On the 1st of September a new law came into effect in Paris. The speed limit in the capital was to fall from 50km/h to 30km/h. Distance, a running boutique store used this unique opportunity to get some attention. Using professional athletes, they triggered the speed cameras and used the images by making a video to promote their store. The video became an overnight sensation and drew massive attention and traffic to the store.

On August 31st 2021, the speed limit in Paris was lowered from 50km/h to 30km/h (19mph) in a bid to reduce accidents, noise and pollution. Those who exceed the limit

would get a fine of 135€ and two points on their driving license. Unsurprisingly, this was not welcomed by Parisians and created a national buzz.

DISTANCE, a small Parisian running store, with a very limited budget, used this to get in the spotlight. The day after the launch of the law, the local shop released a video showing professional athletes triggering speed cameras by getting snapped going faster than 30km/h. In addition to this, overexposed black-and-white pictures as speed camera images were displayed in an outdoor guerrilla campaign, on social media and in-store.

Distance used the negative sentiment from Parisians about the new law and created a fun and provocative video and print campaign that leveraged this frustration into a joyous and rebellious act of resistance.

With the help of French champions (1500 and 800 meters) and other elite athletes, Distance made the night their ally and filmed these athletes being repeatedly flashed by speed cameras. The film was edited in record time to be available just 48 hours after the law coming into effect.

By reacting quickly to the news, DISTANCE rode the PR wave of the story and leveraged the conversation around it to draw attention to its store. With zero media budget, Outlaw Runners campaign earned 117 000 000 impressions and 105 press articles representing 6 million euro in earned media. Being an outlaw runner became a trend with a large number of athletes sharing their attempts to trigger speed cameras on social media.