I Will What I Want by Under Armour Part I

We're not a campaign, not a season or a snapshot 

Our story isn't told through a press release or a social post 

Its dripping down our backs- each drop a declaration to prove

that the space between woman and athlete is no space at all 

We are UA women. And we WILL what we want. 

This is how Under Armour characterizes its relatively new initiative featuring some very iconic women in their advertising. Beginning with Misty Copeland, the well-known ballerina and expanding the campaign to include women like skier Lindsey Vonn, surfer Brianna Cope, soccer player Kelley O'Hara, and supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Drawing from Under Armour's famous I Will mantra, this campaign seeks to celebrate the female form in all its strength, complexity and drive. 

Sample from the site featuring the spokeswomen 

This is an important and very unique campaign because it is empowering and celebrates strength and diversity in women as opposed to encouraging women to appear traditionally feminine or pretty as many other athletic brands do in their advertising. Most significant perhaps is that the brand equates womanhood with being athlete, a fresh perspective and departure from many conventional marketing campaigns that try to encourage women to have balance in their lives, instead of celebrating the ways in which women may be multi-faceted and contain multitudes all at the same time.

The campaign was launched with a video of dancer Misty Copeland that was circulated around social media and television. The campaign has also utilized traditional media as part of its initiative and I can distinctly recall billboards and posters around New York City that feature this campaign. 

The video celebrates her grace, strength and athletic prowess. The tagline reads, "Misty Copeland's destiny was not to be a ballerina. But will trumps fate." A young woman narrates the criticisms of Copeland's unconventional body for ballet dancing that she heard growing up and moving through the ranks of dance. The marketing videos that are associated with this campaign have a tremendous reach, with the Misty Copeland video receiving nearly 10 million views. The video introducing supermodel Gisele to the campaign has over 3 million views on Youtube. Within two months of the campaigns launch in July 2014, the hashtag had been used 3,100 times and had 1,600 likes on Instagram. 

A billboard in New York City featuring the campaign 

Under Armour has had a steady increase in interest over time since its inception in 1996. The brand saw another uptick in interest following the addition of footwear and expanded offerings in 2006. 

Google Trends

Under Armour has been trending upwards demonstrated by the graph from 2006 through the present

Regional interest shows the US, Philippines and Canada along with Singapore at the top

Social Media

A sample from the Instagram page of Under Armour Women

The I Will What I Want campaign also celebrates the accomplishments of its spokeswomen

A Facebook post featuring spokeswoman Lindsey Vonn

A recent Facebook post that utilizes #IWillWhatIWant

Recent tweets about and related to the campaign

Another strength of the brand is the use of international social media accounts in various languages

Analytics 

A sample from Meltwater IceRocket

Courtesy of Followerwonk, this map shows the locations of @UAWomen's followers

A hashtag analysis from Keyhole for the last week on social media

In overviewing the social media postings and analytics, it looks like the campaign and associated hashtag of #IWillWhatIWant is most utilized by young women with an interest in sports, though not exclusively. There were some men who utilized the hashtag and there were many women who used the hashtag as part of a commitment to their new goals of exercising more or trying a new activity. In addition, the analytics reveal that Under Armour is most popular in North America and South East Asia and has been on a steady upward trend particularly since the addition of footwear in 2006.


Under Armour is on its way to surpassing Nike as the largest brand of sportswear and athletic attire in the world. With the rise of athleisure as a popular trend that looks like its here to stay, in conjunction with excellent and targeted social media and marketing campaigns, it is easy to see why Under Armour is at the forefront of global market for their industry. Their powerful and empowering marketing campaigns and their celebrated spokespeople help to give the brand a unique and unrivaled perspective that is unlike conventional sportswear advertising. Do you will what you want?