ASICS’ “The desk break”

Welcome to the AdMiration newsletter! Each week we analyze new and noteworthy ads from brands around the world to give you our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection).

This week’s ad: “The desk break”???

Created by ASICS' agency partner Golin, “The desk break” campaign features actor Brian Cox, who takes on the role of the world’s scariest boss in the brand’s PSA-style ad.?

The campaign is inspired by the findings from ASICS’ recent State of Mind study that found that our mental state declines after only two hours (!) of continuous desk-based work.

The ad opens to a dark room with Brian Cox in a suit and looking into the camera stating, “Hello workers, another long day at the office? Boss being a meanie?”?

The camera starts to zoom out until viewers see he is sitting at a lone desk as he continues, “Too bad! Shut up. Listen. I’ve got some important news.” The camera continues zooming out as he says, “It turns out that I’m not the deadliest thing in the office. This is…” as he jams his finger and then fist onto the desk in a close up.???

“It's a killer,” he exclaims and begins to stand. He explains, “Science has shown it can be bad for your mental health…but I don’t see you running away from it.”?

He continues on while the camera keeps zooming out. Once the camera has fully zoomed, you can see that Brian is only wearing the top half of his suit and has on gym shorts and ASICS sneakers. He continues to shout, “Wake up geniuses! I’m giving you the truth – it’s a trap. You need to get away from your desk; run, jump, rollerskate.” He skips along moving closer to the camera and says, “Whatever, I don’t care. Just move. For your mind.”?

As he walks off scene, text appears on screen that reads, “Your desk is a danger to your mental health. Take a desk break to move your mind.” The ad closes with the camera zooming back in on the desk as the ASICS logo appears on screen, with the tagline “Sound mind, sound body.”??????

3 facts

• “The Desk Break” uses a highly creative approach that is very distinctive and works well for the brand.

• People love the message around mental health, which is cleverly integrated into the story with humorous punchlines. This results in a high purchase uplift and strong potential sales (Sales Impact: 86) among viewers 45 or older.

• Brian Cox is a perfect fit for the serious (yet humorous) tone of the story given the unrelenting roles he often plays. Viewers have a strong affinity for him as evidenced by high celebrity appeal.?

2 learnings

• Too much seriousness or intensity can be hard for audiences to watch or digest. ASICS does a wonderful job of delivering a serious message with a beautiful contrast of fun and humor. They take viewers on an emotional journey that provides some moments of “relief” to create a more enjoyable viewing experience and help punctuate the message. And Brian Cox is forceful and delivers a very important message.?
• Achieving strong viral potential for an ad is relatively rare. When achieved, it provides extra “legs” and free press that can extend the reach and frequency of a campaign to new heights (provided it’s viral for good reasons!). ASICS’ distinctive creative approach and very relevant message result in strong viral potential. In fact, it’s achieved over 137k YouTube views by the end of September!?

1 reflection

Have you thought about how you could break the category code to make your campaign more distinctive and engaging???

“The Desk Break” breaks new ground with a distinctive ad for athletic footwear that delivers an important health message. Many other athletic brands focus on performance, but ASICS talks about the harmony of mental and physical health. They do this in a way that fits with their brand — as ASICS stands for “anima sana in corpore sano” (healthy mind, healthy body). How could you do this for your brand?

For more data & analysis

There’s a lot more to say about this ad!

Go to the Zappi blog for a more detailed look at this ad’s performance — including how the ad emotionally engaged audiences and what they liked about the ad.

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Until next week,

Kim Malcolm