Hasta La Creative!

Arnold launched a new campaign for New Balance, positioning the brand as more than just footwear as it expands into different realms of athletic apparel.

A new 60-second online spot entitled “The Storm” opens on a woman running on rough, rocky terrain. She stops to catch her breath and notices a storm approaching on the horizon. Soon, the storm overtakes her, as athletes come running out of the dark clouds. Among the athletes are 17 New Balance sponsored pros, including Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Jenny Simpson, Milos Raonic, Aaron Ramsey and Emma Coburn. As the storm passes the voiceover chimes in with the line, “There are those who stop and those who push on. So go, be something more,” and the woman continues on her run. It’s a bit of a goofy premise, to put it mildly, and the nonsensical “Always in Beta” tagline doesn’t exactly help. What the spot does have, obviously, is plenty of star power, which is something of a change in approach for the brand. That makes sense given their desire to foster a new, broader image as a company. “The Storm” made its debut online yesterday, and will be supported by social media and print components.

“As a brand we are always pushing and always innovating,” Hilary Keates, director of global marketing and brand management at New Balance, told Adweek. “We represent that through [our work with] some amazing athletes and we want to help consumers push and meet their goals.”

“New Balance wanted to do a reset on where they stand as a brand,” added Pete Johnson, executive creative director, managing partner at Arnold’s Boston office. “They’ve always been a brand that shunned partnerships and endorsements, but now that they are growing at the rate at which they are growing they’ve looked [at how to] be a real player in the space and the category.”

Credits:

Executive Creative Directors/Managing Partners: Pete Johnson, Wade Devers
SVP Creative Director/Copywriter: Greg Almeida
SVP Creative Director/Art Director: Travis Robertson
Executive Producer: William Near
Assistant Producer: Patrick Carney

Marketing and Strategy:
Managing Director: Paul Nelson
SVP Account Director: Todd Sperry
Sr. Marketing Manager: Will Gurney
EVP Head of Planning: Milla Stolte
SVP Brand Planning Director: Andrew Butler
Brand Planner: Mike Patrick

New Balance:
Hilary Keates, Director of Global Marketing and Brand Strategy
Chris Ladd, EVP, Director of Consumer Engagement and Demand Creation

TV Production:
Production Company: RESET
Production Company Executive Producer: Dave Morrison, Jeff McDougall
Production Supervisor: Moira Hurley
Producer: Annabel Ridley
Director:  Johnny Hardstaff

Editorial:
Editorial Company: Cosmo Street
Post Production Producer: Anne Lai
Editor: Paul Hardcastle
Versioning Editor: Mark Potter

VFX:
VFX Company: MPC NY
Managing Director: Justin Brukman
Executive Producer: Camila De Biaggi
Senior Producer: Armand Weeresinghe
VFX Supervisor 2D: Rob Walker
VFX Supervisor 3D: Vicky Osborn
Grade: MPC
Colorist: George K

Music:
Sound Mixing: Rex Recker (Audio Engine)
Music Company: Pivot Audio
Music Composer(s): Guy Amitai, Jan Kos

W+K Portland tapped some of the world’s greatest athletes for their new holiday spot touting the advantages of Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer, directed by Rupert Sanders. ”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” features the talents of Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, skier Julia Mancuso, snowboarder Scotty Lago, soccer stars Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, and former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who now appears to be headed to Seattle. Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer also makes a brief cameo appearance.

While undeniably cheesy (hey, it’s the holidays) the spot does an admirable job at promoting the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer. People are prone to listen to endorsements from star athletes, and W+K got a wide, varied group together for the spot. They emphasize that the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer makes playing in cold, harsh conditions seem almost enjoyable by keeping you warm without restricting movement, perfectly matching the song selection. “Winning in a Winter Wonderland,” of course, changes the words of the holiday classic, which gets a bit cringe-worthy in spots but mostly comes across as cheesy holiday fun. The words are sung by the star athletes in the spot, mostly while in action, and they seem to have a lot of fun with it — which makes it hard to hate.

The campaign features both a one minute and thirty second version of the spot, as well as a digital takeover and social media elements.”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” premiered during college football’s Big Ten NCAA Championship game and will run throughout the holiday season. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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