Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron came ready for action as he filmed promotional scenes in the Rhoback offices, once again displaying national championship form. Courtesy of Rhoback
Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron’s voice boomed through the Charlottesville, Va., offices of activewear company Rhoback.
The energy of Coach O, the 2019 national title winner, flashed as he high-fived his way through cubicles. He oozed excitement while powerfully plowing through a stack of boxes. His creative side, too, shone, pointing to a need for more “Tiger print” in Rhoback’s product line.
All in a day’s work for the growing athleisure clothing company’s interim CEO.
“Best fit. Best feel. Go Rhoback!” Orgeron exclaimed in closing one of his most recent marketing videos.
OK, Orgeron isn’t technically Rhoback’s interim CEO. But the lighthearted video produced by the brand’s in-house content team — part of an exclusive apparel sponsorship between Rhoback and Coach O that will run through 2023 and into 2024 — created a stir among college football fans this fall.
Posted on the company’s X account on Sept. 17, it has since generated more than 2,800 likes and 1.5 million impressions as of last week. The Instagram version of the video also received just shy of 1.6 million plays.
“He totally took it to the next level,” said Rhoback brand manager Will Lawler.
The genesis of the recent viral video and string of ads that feature Orgeron on Rhoback’s social media date back a year.
Kevin Hubbard, one of the company’s three co-founders alongside Matt and Kristina Loftus, attended an agency event ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl. Making the trip to support his cousin, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard, he connected with Orgeron over Rhoback’s purple and gold “Ray Baker” polo — complete with silhouettes of the state of Louisiana.
The pair eventually went their separate ways until Hubbard and the Rhoback creative team started brainstorming ideas for football season. Kristina Loftus was set to go on maternity leave shortly thereafter. Orgeron — and his 12-4 mark as an interim coach at LSU and USC — made for perfect casting as interim CEO.
Courtesy of Rhoback
“I just feel like [it] makes perfect sense,” Rhoback Chief Content Officer Peter Raab said. “There’s a lot of synergy between his brand and our brand and he did not disappoint.”
The shoot took place over two days in July in Rhoback’s corporate offices in Charlottesville, where the company was launched by Hubbard and the Loftuses during their time at Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Rhoback kept Orgeron’s involvement quiet, hoping for an element of surprise when they started dropping marketing videos. But his presence in Charlottesville still quite literally turned heads.
“The athletic director at UVa [Carla Williams] said she saw him jogging through campus and did a double take,” Hubbard said, laughing. “She was like ‘What the heck?’”
Coach O has done his share of television spots. The Hummer commercial he did while the head coach at Ole Miss is etched into SEC lore. He also did spots for Raising Cane’s and Coca-Cola during his time at LSU.
This go-around, Orgeron and members of the Rhoback team went to dinner at C&O Restaurant the night before the shoot as a pseudo icebreaker. By the time cameras got rolling, Orgeron was raring to go.
“The second we ended one scene and we were good it was on to the next — no wasted time,” Lawler said. “You can envision how he ran his practices and his locker room. It was high energy the entire time, fully engaged, and he made an effort to go around and connect with everyone in the office.”
Added Raab: “The entire office bought in and became involved. It couldn’t have been done without them.”
Orgeron’s inclusion in Rhoback’s marketing efforts mark another concerted effort by the company to jump into the college space.
As Lawler and Hubbard tell it, on the eve of the legalization of name, image and likeness deals on July 1, 2021, the company’s social media accounts were flooded with messages and requests from student athletes wanting to work with them. Overnight, Rhoback functionally created “Rhoback U,” an internal program designed to highlight those college athletes the company had signed.
Lawler estimates there are roughly 3,000 student athletes in the program ranging from high-major FBS football players to Division III athletes, while Rhoback has worked with around 5,000 overall.
Courtesy of Rhoback
Among those are this year’s spotlighted group of ambassadors: Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, Penn State tailback Nick Singleton and Notre Dame running back Audric Estime.
“We’re able to form relationships with some of the best athletes in the country prior to them turning pro; we’re able to associate ourselves with some of the most loyal fan bases in the country; and we’re able to create awesome content as a result,” Lawson said.
Rhoback has seen significant growth since its launch in December 2016. Hubbard didn’t disclose exact numbers, but the apparel company that leaned heavily into golf quarter zips and polos in its infancy has aspirations of one day competing with the likes of Lululemon in the athleisure space.
“We felt Lululemon created an entirely new category of super high-quality performance activewear, athleisure wear and we felt like there wasn’t an equivalent of that brand speaking to men primarily,” Hubbard explained.
Orgeron, for his part, gives the company notable brand recognition with college sports fans. He’s also since forged personal connections from his time in Charlottesville.
During the July shoot, Orgeron learned the father of one of the employees featured was undergoing chemotherapy. Orgeron sought out his number and called him to check in.
“No one asked him to do it,” Hubbard said. “He just did it on his own, quietly. Pretty cool moment, and I know it meant a lot to our team.”
Orgeron’s name has been tied to a handful of openings since his ousting at LSU in 2021. The belief, for now, is he’s comfortable in semi-retirement — that is unless someone is looking for an interim CEO.
