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Under Armour Performance Apparel

Company: Under Armour Performance Apparel, Baltimore, Maryland
Company Description: Founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, Baltimore-based Under Armour is the originator of performance apparel. Under Armour offers its consumers technically advanced, innovative product lines that keep them light, dry and ready to perform under any conditions or climates.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Creative Person

Nomination Title: Under Armour Creative Director Marcus Stephens Produces Award-Winning “PROTECT THIS HOUSE” Ad Campaign Launching New MicroMovie Genre, and Helps Elevate Brand to Global Powerhouse Status

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Marcus Stephens arrived at Under Armour as the company’s products were hitting
shelves and its name was in the early stages of creating a buzz among athletes
nationwide.  Still, the company needed help solidifying its brand image as an
authentic performance apparel manufacturer for athletes, by athletes.  Under
Armour had launched no major marketing initiative and was perceived as a
fledgling start-up.  Now, four years later, Marcus’ vision has been the driving
force behind the launch of the popular “PROTECT THIS HOUSE” advertising campaign, the debut of a new logo, and consistent implementation of global creative
initiatives.

In 2003, creative director Marcus Stephens was at the helm of Under Armour’s first-ever television advertising campaign.  In an intense, 30-second television spot
created in-house on a nominal budget, Dallas Cowboy Eric Ogbogu commanded
teammates to “PROTECT THIS HOUSE!”  The spot’s intense call and response
sequence urged athletes, consumers and competitors to take notice of Under
Armour as they prepared to take the industry by storm.  The chant Marcus helped
script spread rapidly, invading locker rooms and events across the country where
athletes echo it for inspiration.  In 2004, Marcus claimed the first of many
accolades when the first “PTH” installment received the Advertising Association of
Baltimore’s TV Single Spot Award. 

The second installment of “PTH” debuted during the 2004 ESPY Awards, in a
unique 90-second MicroMovie format which Marcus created.  The commercial
followed athletes through pre-game preparation into competition and coincided with
the launch of the company’s first-ever team uniform deal.  It featured NFL and
collegiate athletes who endured a weeklong training camp at the University of
Maryland, which Marcus oversaw in order to maintain brand authenticity. 

Marcus’ efforts in guiding the “PTH” campaign have garnered not just awards, but a grassroots buzz and enormous brand cache.  The first spot generated nearly
100,000 requests for a copy since it debuted in 2003.  More than 25,000 people
downloaded and viewed the 2004 MicroMovie, just 30 hours after it debuted, again creating an instantaneous viral effect.   Both installments of the campaign have,
under Marcus’ creative direction, garnered media coverage in The New York
Times, Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, and more.

When he’s not thinking up groundbreaking, award-winning innovative concepts,
Marcus oversees the look and feel of Under Armour’s branded materials.  He is
responsible for managing the company’s creative team and working with the vice
president of marketing to produce and oversee all creative initiatives.
Additionally, Marcus scouts locations and talent for photo shoots and travels the country year-round facilitating the shoots.  In 2004, Marcus created a sleek, powerful, sporty, new logo as previous Old English-style versions were unsuitable for merchandising.

Big shoe competitors have attempted to emulate the success of Under Armour’s
creative efforts to no avail.  None have been able to evoke the same energy and
emotion that the “PTH” ad campaign has in consumers.  Under Armour today
dominates with market share of more than 80%; sales continue to skyrocket. 
This success can be attributed to Marcus’ creative campaigns and the
overwhelming attention they have garnered.

There is not another creative executive in any industry with as much passion and
dedication to maintaining brand authenticity while remaining ahead of the
competition.  To be in the presence of Marcus is to be in the presence of one of
today’s hottest, most powerful designers and producers.  Marcus’ efforts have
commanded brand loyalty, a rapidly growing fan base, virally spreading grassroots
effect, and market share over companies with budgets 10 times the size of Under
Armour’s.  All of that by age 30, so imagine what the future has in store.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

Bringing down the house Advertising: Under Armour's "We Must Protect This
House" TV commercial has proved hugely successful for the company and star of
the show, ex-Terp Eric Ogbogu.

Kevin Van Valkenburg
The Baltimore Sun

With a football helmet and a pair of cleats, Eric Ogbogu has carved out quite a
nice living. The former University of Maryland linebacker is a solid role player
and pass-rush specialist for the Dallas Cowboys, and he's about to enter his seventh year in the NFL.

But that's not the reason people interrupt his meals in restaurants or ask for
autographs while he's pumping gas. The reason Ogbogu is famous has more to do
with throat lozenges than football. Turn on your television tonight and you're
bound to see -- and definitely hear -- Ogbogu screaming the words that have transformed him from anonymous football player to pop culture celebrity: "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!"

"People come up to me all the time and say, `Hey, you look really familiar,' " said
Ogbogu, pronounced uh-BAH-goo. "One time a guy came up to me in a
restaurant, and he was all excited. I was all proud, because I thought he must be
a big Cowboys fan. But then he said, `Hey, you're the protect-this-house guy!' It's
kind of flattering to have that happen."

