Reebok is out with a new global campaign to motivate runners of all types with a catchy motto—”run easy.”
Uli Becker, Reebok’s company’s chief marketing officer, kicked off the campaign yesterday at a press event at the Reebok Sports Club in New York City, spreading the message about taking a painless approach to the sport. The campaign’s mission is simple, he said: to inspire runners to have fun.
The branding campaign, Reebok’s largest, poses the question to consumers, “What are you just doing? Run easy.” It’s the company’s latest competitive swipe against rival Nike, which is known for its tagline “Just Do It.”
“Life today is about individuality,” Becker said. “We want to be a brand that fits consumers’ needs. We are about activating people to their own potential.”
One of the goals behind the campaign is to remind runners to set their own pace and simply enjoy the sport. Becker said Reebok has a different point of view from competitors’ “no pain, no gain” mantra.
That pace for Reebok, is “running at the speed of chat.”
Reebok will support the campaign with two TV spots, a 60-second and 30-second commercial, airing April 30 in the U.S. They feature celebrity endorsers, including National Basketball Association’s Allen Iverson and track stars Carolina Kluft and Aries Merritt. Each spot shows athletes running and chatting. The company pairs snippets of each conversation together to make a humorous commercial. New York agency mcgarry bowen handles the ads.
In addition, out-of-home signage and posters bring the campaign’s edginess to life. One message reads, “Run + Puke + Run = Crazy.” Another specific to New York City says, “Stop and Smell The Garbage. Run Easy New York.”
In addition, Reebok has launched a micro site at GoRunEasy.com where consumers can upload photos from their favorite running routes to share and map out with others. The “mashups” use Google Maps and Flickr technology. The site also lets visitors upload playlists and join discussion groups with other runners.
The site will run indefinitely, Becker said. Carat Fusion, Boston, and Molecular, Watertown, MA, developed the micro site for Reebok.
“We’ve always been a people’s brand that people make part of their life,” Becker said.
“We are trying to engage like-minded people in a dialogue.”
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