Under Armour inks endorsement deal with NFL's Devin Hester

Under Armour has added National Football League kick return specialist Devin Hester to its endorsement roster and will air a new television spot Sunday night on ESPN featuring the Chicago Bears star and other players.

Hester, who set an NFL record with six kicks returned for touchdowns last season, will appear in a commercial aired during the "ESPYs" awards show with Seattle Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney and Patrick Willis, a San Francisco 49ers linebacker.

While much of Under Armour's (NYSE: UA) recent burst of marketing around its first non-cleated athletic shoes have been in cooperation with Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), this ad is the Baltimore company's first co-op effort with a rival large sporting goods chain: The Sports Authority.

The sporting goods chain will get exclusive colors on some Under Armour footwear as part of the campaign. Also appearing in the ad is trainer Todd Durkin, whose most famous client is San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

As usual, the spot is produced in-house by Under Armour.

"At this point, I can say our footwear sales have been good and at what we expected," said Under Armour Senior Vice President/Brand Steve Battista.

As for the signing of Hester, a player who dominates NFL highlights packages during the season, Battista said, "He says everything we want to about speed and performance."

(ck0712digit.blogspot.com)