decimal point of market share.
posted 3 weeks ago
The only way they could do it is having a spin-off brand thats very loosely associated. UA and other sports brands flirt with sex as a selling point but kink is a volatile sell in the general public marketing space. For example Timoteo (the underwear brand) has Cellblock13 as the brand for all their fetish kit.
Last edited: 3 weeks ago
posted 3 weeks ago
Even the name with its militaristic tone addresses the hyper-male gymbud that has a fit body. As a sports/fitness brand, they want to be associated with power, strength, resilience. Not with gays slapping each other's butt and showing their willies in public.
posted 3 weeks ago
posted by: unbtimI was scrolling on Instagram and UnderArmour is doing a new campaign with François Arnaud, from Heated Rivalry. This campaign features him in HeatGear collection in a sweaty, see through, white shirt. UA has long been a brand that we associate with sports gear fetish and spandex in general. I think they need to embrace the kink side of their brand. The prime example is the jocks, the spandex jocks are fucking amazing, the first gen was made for a cup, but the send gen were just spandex jocks. These are jocks that need to be made year round. I'm curious you guys thought on the brand and the kink side.
posted 3 weeks ago
Have you stepped in an Under Armour store lately? It feels like they’re doing everything they can to hide the fact that their company originated from repopularizing men’s spandex. The only tights they have in stock are black or white ones. They’ve forgotten what they came from. Their stores cater more towards republican golfers than gay men. Go to any outlet mall on the west coast. The Nike stores are still full despite their stock being down, but you go into an UA store and there’s like three people in the whole store.
posted 3 weeks ago
I think they should embrace those facts. I mean, I can get horny in that stuff, too, but I'm mostly wearing it under jumpsuit cosplays as those are my best bet on making my bulge in those cosplay costumes disappear! Can provide examples, if wanted :)
posted 3 weeks ago
As a business case study, Under Armour is a marvel. They're one of the few that achieved the dream of every sportswear company - making their brand "cool", and transitioning from being a supplier to professional, college, and other serious teams and athletes to a mass-market brand that sells clothing to millions of people of all ages and genders who wear it every day (and night, if you're me 🤣). A company with an international footprint and stature, up there with giants like Nike and Adidas. While they haven't abandoned their traditional market, most of what they sell now is athleisure streetwear... t-shirts, hoodies and sweats and track pants, and shoes that will never see the inside of a gym or make a run for anything besides pizza. Or their purpose-made athletic wear simply worn casually.
This thread has me thinking though, as a business major in my senior year of college, that this would make a fun and interesting senior project - The relationship between major sportswear apparel companies and the GBLTQ community or market, with the fetish aspect one part of that.
Last edited: 3 weeks ago
posted 3 weeks ago
posted by: GearedGloryHave you stepped in an Under Armour store lately? It feels like they’re doing everything they can to hide the fact that their company originated from repopularizing men’s spandex. The only tights they have in stock are black or white ones. They’ve forgotten what they came from. Their stores cater more towards republican golfers than gay men. Go to any outlet mall on the west coast. The Nike stores are still full despite their stock being down, but you go into an UA store and there’s like three people in the whole store.
posted 3 weeks ago
posted by: Swimmer2004I don't mean to be a boner-killer, but looking at who their key market demographic is, I don't see Under Armour or any other major sportswear company doing that and jeopardizing the positioning, branding, and identity they've spent years and ten's of millions of dollars to create. I suspect Speedo would give anything to break the association of their swimwear with gay men, which sadly, and like it or not, is a major reason they have no hope of ever going mainstream. They've gone so far as to file lawsuits against bloggers who created Speedo-centric fetish websites, on the basis of trademark infringement and damaging their reputation. UA is great gear and I love the look and feel of some of it as much as the next guy, but I think we just need to enjoy and do our thing. UA is a mass-market brand, and as a group, we as fetishists wouldn't add up to even a decimal point of market share.
posted 3 weeks ago
UA is a publicly traded company, so their performance and strategy are easy to learn. UA had several years of absolutely dismal performance. They became too promotional (on price, not advertising), made too many low margin items and lost focus on being a high performance brand for elite athletes or those who aspire to become that. They lost market share, their stock tanked and finally the founder returned as CEO with a massive turnaround plan that seems to be starting to gain traction but it’s a slow process.
As someone who loves classic Heat Gear compression gear (and who bought UA stock at a low point last year) i am cheering them on.
From Yahoo Finance “President and CEO Kevin Plank said……….Under Armour is emphasizing product-line simplification, full-price selling, inventory control and more focused marketing tied to product launches and athlete storytelling.” Also “Management is prioritizing margin protection over discounted volume through a simplified product assortment, full-price selling, tighter marketing and inventory discipline. Under Armour plans to reduce SKUs further and focus investment on key franchises such as HeatGear, Velociti and StealthForm.” Heat Gear….yay!
The François Arnaud campaign seems like part of that athlete storytelling approach. And it is perfect……an athletic actor who places an athlete who happens to be gay. It’s an inclusive idea without losing focus on their core mission and without pandering to subgroups of the population. “Embracing the kink side of their brand” is a surefire way to lose money and confuse the markets at a time when they are working on reducing inventory and trying to become a brand for elite athletes. No CEO wants to stand in front of a room full of finance journalists and answer questions about why his $1.1B company dedicated time and resources to making/marketing 5000 jockstraps for the world’s Eagles while trying to execute a turnaround plan
posted 3 weeks ago
Love the responses. You guys really gave some thought into this. I love having convos like this and hearing what other guys think. .
posted 3 weeks ago
posted by: BrooklynLycraUA is a publicly traded company, so their performance and strategy are easy to learn. UA had several years of absolutely dismal performance. They became too promotional (on price, not advertising), made too many low margin items and lost focus on being a high performance brand for elite athletes or those who aspire to become that. They lost market share, their stock tanked and finally the founder returned as CEO with a massive turnaround plan that seems to be starting to gain traction but it’s a slow process. As someone who loves classic Heat Gear compression gear (and who bought UA stock at a low point last year) i am cheering them on. From Yahoo Finance “President and CEO Kevin Plank said……….Under Armour is emphasizing product-line simplification, full-price selling, inventory control and more focused marketing tied to product launches and athlete storytelling.” Also “Management is prioritizing margin protection over discounted volume through a simplified product assortment, full-price selling, tighter marketing and inventory discipline. Under Armour plans to reduce SKUs further and focus investment on key franchises such as HeatGear, Velociti and StealthForm.” Heat Gear….yay! The François Arnaud campaign seems like part of that athlete storytelling approach. And it is perfect……an athletic actor who places an athlete who happens to be gay. It’s an inclusive idea without losing focus on their core mission and without pandering to subgroups of the population. “Embracing the kink side of their brand” is a surefire way to lose money and confuse the markets at a time when they are working on reducing inventory and trying to become a brand for elite athletes. No CEO wants to stand in front of a room full of finance journalists and answer questions about why his $1.1B company dedicated time and resources to making/marketing 5000 jockstraps for the world’s Eagles while trying to execute a turnaround plan
