Title | THE GREAT WARM UP |
Brand | THE NORTH FACE |
Product / Service | TNF100 ULTRA MARATHON |
Category | A01. Use of Promotional Events & Stunts |
Entrant | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Entrant Company | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Advertising Agency | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Fred & Farid | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Chief Creative Officers |
Aste Gutierrez, Feng Huang | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Creative Director |
Joseph Davies | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Copywriter |
Radouane Guissi, Nicolas Liberman | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Art Director |
Frances Alvarado | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Business Director |
Nichole Niu, Susanna Ding | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Account |
Roy Zhang, Jim Sun | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Editors |
Dora Zhang, Juni Zhu, Chloe Goût | FRED & FARID SHANGHAI | Agency Producers |
We were briefed to recruit hardcore runners for one of the toughest races ever: The North Face 100 Ultra Marathon. The strategy was to make all other marathons look like a mere warm up in comparison. By targeting the finish line of a marathon, we were getting the attention of 100% runners, the exact target audience TNF was looking for. THE NORTH FACE’s brand DNA is about “Pushing Boundaries”, and this execution encapsulates this motto in an ironic, engaging way.
For more than 40 years, The North Face has made activewear and outdoor sports gear that exceeds your expectations. We were briefed to recruit hardcore runners for one of the toughest races ever: The North Face 100 Ultra Marathon. The strategy was to make all other marathons look like a mere warm up in comparison. By targeting the finish line of a marathon, we were getting the attention of 100% runners, the exact target audience TNF was looking for. THE NORTH FACE’s brand DNA is about “Pushing Boundaries”, and this execution encapsulates this motto in an ironic, engaging way.
Thousands of runners were exposed to our message at the end of the race, with thousands more watching the video of the events post-race. As a result, thousands signed up for the race, including the winners of the Wuxi Marathon.
We hijacked the finish line of one of Asia’s biggest marathons: The Great Wuxi Marathon, where we congratulated runners that “Warm Up Is Over.” We placed this message on every iconic finisher item: victory flags, a podium, and trophies – of a guy warming up. These “Warm Up Trophies” were awarded to finishers, and also the winners themselves, with an unnecessarily grandiose one going to the marathon champion. Running bibs led to an online parody list comparing the marathon they just ran, and the TNF100. Products on our T-Mall Online Store (China’s Amazon) did warm up exercises.