Since Ogbogu first belted out those words in a commercial for Baltimore-based
apparel and uniform company Under Armour in 2002, his life hasn't been the
same. In the commercial, set in a shadowy warehouse that doubled as a weight
room, Ogbogu was front and center, calling out to his fictional teammates,
demanding they work harder to maintain their status as top dogs. It immediately
resonated with viewers, and before long, the company's slogan had taken on a life
of its own.

"Protect This House" was being belted out by kids on playgrounds, referenced
during highlights on SportsCenter, and even used by NFL teams (including the
Ravens) during warmups.

"We got the kind of exposure you could only dream of," said Under Armour
marketing director Steve Battista. "The chaplain for the Notre Dame football team
used `Protect This House' when he would speak to the team before games. Stuart
Scott was saying it on SportsCenter. I even had a guy send me a tape of his
wedding, where at the reception, he and his buddies did the whole breakdown and
right at the very end he points to his bride and says, `I will protect your house!'
That was probably my favorite."

Tonight -- during ESPN's annual award show, the ESPYs -- Under Armour will
debut its second commercial in the "Protect This House" campaign. This one will
feature not only Ogbogu, but also Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen and the
Terrapins' locker room. Filmed last month at Byrd Stadium, it is considered the
second installment in what will be a "Season" trilogy.

It's also another major step for a company whose visibility and brand-awareness
has soared since 1996, when Kevin Plank, now Under Armour's president, maxed
out his credit cards and took out a loan to start Under Armour. The first year it
sold $17,000 worth of clothing that wicks moisture from the skin. Last year, sales
reached $110 million, and this year the company signed a $2.6 million deal to
provide uniforms for the Maryland football team. (Those uniforms will be
featured in tonight's ads.)

And while Under Armour, which hopes to hit the $250 million mark in sales this
year, has numerous professional athletes to endorse its products (among them
Barry Bonds, Barry Zito and Roger Clemens), Ogbogu and the "Protect This
House" campaign remains its bread and butter.

"People were asking me all the time, `What happens next? When is the next one
going to run?' " Battista said. "It turned out, people still wanted to see more.
The first one, we had the guys working out in sort of a post-apocalyptic weight
room. It was like they were getting ready for the season. So with this commercial, we wanted to take it to the next step. We wanted to try and show them in the locker room and then out on the field."

Ogbogu got the part because he had played at Maryland in the mid-1990s with
Plank, who was certain Ogbogu's incredible physique and booming voice would be
perfect for the part. Ogbogu had no acting experience, but that didn't matter to
Plank, who wanted everything to be authentic.

"When we show guys lifting weights, it's real weights," said Rip Lambert of
Baltimore-based Producers Video, the director for the first two commercials. "The
guys really are benching 300 pounds and squatting 800. Actors couldn't do what
we ask these guys to do, and I think that's one of the reasons the spots work."

Under Armour's Marcus Stephens, the creative director for both commercials,
said: "We'd always been pretty disappointed with the way Hollywood portrayed
football players. That's why we wanted to make sure we did it right."

As a result, Under Armour made certain every actor in the commercial -- from
Ogbogu to the last extra -- was a former football player. (The brutal contact
during the game scenes is also authentic, though choreographed.) Look closely and you might recognize former Maryland linebacker Leroy Ambush in the commercial, as well as players from Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Morgan State, Delaware and Howard.

The star, however, continues to be Ogbogu, 29, who is 6 feet 4 and weighs 270
pounds. He plays defensive end for the Cowboys.

"He's just so charismatic," Stephens said. "And he's really a leader out there.
When we're doing a 12-hour shoot, and everyone is tired and we still haven't got it
right yet, he's able to get everyone to jell immediately. The guys respect him. You
have to when he looks like that."

Ogbogu -- who drinks tea on the set and keeps a bag of lozenges handy to save
his voice as much as possible -- said it doesn't bother him that his acting career
has overshadowed his athletic one. (He has just 4 1/2 sacks in six years.)

"I think I was kind of a natural showman as a kid," said Ogbogu, who was raised in
Irvington, N.Y. "I grew up thinking I could conquer the world, so this stuff is
fun for me."

Plank, Battista and Stephens came up with the idea for "Protect This House," a
slogan that Ogbogu believes has widespread appeal.

"I think it symbolizes a lot, and not just for athletics," Ogbogu said. "You can
use it in your job and in your life. Even with the war going on, you can think about it
like we have to protect our country. Everyone has their own take on it, but
whatever it is, it seems to work."


   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

Marcus Stephens was born on December 2, 1974 in Montgomery County,
Maryland.  He graduated from Wheaton High School in 1992 and went on to
Frostburg State University, where he studied graphic design.  After graduating from
Frostburg, Stephens worked for an advertising agency and design firm before
founding his own independent design group in 1999.  After working briefly with
Under Armour as a client, Stephens was quickly recruited and brought in-house for
his innovative thinking and design talents, serving as creative director since
2000.