• by Aaron Baar , March 5, 2009

New Balance last year acknowledged that people have a complicated--at best--relationship with running. In the second year of its "LOVE/hate" campaign, the company asserts its Total Fit philosophy--which emphasizes 88 critical points of contact for a shoe and a foot--will increase the former and decrease the latter.

"We help you grow the love and help decrease the hate," Norma Delaney, global advertising manager for New Balance, tells Marketing Daily. "Total Fit is about a philosophy. There are all different considerations in building footwear to make them appropriate for the consumer. It would be simple to say it's about the size or the cushioning technology. But there are more elements to that."

The platform will launch along with a new global advertising effort from Omnicom's BBDO New York. In one television commercial, a man running down a wooded trail has to avoid creeping vines, growing logs and the trail rising up into a wall in front of him. Throughout the spot, a voiceover says: "The first mile hates seeing you running. It would rather you go back to the couch. But both you and running know there are other things to look forward to. Like the second mile," continues the voiceover as he breaks through the wall.

A second commercial shows a woman sitting on her bed preparing for her morning run. As the voiceover speaks of the bed not wanting to let her go (and the sheets trying to encircle her like the arms of a lover), she breaks free and heads out for her run. The ads continue the company's tagline "LOVE/hate. this is the new balance."

"Total Fit is really the enabler that allows [them] to break through that resistance and that struggle and get into the run," Delaney says. "LOVE/hate. this is the new balance." Print, in-store and online advertising will more specifically address the Total Fit philosophy, commenting on the brand's 88 identified points where a running shoe should fit best. One print/in-store ad features the headline: "Feel our Total Fit and suddenly it's just you and Running. You won't even return calls from Quitting."

"We use the TV spots to set up the campaign idea to make you feel the message," Delaney says. "The print does the heavier lifting with supportive body copy speaking to the consumer more directly."

The television campaign will break March 16 on ESPN and ESPN2, with a heavy emphasis on the March-April and August-September periods to coincide with new product launches, Delaney says. The brand will also have a heavy online presence during the NCAA Basketball Tournament on sites such as SI.com, CBSsports.com and ESPN.com. Print ads will appear in running enthusiast magazines.

In addition, the company has also trained teams of in-store representatives to speak specifically to the Total Fit philosophy. We've found a lot of people make a lot of their [athletic shoe buying] decisions in store," Delaney says. "It's really taking the campaign and activating it across all levels."