Under Armour was losing its connection with Female team athletes and had just re-launched “Protect This House.” The Women’s World Cup in 2023 was a moment to reconnect and represent their competitive drive. Instead of having others tell them what they can or cannot do, female athletes want their grit and game to do the talking. To inspire female athletes on the biggest sports stage of the year, we had to speak their language and bleed authenticy.
The World Cup is when teams turn up their toughness and intensity, battling for their squad, nation—and house. This battle inspired ‘Armour Up’ an entirely original track and music video that paired footballers Kelley O’Hara and Alex Greenwood with two female artists—one from the United States and one from England, trading lyrics as each repped their athlete and country unapologetically showcasing their energy and attitude. ‘Armour Up’ was set to tap into culture and prep the female athlete to protect their house.
'Armour Up' was brought to life by nothing short of a female dream team, assembled with our production partners at Fela and music house Citizen. Our female production team, including our director, Kat Evans, brought the battle to life.
The original song was commissioned with female music artists to stay true to its purpose—connect with female athletes during one of the biggest moments in women's sports of the year, the Women's World Cup.
The music video makes a bold statement, representing the athletes' competitive drive, celebrating soccer superstars Alex Greenwood of England and Kelley O'Hara of the United States. US and UK artists represent each athlete, staying true to themselves and the spirit of their fans—Kelley is represented by fire as a nod to her fiery persona on the pitch, and Alex Greenwood is represented by ice for her cool demeanor.
We developed 16 unique video assets that rolled out before and during the Women's World Cup. Tease assets were posted on artist and athlete channels, hyping what was to come, the full-length music video, and long-form and short-form behind-the-scenes assets.
With limited athlete availability, we shot on location in the cities Kelley and Alex play in—New York City and Manchester, England, respectively—and showcased unique aspects of the city and football culture there.
We also captured footage of young grassroots players in the UK and NYC to represent the generations of future footballers.
