University Marketing Analysis: Under Armour's 'Rule Yourself'

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Under Armour's 'Rule Yourself' advertisement featuring Michael Phelps. It delves into various aspects of the advertisement, including its selling item (sportswear), intended audience (sportspersons and goal-oriented individuals), and the emotional appeal (pathos) employed to connect with the audience. The report also examines the credibility established through Michael Phelps, the music selection, and the overall success of the advertisement in conveying its message of hard work and dedication. The analysis highlights how Under Armour effectively uses marketing strategies to resonate with its target demographic and establish its brand image. Furthermore, the report considers the blend of emotional and logical appeals (logos) used, and how the advertisement's message aligns with the brand's values to promote its sportswear and the 'Rule Yourself' slogan. Overall, the report concludes that the advertisement's success stems from its ability to connect with the target audience through an emotional and relatable narrative, supported by a credible and compelling message.

Running head: ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
Under Armour: The advertisement of the decade
ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1 ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
Introduction
The given paper aims to analyze the Advertisement Under Armour which has been titled
as Rule Yourself and stars Michael Phelps. The aim of this paper is to highlight and analyze the
various aspects associated with the advertisement and to highlight the manner in which the
enterprise has been successful in transmitting the appeal to the audience. The selling item,
intended audience, appeal, credibility and the related music will be discussed. The success of the
advertisement will be discussed at last.
Advertisement summary
The advertisement stars the American former competitive swimmer, Michael Fred Phelps
and form the first second enraptures the audience. The individual is one of the most successful
swimmers of all times and holds all-time records for his attainment (Youtube.com). The
advertisement is based on the context that success may seem and appear to be easy in the eyes of
the public, but the ingredient of it is the hard work of the individual which is often not visible to
the various individuals. The advertisement stresses upon the fact that, to shine in the light, one
needs to work hard in the dark.
Selling item
The selling item which is considered in the particular assessment can be stated to be the
Sportswear by Under Armour. The company chose Michael Phelps as the star of the
advertisement and associated his hard work with the selling item to motivate the audience to use
the same.
Intended audience

2 ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
The intended audience of the brand can be referred as to the different sportspersons and
the audience in general who intends to work hard in order to attain the different goals in life
(Kotler). In consideration with this, it becomes very critical to understand that the enterprise has
aimed to target these individuals by staring Michael Phelps who is considered to be one of the
most successful sportsperson present. Through the hard work and related portray, the
advertisement intends to relate and highlight the hard work and compassion of the sportsmen and
women into achieving their goals.
Appeal of the advertisement
The appeal of the advertisement can be understood to be rather emotional in nature. This
simply means that, the advertisers have made use of the Pathos. The pathos can be considered to
be a manner in which an audience can interact with the different individuals by creating an
emotional response and a convincing story (Kotler). On the other hand, the logos as a convincing
appeal are made use of to persuade the audience with reasons and related facts as well as figures.
The advertisement can be understood to be using a mixture of both the pathos and the logos
appeal. In regards to this, it creates an emotional connect with the audience by starring
everyone`s all-time favorite Phelps. In addition to this, apart from being a favorite, Michael is
very successful in his career as well which further aligns with the message of the brand which
portrays that hard work is crucial and that the brand offerings are associated with this (Kotler).
Credibility of the advertisement
The credibility generally relates to the ethos which means that, the persuasion of the
advertisement generally tends to involve the character involved (Kerin and Hartley). Here, again
the starring of Michael Phelps for the advertisement has provided credibility to the act and helps

3 ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
the enterprise in ensuring that it is being able to portray the right kind of message to the
audience.
Advertisement success context
The advertisement would work the best in its overall objective. The Under armour as a
brand is associated with sportswear and by creating an advertisement which is relatable with
respect to the character of the advertisement, the story and the hard work of an athlete as
portrayed, the advertisement would be successful in appealing to the sportsperson and heroes
who work hard.
Corporations associated with the advertisement
The corporation associated with the advertisement is the Under Armour who has stated
the slogan of the advertisement as `Rule Yourself`. The corporation`s intention is simply to sell
the good quality sportswear and hence, the intentions cannot be questioned.
Music
The music which is generally made use of for an advertisement can be understood to
have a great influence on its overall success (Keegan). For this advertisement, the song, The
Kills-The Last Goodbye has been made use of, the music and tones of which connect reasonable
with the intention of the advertisement.
Success of the advertisement
Therefore, from the analysis, it can be effectively mentioned that the advertisement has
been successful in appealing to the target audience and through its emotion al appeal., logical

4 ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
connect and credibility along with the music and intentions has been successful in creating an
impact on the target audience and has been labelled as the best advertisement of all times.

5 ADVERTISMENT ANALYSIS
References
Keegan, Warren J. Global marketing management. Pearson India, 2017.
Kerin, Roger, and Steven Hartley. Marketing: the core. McGraw-Hill, 2015.
Kotler, Philip, et al. Marketing management: an Asian perspective. Pearson, 2018.
Kotler, Philip, et al. Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU, 2015.
Kotler, Phillip, et al. "Marketing for hospitality and tourism." (2017).
Youtube.com Michael Phelps [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mDQDTPWNcQ0 (Retrieved on: 20 Jan 2020) (2020).