Under Armour is "humble and hungry" with new campaign
Under Armour announced its newest and biggest global campaign Thursday on "CBS This Morning." "The Book of Will" is a yearlong series of short films starring Jamie Foxx and NBA All-Star Stephen Curry that chairman and CEO Kevin Plank said is a reflection of the company's own story of triumph.
"Everything about Under Armour is about the underdog," Plank said. "We are the overachieving brand. We are the underdog brand. We are the ones that no one thought could do it. Nobody gave us the chance to be in this position, but we are, and we take that with great responsibility."
Nearly a decade ago, Plank launched his company in his grandmother's Washington, D.C., basement. He traveled around the country introducing athletes to his newly designed moisture-wicking T-shirts.
Now, the company has 123 retail locations nationwide and has sourced some of the world's most well-known talents, including supermodel Gisele Bündchen, downhill skier Lindsey Vonn and American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland.
"When you're a small company, you're betting everything ... and you got to get lucky, and it helps when you're really good, and it helps even more when you have an incredible team," Plank said.
Revenue has also surged, from $281 million in 2005 to over $3 billion last year. And while the company recently passed Adidas to become the second largest sportswear maker in the United States behind Nike, Plank said he shares the same belief as when he started.
"What concerns me the most today is the same answer I had 18 years ago when the company started; it was I worry about ourselves," Plank said. "Humble and hungry is one of the phrases we use."
But a comment about rival Adidas did generate some buzz. In an interview with Bloomberg television, he said, "We're not going to compete with our dumbest competitor."
On Thursday, Plank didn't specifically address the Adidas comment, but said generally: "The comment is that we're in a competitive industry, and we fight these other ones over and over."