Under Armour is turning to endorsers like skier Lindsey Vonn and swimmer Michael Phelps to try to "turn the tide of bad PR" caused by the "disastrous performance of the U.S. Olympic speedskating team while wearing its high-tech racing suits in Sochi," according to Michael McCarthy of AD AGE. Vonn on Tuesday tweeted "her support for the company's high-tech performance gear -- without mentioning the speedskating fiasco unfolding in Sochi." She tweeted, "Proud to be an @UnderArmour athlete. I've been with them for 8 yrs and they constantly find ways to improve their gear and make me better." Phelps and Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw "previously pledged their support on social media." UA Exec VP/Global Marketing Matt Mirchin confirmed that UA "initiated 'conversations' with endorsers about defending the company's performance products." He added that others "came to the company on their own due to the negative headlines coming out of Sochi." Mirchin said that UA "has no plans, at this point, to address the controversial Mach 39 speedskating suits developed with Lockheed Martin in its advertising or marketing." McCarthy reported the company instead is "adopting a three-pronged Crisis PR counterattack." It includes sending out the endorsers tweets, defending the Mach 39 suit "in media interviews" and pointing to "public statements by the USOC that it doesn't 'believe' the suits are to blame." The strategy of using its paid endorsers to "fire off what amounts to sponsored tweets opens up Under Armour to criticism." But in today's "24-7 news environment, UA has to fight back publicly" (ADAGE.com, 2/19).
SHE'S CRAFTY: BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK's Kyle Stock wrote under the header, "The Anti-Under Armour: Tiny Swedish Company Wins Big On Speedskating." Sweden-based Craft is providing The Netherlands' speedskating suits at the Sochi Games, and while it is not a shock the country has "done so well on the ice in Sochi," it is surprising that they are "outfitted by a niche sportswear maker." The brand exposure the company has gained in Sochi "could be big," as Craft "makes a lot of running apparel." It also "cranks out clothes for downhill skiers and cyclists, lucrative targets in the weekend-warrior segment" (BUSINESSWEEK.com, 2/18).
