Between “I’m going to start running,” and “I started running today,” there’s a chasm. The first metre. Those one or two steps that take you to your shoes.

The hardest part is mustering the will to put on your running shoes and get out there. Havas’ creative agency, Rosapark, has given this pearl of understanding to sports brand, Kalenji (Decathlon’s brand for runners) for its beginners’ running shoe, Ekidon Run Active. And the agency has housed its insight in a striking, motivational ad – a slow motion film of a run – in reverse.

“Running is, above all, a battle with one’s inner self. Because we have a cold, because it’s raining, because we’re tired… endless excuses to not get off the sofa. Ultimately, the most difficult part of running is finding the determination to cross that first hurdle, that distance between ourselves and our shoes,” the brand explained in its statement.

Rosapark’s ad, The First Run, aims to help Kalenji to position itself as the champion of making running achievable for everyone – encouraging runners to start (or start again) and not give up.

The ad’s message, The first meter is always the hardest, is underlined by both the visual device of the run in reverse, the use of slow motion and the music – the latter two adding emotion to the film.

The film is running on TV in 15, 20 and 30 second versions, both in France and internationally.

Credits:

Agency: Rosapark

Co-founder: Jean-Patrick Chiquiar

Co-creators and executive creative directorss: Gilles Fichteberg & Jean-François Sacco

Managing director: Sacha Lacroix

Creative directors: Mark Forgan and Jamie Standen

Copywriter: Nicolas Gadesaude

Art director: Julien Saurin

Strategic planner: Alexandre Ribichesu

Account manager: Victor Faubert & Adélaïde Destaillats

TV Production: Yaël Eligoulachvili & Juliette Vignerot Martin

Production company: Sovage

Director: Ben Strebel

D0P: Benjamin Todd

Producer: Willy Morence

Sound: Les Kouz