What it had to solve
Day of the Dead comes with saturated traditional visual codes; Under Armour LATAM's annual platform wanted Mexican heritage pushed into streetwear, fashion and sport instead.
The idea
Retell the Charro Negro — Mexico's black-clad spectral horseman — as a black-and-white streetwear and performance universe carried by Mexican football athletes.
How it works
Nebula Films shot the hero film at a hacienda about an hour outside Mexico City, with Mexican athletes from football, flag football and American football; art direction built its own system of black and white, contrast and drama, and performance product was pulled into the Día de Muertos visual codes.
What it did
The campaign extends a Día de Muertos platform Buentipo and Under Armour LATAM have built and evolved together for more than five years; no campaign-specific performance figures were published.
Background
For Día de Muertos 2026, agency Buentipo México and Under Armour LATAM built a campaign around the legend of the Charro Negro, taking one of Mexico's most representative traditions into contemporary streetwear, fashion and performance territory rather than the celebration's usual visual codes.
The hero film, produced by Nebula Films at a hacienda roughly an hour from Mexico City chosen for its spaces, architecture and textures, stars Mexican athletes from football, flag football and American football who carry the legend into the present, linking the story to a new generation of Mexican talent and the idea of building one's own legacy.
Creative director Marcos Alberto described a visual system marked by black and white, contrast and drama that 'honours Mexican heritage while taking the brand into new territory.' Product design followed the same move, folding Día de Muertos codes into performance silhouettes. Day of the Dead is a platform Buentipo and Under Armour LATAM have developed together for over five years, under the line 'Nacidos para trascender. Destinados a ser leyenda.'
Why it lands
Día de Muertos advertising is crowded with the same traditional imagery, so the agency reached past the standard codes to a legend that could carry contrast, drama and a sport narrative.
Under Armour LATAM wanted cultural identity connected to the brand's own athletic language, so Mexican athletes rather than actors carry the story.
The platform had five years of accumulated equity, making each edition a reinterpretation exercise rather than a one-off campaign.
What you can take
A holiday's visual codes are conventions, not requirements: recasting a known legend through sport and streetwear lets a global brand join a local celebration without borrowing it superficially.
Since then
The campaign is the latest chapter of a Day of the Dead platform Buentipo and Under Armour LATAM have built and evolved jointly for more than five years, an ongoing collaboration exploring how performance can connect with different cultural expressions across Latin America.
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