Asics elevates vibes over explanation
Asics’ surreal and comical campaign for its SportStyle sneaker reflects the changing zeitgeist for footwear.
Featuring an off-kilter dance routine (by Avant Gardey), a befuddled elderly lady and a team of mad scientists, Asics ‘Dance Through Innovation’ isn’t your run-of-the-mill sportswear advert.
In a market dominated by motivational athlete speeches, urban grit, and celebrity endorsements, Asics’ push for the GEL-CUMULUS 16 and GEL-KINETIC FLUENT (directed by a team including Nils Dragstra and Alvaro Moreno de la Cruz) is more a celebration of the 'vibes' sneaker wearers are seeking in 2026.
Asics is no stranger to off-kilter advertising. Its anti-Luddite ad, which we reviewed recently, similarly uses a visual metaphor to convey a message.
‘Dance through Innovation’ is even more obtuse in style, however, delighting in obscurity and madcap humour.
Overall, though, it celebrates movement, comfort, artistry and innovation while positioning itself at odds with the hardcore sports crowd that the likes of Nike usually play to.
But, despite being willfully weird and hip, the ad is simultaneously ‘everyman’ and playful in its approach, depicting non-stereotypical sporty actors and not taking itself too seriously.
This sort of ad, although bizarre, is not the commercial risk it may appear to be. Firstly, this sort of content is very Instagram-friendly and hard to ignore. Plus, we reckon the focus on ‘vibes’ actually appeals to the reason most people choose footwear in 2026: maybe we’re all through pretending we’re Michael Jordan, when really we just want something unique, fun and comfy to don during our walk to Aldi.
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