Best known for its sheepskin boots marketed mostly to women, UGG Australia has set out to conquer the male market. To this end, the brand has found a new spokesman and signed a four-year contract with American football star Tom Brady.

Tom Brady for UGG Australia

Enjoying great fame across the Atlantic, the three-time Super Bowl champion for the New England Patriots will represent UGG’s line for men beginning with the autumn-winter 2011/2012 campaign. The campaign will be unveiled in the U.S. in print as well as television, and also worldwide on the brand’s website.

"UGG Australia started as a men’s brand in California," said the company’s president, Constance X. Rishwain,"our collaboration with Tom [Brady, ed.] will help us to celebrate the brand’s image and bring new energy to our campaign and our products for men.”

Begun in 1979 and acquired in 1995 by the California-based Deckers Outdoor Corporation, UGG Australia reported sales of $800 million in 2010. In addition to its network of dealers, the brand has 25 stores worldwide. In France, UGG just finished renovating its location at the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and opened another a few months ago within the Printemps department store. The brand is also scouting a location for its first French store.