As it takes over sponsorship of four of Europe’s biggest marathons, marking a new chapter for the brand in the global running category. Created by Design Bridge and Partners, WPP’s global brand design agency, the campaign spans more than 1,000 out of home placements across Paris, Milan, Rotterdam and Hamburg as well as activations at other European marathon cities including London, placing ASICS at the centre of Europe’s running community.
In contrast to prevailing sports narratives centred on data, personal bests and pushing limits, Design Bridge and Partners Amsterdam developed the creative concept, Re:focus, which reframes achievement as the mindset that carries runners to the finish line. From the training block to the cheers of strangers and other unexpected micro-moments, it’s these shared experiences that connect runners and propel them through race day. The campaign captures the collective experience of running while reflecting ASICS’ founding philosophy of ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’; a principle embedded in the brand’s name, derived from the Latin Anima Sana In Corpore Sano.
The authentic, race-generated photography across the OOH placements uses depth of field to blur the majority of each execution while isolating a single, sharply defined moment. By drawing attention to fleeting but powerful experiences, from crowd interactions, exhaustion and elation, the creative directly expresses the campaign’s objective of connecting performance with purpose. Full-bleed photography, minimal branding, and carefully placed headlines further encourage viewers to actively “find” the focal point, mirroring the act of refocusing during a marathon itself.
Across larger-format sites, such as the massive Rotterdam placement, this approach creates immersive visual experiences, while in more modular and digital environments the campaign expands into sequential and multi-placement executions, incorporating real runner stories and user-generated content to bring a broader spectrum of marathon experiences to life.
Placements are strategically positioned along key marathon routes and across host cities, ensuring the work appears at moments of peak emotional intensity, particularly as runners approach the final stages of the race. The campaign will run through the marathon season with media handled by Publicis.
Anthony Marguet, Director of Performance Running Category at ASICS comments on the launch: “At ASICS, we believe in the power of sport to unite people and lift spirits. We know that when you move your body, you move your mind – and we want everyone to experience the uplifting reward that comes with movement. For many runners, the marathon experience is the ultimate expression of this – a realisation and celebration of the collective power of running. Because marathon runners chase more than PBs, they chase a feeling. Championing our founding principle, we hope this campaign inspires everyone to experience the incredible power of running.”
Finlay Bell, Creative Director at Design Bridge and Partners says: “ASICS has a powerful and underleveraged point of difference within the category in its focus on mental wellbeing. Re:focus translates ASICS’ brand platform, ‘Move your body, move your mind’, into a clear and scalable campaign that moves the conversation beyond metrics into something more human, emotional and meaningful.”
