Asked to promote the launch of ASICS’ Gel Kayano 25 shoe – and the brand’s focus on technical innovation – Edelman worked with production company Unit 9 and a team of sports scientists to create a running track designed to train runners’ minds. The track – located at the Printworks venue in East London – was lit by spotlight and Edelman used pink noise to drown out discernible sounds, giving runners nothing to focus on but their performance.

Journalists, influencers and athletes, including Olympic medallist Deena Kastor and sprinter Iwan Thomas, were invited to run on the track for 20 minutes. ASICS monitored their performance, noting a decrease in average run times over five kilometres. The experiment was documented in an online film and Edelman created a wealth of social and video content to support the launch. It also created a Blackout Edition of the Runkeeper app for runners looking to train without digital distractions, which has since been downloaded more than 170,000 times.

Credits:
Creative Agency: Edelman / Edelman Deportivo. Executive Creative Directors:
Mattias Ronge, Stefan Ronge. Creative Director: Jamie Cordwell. Copywriter: Anuj Shah. Art Director: Denesh Agnihotri. Producer: Waiming Wee. Managing Director: Lucy Melling. Agency Leads: Jess Evans, Chris Wilcox. Agency Team: James Donovan, Harriet Persse, Tiernan Silcok, Zarren Siddiqui, Harriet Muddiman, Alex Cobb, Jack Hancock. Project Manager: Emma Zadravetz. Production Company: Unit 9. Executive Producers: James Murray, Ulla Winkler. Director: Sean Pruen. Producer: Jade Alexander. Art Director: Frazer Howie. Production Manager: Natalie Steiner. Sound Design: Simon Little. Film Director: Greg & Jacob. Film Producer: Harry Starkey-Midha.