Under Armour has "launched a campaign celebrating the 15th anniversary of its first national TV ads," and one of the new spots features Panthers QB Cam Newton and the Baltimore-area St. Frances Academy football team, according to Holden Wilen of the BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL. UA's new campaign, like its predecessors, emphasizes "hard work, practice and teamwork." UA's in-house creative team produced the ads. The new spot shows Newton and the St. Frances players "participating in rigorous workouts." Additional ads will air "throughout the fall" and will feature Phillies RF Bryce Harper, Knicks G Dennis Smith Jr. and heptathlon athlete Georgia Ellenwood. In addition to the TV spots, there also will be "digital advertising content." The timing of the campaign also "matches up with start of school and youth sports" and allows UA to have its "marketing at full strength ahead of the all-important holiday season" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/10). In Baltimore, Glenn Graham noted UA has "long been a sponsor" of St. Frances athletics, and this "isn't the first time the football team has starred in one of its ads." The team in '13 was "featured in a spot that was directed and produced" by Pro Football HOFer Ray Lewis (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/11).
