Champion invented the first hoodie in 1934. Since then, the hoodie has been copied by every single brand. In fact, Nike printed its first hoodie on a Champion blank. But no one knows any of this. How could Champion get credit for something they created almost 90 years ago?

Instead of fighting for our copyright like every other brand, we got people to wear it. We turned Champion’s iconic “C” logo into a copyright symbol & placed it on a special limited-edition hoodie to get credit back. We dropped the hoodie in culture with original creators who also had their work copied & used Champion’s flagship stores across the US to hold a Hoodie Swap. People could bring their Nike, Adidas, and Puma hoodies – known as Champion knockoffs – to swap for the original. Everyone joined, even celebrities like the rapper-singer Saweetie (17MM followers).

Younger generations are the lifeblood of the $63 billion US athleticwear category. In fact, athleticwear makes up at least half of the clothing in 46% of Gen Z wardrobes .

Amidst softening sales across the portfolio driven by lower engagement among its youngest consumers, we knew we had to focus on the most vocal and passionate audience at the center of the culture: the Hoodieheads. These collectors and curators are the gatekeepers of the category. They’re eager for knowledge, quick to spread news like wildfire and even quicker to call B.S. on any brand that doesn’t have the goods to back up their claim.

We made our message just how Hoodieheads like it: simple, bold and true. “Champion invented the hoodie” became our rallying cry in every channel to ensure everyone—including and especially the Hoodieheads—knew that Champion was the original and every other hoodie was just an imitator.

We turned Champion’s iconic “C” logo into a copyright symbol & placed it on a special limited-edition hoodie to get credit back. We dropped the hoodie in culture with original creators who also had their work copied & used Champion’s flagship stores across the US to hold a Hoodie Swap. People could bring their Nike, Adidas, and Puma hoodies – known as Champion knockoffs – to swap for the original.

The campaign earned more than 1 billion impressions and reached major outlets like NBC, Yahoo and E! News increasing the foot traffic in stores by 115%.

More than 3000 hoodies were swapped in less than 24 hours, with people lining up down the street to swap their hoodie before stores ran out. Even celebrities like the rapper-singer Saweetie(17MM followers) appeared in stores to claim the still and only original hoodie.

Most importantly: The copyright hoodie trended in culture and made Hoodieheads and press finally recognize Champion as the original hoodie creator.