# Under Armour - No.  Just no.



## Ooh-Rah (May 16, 2015)

I do not approve - Some things should be considered sacred. Of course being a Marine, I may be somewhat biased, and quite honestly most of their target demo won't get the reference anyway.  Still, no.

*ETA *- now I hate it even more.  They called it *"Band of Ballers"* 

Facebook page is getting hammered, removed from their website already - 

- Link -


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## AWP (May 16, 2015)

On one hand I agree. On another, it speaks volumes the image is so iconic and so well known for this to happen.


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## Marine0311 (May 16, 2015)

I hate it.


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## AKkeith (May 16, 2015)

Under Armour posted a reply on social media


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## Grunt (May 16, 2015)

I am glad to see them "owning" their mistake and correcting it post haste.


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## Salt USMC (May 16, 2015)

I don't think it was a mistake at all.  It's a clever use of iconic imagery which doesn't bother me in the slightest.


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## AWP (May 16, 2015)

Another thing to consider is the company's evolution. When it started the brand was all about sports and initially I saw it marketed towards football and basketball. It has since branched out to not just every sport, but also the military. You can't swing a dead E-3 at a base gym without hitting 2 or 3 guys wearing UA gear. I can see all sorts of scenarios were this isn't malicious but maybe poor taste or a fundamental misunderstanding of the market. They seem to be dealing with this and have a good (to my knowledge) rapport with veterans (despite it's support of WWP).

My money's on one division doing this without speaking to another division about the fallout. "This is like a military thing and everyone loves them right now..."


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## DA SWO (May 16, 2015)

I don't think the kids at UA understand the emotional attachment that image has for many; they saw a cool iconic image that they could use to promote their product.

Ad agency fail.


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## medicchick (May 16, 2015)

I have a feeling it was designed by a younger generation that didn't grow up hearing the first hand stories from parents or grandparents.  To them it is a well known symbol, it's not the memories of men and women who died.  I think it was an honest "durp" moment but nothing malicious was meant by it (the term baller is just stupid though).


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## Totentanz (May 16, 2015)

Agoge said:


> I am glad to see them "owning" their mistake and correcting it post haste.



To all US politicans: post #4 is what an apology looks like.  Not that smarmy "I misspoke", or "I'm sorry you're too stupid to understand that I meant something different" horseshit you seem to think is acceptable.

Regardless of how it wound up being produced, good on UA for dealing with the consequences of their actions swiftly and appropriately.  It doesn't make the original error cool, but acknowledging and addressing it in that manner was the most appropriate solution.


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## RackMaster (May 16, 2015)

I wonder what Marcus Lutrell thinks, he is one of the "faces" of the UA Freedom brand.


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## SARDUDE (May 16, 2015)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Controversi...362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aaa1d5d7a

I thought this might happen so I checked Ebay. That shirt is now a collectors item. with 9 days left to bid its at $130!


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## JohnnyBoyUSMC (May 16, 2015)

Meh, I think it's tacky and was honestly a dumb idea for a shirt, but I'm still an adamant fan of their workout gear. I'm not gonna boycott them short of them sponsoring ISIS lol. I will boycott Reebok for trying to get me to pay $70 for one pair of CrossFit shorts though


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## medicchick (May 16, 2015)

SARDUDE said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Controversi...362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aaa1d5d7a
> 
> I thought this might happen so I checked Ebay. That shirt is now a collectors item. with 9 days left to bid its at $130!


Added bonus that they don't even have the shirt, they have only pre-ordered it.  Ebay rules are you have to have the item to sell it.


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## Dame (May 16, 2015)

medicchick said:


> Added bonus that they don't even have the shirt, they have only pre-ordered it.  Ebay rules are you have to have the item to sell it.


Report it.


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## medicchick (May 16, 2015)

Dame said:


> Report it.


Already did.


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## Red Flag 1 (May 16, 2015)

However the product made it to market, joke, chasing a market segment, error, etc., etc., the company response is the bottom line. As @Totentanz  observed, a proper apology is how UA responded; and it is refreshing to see.


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## poison (May 16, 2015)

medicchipost: 385622 said:
			
		

> I have a feeling it was designed by a younger generation that didn't grow up hearing the first hand stories from parents or grandparents.  To them it is a well known symbol, it's not the memories of men and women who died.  I think it was an honest "durp" moment but nothing malicious was meant by it (the term baller is just stupid though).


Pretty much, but it's also completely inappropriate, imo, and more than a little is because of my personal view of overpaid athletes with shitty behavior. They aren't worthy of the association.


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## Marauder06 (May 17, 2015)

Ranger Up wrote a great article about this issue, they called it "Butt Hurt Locker."  Funny/witty?

There is a different point of view represented here.


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## TLDR20 (May 17, 2015)

Nevermind


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## DA SWO (May 17, 2015)

medicchick said:


> Already did.


as did I.


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## Totentanz (May 20, 2015)

Marauder06 said:


> Ranger Up wrote a great article about this issue, they called it "Butt Hurt Locker."  Funny/witty?
> 
> There is a different point of view represented here.



