Magic Johnson Captains Champion Campaign Celebrating First Century
NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
January 29, 2019: In 1919, Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willard to become heavyweight champion of the world, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago White Sox in the Black Sox Scandal World Series, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill establishing the Grand Canyon as a national park and Champion athletic and sportswear company was founded in Rochester, NY, as Knickerbocker Knitting Mills.
To celebrate its centennial, Champion — now a division of HanesBrands and located in Winston-Salem, NC — is unveiling a multi-media campaign, “100 Years for the Team,” with input from numerous sports stars, led by Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
According to Champion, the campaign will “explore what it means to be a team in 2019 from the perspective of participating teams, clubs, squads and crews across the world.”
“This is what we’re all about,” says Johnson in an intro spot as a bevy of players and teams in action sports play out. “We’re for the team.”
Text offers, “Champion: 100 Years. For the team. For the squad. For the crew. For each other. Join us. Share your team.”
Throughout the year, Champion said it would highlight and celebrate teams through social media, a dedicated Web site, exclusive product collections, events and influencer partnerships, to be unveiled throughout the year.
Teams at all levels nationwide are being encouraged to share their stories via social media using #Champion100 or through the Champion100 site for the opportunity to receive limited-edition product, be featured in a centennial celebration video and/or spotlighted on Champion’s digital and social media platforms.
“This significant milestone for Champion allows us to reflect on what ‘team’ and the evolution of ‘sports’ means today to consumers around the globe,” Jon Ram, group president, Global Activewear, Hanesbrands, said via the company.
“Helping people come together as teams and being innovators in the industry has been an important part of our brand’s story since the very beginning. Now is the time to look ahead and celebrate how teams today have the power to change the world for the better, and how we assist in enabling them.”
Champion plans to feature highlights from its first 100 years — including outfitting the 1992 Dream Team that won basketball gold in the Barcelona Summer Olympics and every USA Basketball team from 1989-2001
According to David Robertson, director of brand marketing for Champion, “The ‘100 Years for the Team’ campaign allows us to connect with teams throughout the world to really show what team means during our centennial anniversary, in addition to partnering with the legendary Magic Johnson to celebrate and explore his own authentic history of passion and team spirit.
“Whether you’re a sports team of four from Tokyo or a team of three hundred from Texas interacting in everyday life, Champion wants to find you and to share your story.”
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