Campaign Launch // a surprise of a lifetime (Under Armour)
Overview: It started with social listening. I came across a tweet about Johnny Agar - a young athlete with cerebral palsy - and how UA's RULE YOURSELF film inspired him and his dad in their racing journey. With the help of his dad, Jeff, Team Agar trains together for ironman triathlons, where Jeff pushes and pulls Johnny along through water, on a bike, and on foot. Johnny's goal is to walk the last mile of a race on his own, with only the help of his walker. According to his mom, he would watch Phelps' RULE YOURSELF film on repeat, so she decided to make a version of the film, starring Johnny.
Once UA found out about Johnny + Jeff, and saw Johnny's version of the film, we quickly worked to throw him and his dad a surprise of a lifetime. The creative agency that created the original Phelps film made Johnny's version "broadcast ready," and UA bought airtime to run the spot in their local market in Michigan. We invited over 200 family and friends, local media and the TODAY Show to the surprise viewing party. Under a decoy story, working closely with Johnny's mom, we got Jeff and Johnny to a local restaurant and surprised him right out of his chair. The night included a special message from Johnny's favorite athlete, UA Athlete Justin Verlander, as well as remarks from UA.
The Result: local and national coverage, including a segment on the TODAY Show; one of the most shared/viewed organic Facebook videos of the year for Under Armour; a memorable and life-changing evening for Johnny and Jeff Agar.
My Role: After coming across the tweet (from Yahoo Sport), quickly worked with the UA leadership team to share The Agars' story. Planned the surprise party in one week, which included securing the TODAY Show and local media to capture the event and facilitating interviews onsite, as well as all the event planning logistics for the event itself (community/family outreach, Team Agar t-shirts and flags, remarks from UA, and more).
