ASICS 2022 State of Mind Index revealed that, globally, women tend to exercise less than men and, as a result, experience a lower state of mind. At the same time, the beauty industry continues to bombard women 24/7 with endless ways to enhance looks and boost confidence.

ASICS believes there’s a better way to feel good about yourself – through movement. Their research shows that just 15 minutes of exercise offers much more than superficial, skin-deep results. It creates a physical and mental uplift that starts on the inside and shows up as a ‘glow’ on the outside.

Building on the brand’s ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ philosophy, the campaign was tasked to directly engage with millions of ASICS’ target audience in captive environments including prime outdoor locations, print and online media with a call to action driving them to the brand's proprietary 'Mind Uplifter' app.

The thought-provoking campaign features ‘beauty shots’ of different women, along with headlines that could be advertising the latest miracle cosmetic product, such as, ‘Lifts and brightens in a few simple steps’, ‘Proven to reduce frown lines’ and ‘Formulated to target visible signs of stress.’

But a closer look reveals that the women are slightly perspiring and wearing sports tops. And that the product being advertised is actually a running shoe - the comfortable, lightweight ASICS GEL-NIMBUS™ 25. The copy explains that ‘it takes just 15 minutes of exercise to move your mind and lift your mood’.

A call-to-action drives viewers to the ASICS Mind Uplifter™ app, which uses cutting-edge face-mapping technology to measure state of mind before and after exercise, giving a quantifiable measure of the uplift and helping to drive home the message of the campaign.

The ASICS State of Mind Study revealed that woman, on average, exercise 40 minutes less a week than men. And, with a State of Mind score 5 points lower than men, the research concluded that this ‘gap’ is having a negative effect on women’s mental health.

The Beautiful Minds campaign strategy was to tackle this Gender Exercise Gap head on, with beauty industry-style visuals and messaging that our target audience of women aged 25-45 are so familiar with - promising to transform how they look and feel in just 15 minutes.

Having been exposed to the ad, a call-to-action drives viewers via a URL (or QR code) to the ASICS Mind Uplifter™ app - a proprietary tool which uses cutting-edge face-mapping technology to measure state of mind before and after exercise, giving a quantifiable measure of the mood uplift and helping to drive home the brand message.

The campaign visuals feature a clichéd ‘beauty shot’ of a woman with headlines such as ‘Proven to reduce frown lines’ - typically used to promote miracle cosmetic products.

The copy explains that ‘it takes just 15 minutes of exercise to move your mind and lift your mood’ while the call-to-action drives viewers to the ASICS Mind Uplifter™ app, which uses cutting-edge face-mapping technology to measure state of mind before and after exercise, giving a quantifiable measure of the uplift and driving home the campaign message.

The executions ran as part of a campaign in prime outdoor locations on the London Underground, directly engaging with millions of ASICS’ target audience in a captive environment, as well as in print and online media over a 4-week period from March 2023.

4.5m impressions across various UK-only media channels among ASICS' target audience over a 4-week campaign period

Mind Uplifter App interactions: +1600%

Improvement in state of mind: +41% (via Mind Uplifter)

YOY Brand Recommendation: +6.3%

YOY Brand Preference: +1.1%

The campaign drove a cultural shift and helped close the Gender Exercise Gap by proving to women, through the ASICS Mind Uplifter™ app, that exercise has the power to transform inside and out and that they were able to see results for themselves almost immediately.