World’s best ads ever #22: Under Armour seeks female empowerment with ‘I Will What I Want’
We asked our readers to vote for their favorite commercials of all time. Top creatives from the World Creative Rankings and The Drum’s Judges’ Club then ranked the ads. Now, we bring you the definitive 100 best TV and video ads of all time.
After surveying women consumers and realizing that its brand was not well perceived among them, sportswear brand Under Armour in 2016 set out to create its most comprehensive and far-reaching women’s-focused brand campaign to date. Centered on the brand platform ‘I Will What I Want’, the campaign aimed to empower women to unapologetically chase their dreams and ambitions.
Developed in partnership with Droga5, the campaign launched globally with a video spot starring professional ballerina Misty Copeland. A young voice narrates a hypothetical rejection letter from a ballet academy, which spotlights the all-too-common reasons why young girls are rejected and criticized in the industry — for lacking ‘the right body’ and for being ‘too old’, among others. Against this backdrop, Copeland is depicted rejecting these stereotypes and criticism and boldly choosing her own path.
The ‘I Will What I Want’ campaign also starred model Gisele Bündchen. In one spot, Under Armour collected online reactions to its announcement that the model would serve as a brand ambassador — and they weren’t all nice. The team gathered these insults from online trolls and hurled them at Bündchen during a workout; but instead of knocking her down, the haters only fueled her passion.
To expand on the idea, Droga5 tapped VR and AR web development firm Active Theory to create an immersive web experience that mapped real-time user comments on Bündchen’s training session.
The campaign, which was activated across video, digital, print and out-of-home, snagged the 2015 Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes.