BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Women will be front and center in Under Armour’s newest marketing effort.

Known for its “We Must Protect This House” and “Click Clack” ads, Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. is starting the launch of a women-driven campaign, entwining the “House” approach with female team sports.

Using the tagline “Boom Boom TAP,” the new ads will feature prominent female athletes — both local and international — playing lacrosse, soccer, volleyball and field hockey.

“This all goes back to our core consumer and the girls we have spoken to the past few years who have gravitated toward our male-dominated ads,” said Steve Battista, vice president of brands at Under Armour. “They liked the rallying cry of protect this house and wanted one for themselves.”

Planning and production of the campaign has taken six to eight months for the company. Annually, Under Armour invests about 12 percent of its yearly sales — $430 million in net revenues for 2006 — back into marketing efforts. And women have become an increasing chunk of those efforts. About 25 percent of Under Armour’s total business in 2006 comprised women.

“We want to speak to the Under Armour female athlete, and we want to remain within brand and give her a branded message she has come to know, but know it is meant solely for her,” Battista said.

The campaign officially launched with a print ad in this month’s edition of ESPN the Magazine and will continue with the unveiling of an ad during ESPN’s ESPY awards show on July 15. Ads are planned to stretch across all mediums, from television and print, to digital, in-store, outdoor and direct mail.

What gives Under Armour and the ads such a local feel is that they are all filmed in the region, with many of the actresses being local athletes. Venues include Towson University, the University of Maryland and St. John’s College High School in Washington.

“We have been producing Under Armour’s television and some of their broadcast media for five, six years now, working with their marketing department,” said Rip Lambert, president of Baltimore-based Producers Video. “It’s late hours, hard work, but in the long run, what appears on film really looks spectacular.”

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com