The obvious way to show a higher performance running shoe is with footage of athletes running – hard and fast. Maybe famous athletes running hard and fast. Everyone wants the shoe a famous athlete wears, right? Maybe not hard and fast, but in evocative slo-mo. Everyone wants to have the ease and grace to shrug off a marathon run. Maybe underlined by motivating words? Words that build to a crescendo of inspiring-ness? The images must be intoxicatingly beautiful; the drama must make hearts pump harder…
…None of this is what Forsman & Bodenfors New York has done for Saucony. All of that has been done to death.
Instead, F&B tells a simple everyday story, of a simple everyday runner. It shows not the run but the moments after. The spot’s runner comes home exhausted, trailing behind a dog who shows no signs of energy-depletion – day after day. Until the day she comes home wearing Saucony.
The agency’s rationale is simple and human. “We thought using a loveable dog to dramatise the very real benefits of these new shoes could make for a heartwarming ad,” stated Johan Olivero, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors. “And in these hard times, most of us probably need more heartwarming than usual. We also felt the moment called for celebrating a simple, socially distanced pleasure like running with your dog.”
Credits:
Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors New York
Creative Director & Copywriter: Johan Olivero
Creative Director & Art Director: Johan Eghammer
Copywriter: Justin Cannon
Head of Production: Kim Jose
Producer: Laura Peguero
Business Affairs Director: Matthew Friday
Account Director: Elizabeth Asselin
Business Development Manager: Alex Zadeii
Production Company: Greenpoint Pictures
Director: Jesse Heath
Head of Production: Karen Berkowitz
Executive Producer: Tatiana Rudzinski
Line Producer: Kennedy Davey
Editorial: Greenpoint Pictures
Producer: Victoria Vallas
Editor: Joe Walker
Colour: Josh Bohoskey @ The Mill
Sound Design & Mix: Ben Freer
Music: Eagle Blakk
Client: Saucony
Chief Marketing Officer: Don Lane
Senior Marketing Director: Jessica Newton
Performance Brand Marketing Manager: Jessica Rowe
Digital Marketing Manager: Grace Smith
