Runners run. We get it. So how come sports brand ads feel they need to keep showing us.

Ok, F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi has too in its new ad for Mizuno. But these runners are different. And this ad gets its impact (standout and memorability) from altering a well-worn cliché in a very unexpected way.

The campaign is called Invisible Runners. They’re not the ghosts of famous runners. Or the runners people want to be. They’re garbage collectors.

“Brazilian garbage collectors are the true marathon runners of everyday life. They can run roughly 20 kilometers without even noticing. At the end of 2014, Mizuno prepared a tribute for what it calls the invisible athletes,” the agency explained.

During the week of Christmas, the brand followed the routine of a team of garbage collectors through the streets of São Paulo. There were 40 hours of footage and research, streets run, and lots of garbage collected in order to understand the dynamics of collectors. The result is a mini-documentary that has just been launched on the brand’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

In the film created by F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Mizuno surprised these “athletes,” who run for work, pleasure and well-being. The company donated hundreds of pairs of sneakers to the men who spend almost every day, even Christmas Eve, running through the streets of the city.

“They are true marathon runners and don’t even know it. As a brand that invests in and bets on the running segment, we believe they also represent the Mizuno spirit, which seeks to overcome barriers every day. It was a great pleasure to be able to give them the sneakers on a special date,” Rogério Barenco, manager of Mizuno in Brazil, noted.

Creative credits:

Agency: F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi

Executive creative directors: Fabio Fernandes & Eduardo Lima

Creative directors: Pedro Prado & Rodrigo Castellari

Creatives: Rodrigo Visconti & Pedro Hefs

Production company: Urso Morto

Director: Fabricio Brambatti

Executive producer: Fabricio Brambatti

Post production: Raphael Enes

Sound: Paulo Akio