• by Aaron Baar , August 7, 2008

Timberland tries to score some reflected Olympic spirit with a new television spot asserting that not all athletic types dream of, or need, Olympic glory.

The spot, "Podium," shows a man walking through the woods, jumping over trees, rocks and other obstacles as he moves along a trail. He dramatically splashes his face with water and hurdles fallen trees. As he approaches the summit of a mountain, onscreen text reads: "Everyone dreams of standing on a podium. This is yours." The spot closes with a dramatic shot of the man atop the mountain.

"We are definitely trying to catch Olympic fever," Carol Yang, global chief marketing officer for Timberland, tells Marketing Daily. "When you reach the summit of that hike you're taking, that's your podium."

The ad, which will begin airing during Olympic telecasts on Aug. 14, is the first work from Timberland's agency Leagas Delaney, which won the account in February. While the new commercial carries an overt Olympic theme, the entire campaign is intended to reconnect Timberland with its outdoor heritage, Yang says.

"When we appointed Leagas Delaney, they presented a campaign that reinforced Timberland as a leading outdoor brand," Yang says. "When you think of outdoors, you think of Timberland."

The company had lost a bit of that connection as it grew, Yang says, and it's time to reclaim that positioning. "We have appealed to a wider breadth of consumers. And as a result of that, the brand identity has been diluted somewhat," Yang says. She declined to offer details of the other spots, but said they would continue to stress the "emotional connection" with the outdoors.

Following the Olympics, the Podium spot will begin airing in the UK, Italy, France and Japan. The spot has also been uploaded to some popular viral sites in China. The spot will also get Internet play in the other countries as well, Yang says.

In addition, the Stratham, N.H. company has developed an online game called "Unexpected Obstacles." In it, people try to complete a hike while getting around things like fallen trees, rolling rocks and other obstacles. The game will be promoted online and will direct people back to Timberland's home site, Yang says.