Out of the box

US – American sportswear brand United Armour paradoxically encourages users to get away from technology in its advert for its latest product, the UA HealthBox.

• Under Armour’s ad One Push breaks free from traditional linguistic tropes commonly used in sportswear advertising
• The product’s slogan is Rule Yourself, designed to ensure the campaign’s emphasis is on the consumer not on the product

In the recently released ad, we are introduced to a world dependent on technology. The narrator says anything is possible ‘with one push of a button’. In the final scene the concept is inverted as we see someone employ one of Under Armour’s wearable devices before setting off on a run. The narrator says: ‘Nothing happens – unless you make it happen’. The message is simple. In terms of fitness, technology can only take you so far. The rest you have to achieve for yourself.

This is an unusual concept with which to advertise technology. In shifting the emphasis back to the individual this cements Under Armour’s positioning as a brand whose consumers are at the forefront of the campaign rather than the product or technology.