Terminal Lance just put up a strip with a similar message.  While I think UA may have wandered across the line, I don't see this as so egregious that they need to be chastised, called out, and denigrated publicly.  A simple "not cool" is about as far as my response goes.  It's not cool, but it's not killitwithfire uncool.

IMO ("Band of Ballers" issues aside), I think the whole veterans-as-the-new-SJWs is more accurate than I'd care to believe.  It seems that between the bloggers and facebook, the whole hero-worship aspect of modern America's interaction with the military has gone to some veterans heads to the point where anything they don't like "justifies" an almost-violently indignant response.  Some of it may be worth engaging over... but some of it really isn't worth going full wharrgarbl over.


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## x SF med (May 20, 2015)

I have to agree with Totentanz, did it make me say WTF? Yes.  Did I find it tasteless and insulting? Yes. Did I raise my BP over it? Notsomuch. Would I have laughed at anybody asinine enough to wear it and ask them if they understood the reference? Absolutely.


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## Teufel (May 20, 2015)

I wish they were still selling it, I would totally wear that at work just to get a rise out of people.


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## x SF med (May 21, 2015)

Teufel said:


> I wish they were still selling it, I would totally wear that at work just to get a rise out of people.



Sir, YOU could get away with it, badass Recon Marine with a hot girlfriend and a recruiting poster and video to go along with your bad assery... not a lot of others could.


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## pardus (May 21, 2015)

Teufel said:


> I wish they were still selling it, I would totally wear that at work just to get a rise out of people.





x SF med said:


> Sir, YOU could get away with it, badass Recon Marine with a hot girlfriend and a recruiting poster and video to go along with your bad assery... not a lot of others could.



No, it's because he's an asshole. Trust me, I know!


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## x SF med (May 21, 2015)

pardus said:


> No, it's because he's an asshole. Trust me, I know!



Officers are not assholes, they are personality impaired.


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## AWP (May 21, 2015)

x SF med said:


> Officers are not assholes, they are personality impaired.



I should be a General...


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## Mac_NZ (May 21, 2015)

Freefalling said:


> I should be a General...



Quoted for truth 

I'm really getting over the whole veterans dogpiling on anything they think is even slightly insulting.  That's the same shit that rabid liberals do, like they did to chick fila.  We should be above that but it seems to be the new crusade of some of our brethren, waving the veteran card around like it's woman's lib.

75% of the stuff guys are getting offended over is because nieve civvies (no meanness intended) don't know the significance of things that offend some of us.  A bit of education and civility explaining why something is offensive goes a long way but some dudes just seem to want to be outraged.  There's plenty of things we as vets should be getting up in arms over, I don't see a T-Shirt from a company that does some wicked deals for the Military as it is being one of them.


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## CDG (May 21, 2015)

Mac_NZ said:


> 75% of the stuff guys are getting offended over is because nieve civvies (no meanness intended) don't know the significance of things that offend some of us.  A bit of education and civility explaining why something is offensive goes a long way but some dudes just seem to want to be outraged.



The veteran community can have a very bad habit of bitching about how little civilians know, while simultaneously doing nothing to fix it.  We can't have it both ways.


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## Grunt (May 21, 2015)

CDG said:


> The veteran community can have a very bad habit of bitching about how little civilians know, while simultaneously doing nothing to fix it.  We can't have it both ways.



It's amazing to know the people that have no idea of what the Iwo Jima Memorial is or represents. Many recognize it as "something they have seen before", but they have no knowledge of what it actually represents. 

In agreement with what you said, I always enjoy taking those opportunities to enlighten them to a bit of US and Military history.


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## SpitfireV (May 21, 2015)

Having a "right" to be offended seems to be the in thing at the moment. It's not just military people- everyone seems to want to be offended over something trivial these days.


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## Teufel (May 21, 2015)

pardus said:


> No, it's because he's an asshole. Trust me, I know!


Concur!


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## Florida173 (May 26, 2015)

Have you seen this one yet?  From the folks at PacSun







http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kristi...ods-calls-out-corporate-scum-pacsun-flag-tees

Apparently that have seen the errs of their ways though.


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## Grunt (May 26, 2015)

The PacSun store in our mall recently closed down within the past two months. They probably saw the publicity that the UA situation stirred up and went for some publicity -- at least that's what my cynical self tells me (could be) -- to help their sales.

Truly, if they want to sale shirts like that...then be adult enough to own it and keep on selling them. Then, if they get boycotted...they earned it...if they don't, then I guess people really don't care what is done with our flag and they will buy the shirt to show their right to do so. 

Either way...I will simply smile at them and go on about my business thinking they are "silly."


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## Brill (May 26, 2015)

Freefalling said:


> I should be a General...



General Pain in Our Ass for sure.


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## Ooh-Rah (May 26, 2015)

@Agoge , I agree 100%!  Pax sun trying too hard to be outrageous, I would it be surprised if they had the "apology" written before they even needed it.


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