May 12th, 2009

Final Project

Written by:

Rachael Boss
Courtney Gilles
Chris Petersen

University of Illinois
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Current Brand Audit

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Business plan/Corporate overview

Asics produces footwear and sporting wear designed for football, running, tennis,

squash, martial arts, golf, wrestling, track and field, cross-training, volleyball,

cheerleading, lacrosse and for many other sports. Presently, the company has become

widely renowned for their running shoes as being amongst the top performance footwear

in the market.

In 2006 Asics became the first Japanese corporation to join the Fair Labor

Association, which advocates the protection of labor rights and improvement of

conditions on a global scale. Asics manufacturing aims its business plan with three

factors of QCD (quality, cost, and delivery) in addition to corporate social

responsibility.

The Corporate Philosophy is as stated:

1. Provide products and services that create value for all customers

2. Protect the environment, and contribute to the world community at the individual and
social level

3. Offer sound service, and share the profit with shareholders who have supported
ASICS, community and employees

4. Achieve ASICS in a spirit of freedom, fairness, respecting the dignity of the individual

The corporate goal is “to be the world’s number one creator of sports, health, and comfort
oriented lifestyles. ( http://www.asics.com/aboutus/index_B.html )

Corporate Social Responsibility is an important issue and since 1998 they have worked

under the Code of Conduct, which are guidelines set by the World Federation of Sporting
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Goods Industry (WFSGI) Also, most Asics products are PVC free and produced with

100% recycled material. In 2007, Asics was awarded the Silver Prize in the category of

outstanding corporation in promoting product safety.

(http://www.asics.com/aboutus/index_F.html)

In many of the running events Asics hosts, they try to come up with a general

theme of protecting the environment. In the 2007 Tokyo Marathon, they chose the theme

of “environmental preservation” and decided to use recycled polyester fiber made from

PET bottles for the t-shirts and hats they handed out. In addition, they also organized an

event named One Coin Charity, a fundraiser to support children throughout the world

who live in an environment that prevents them from physical activity, thus hindering their

well being. The charity raised 945,746 yen, or about 9,500 US dollars and was donated

to AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races). Asics is also a

sponsor for the Special Olympics, an international sports organization that helps mentally

disabled people. Asics is responsible for providing various sports training and hosts

several competitions throughout the year. Something interesting to note is that Asics

opens its atrium to junior high basketball teams in the neighborhood for practice. In

Japan there is a constant need for physical instructors and training facilities and Asics

quickly took up the opportunity to open their company facility. The club team attracts

10-20 new junior high students each year and has had two championships in

2007. (http://www.asics.com/responsibility/index_Q.html)

As it stands, there is not much being done in the United States in terms of
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corporate social responsibility. It seems that Asics defines community on a local level

rather than on a global scale (http://www.asics.com/responsibility/index.html).

In 2008, the business remained stable as the sporting goods industry had

witnessed a rise in the general interest in sports, such as positive effects in the fields of

walking and fitness due to an elevated level of health awareness. Amidst such a situation,

the ASICS Group introduce a series of highly functional running shoes, starting with

GEL-NIMBUS 9 and GEL-KINSEI 2, in the global market and expanded products for

women in order to continue the expansion of the running business on the global scale.

Sales have been rising in double figures in the United States, where the focus is

contained in the running field. Sport shoes: from 1.964 million dollars in 2007 to 2.274

million dollars in 2008. Total assets – $1,408, 660,000 Total investments and other

assets-$209,310,000 Gross profit-$990,410,000.

(http://www.asics.com/investors/pdf/ar2008.pdf )
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Marketing Strategy

In the early 1980s, Asics enacted the revolution plan deciding to expand their line

from athletic shoes to athletic gear. The company only decided to concentrate on these

products they specifically manufactured in its own factory. Concentrating on this

strategy worked in obtaining profits, but in the long run, revenue started to decline. Asics

then moved on to their current marketing strategy known as the Asics Challenge Plan.

This plan utilizes the strengths of Asics as a shoe business rather than trying to expand

into other types of athletic gear. Their core strength is with running and shoes and

marathon shoes and concentrating on this business was the reason why they claim to

succeed. The sporting good industry has been steady, as the trend of being health

conscious continues. (http://www.asics.com/responsibility/index_U.html)

In 2007, Asics made the English version of their philosophy, “Sound Mind,

Sound Body” the new corporate slogan. Both domestic and foreign subsidiaries were

willing to accept and understand this philosophy. This was important, as Asics believes

that when a company tries to globalize, the difference between cultures often clash.

Agreeing in a philosophy unites headquarters and therefore leads to a greater chance of

success. Their current strategy aims at the technological advancement and benefits of

their running shoes.

In January 2008, Asics became the official supplier of sportswear and bags for the

athletes representing Japan at the Beijing Olympic Games 2008. In February 2008 they

became the official sponsor of the June 2008 Tokyo Marathon, ING New York City
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Marathon, Gold Coast Airport Marathon in Australia It sponsored the New York City

Marathon, where 40 percent of recent competitors wore the company's

shoes. (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ASICS-Corporation-

Company-History.html)

Asics as a brand has only just begun presenting a unified brand image. The

company had to use separate visuals for advertising in different countries until recently,

which made them unable to create that unified brand image. They had been struggling in

brand awareness, especially in younger demographics, because of this lack of unity. The

characteristics and the main products differ by countries and regions, and they have just

recently begun to take into account similar particular traits and preferences of individuals

of each country when introducing sales and campaigns. However, when Asics became

the official sponsor of the Tokyo Marathon in 2007, they decided to launch a global

campaign with unified visuals. With this launch, the company has begun “aggressive

launches” in four particular regions, including the Americas, Europe, Japan, and the Asia-

Pacific region. By sponsoring large and high profile marathons around the world, Asics

showed their commitment to support individual runners from beginners to pros and the

running community as a whole. (http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-

retail-miscellaneous/4479197-1.html)

According to Smart Business article in April 2007 titled, “Sprint to the Finish,”

Most of ASICS America’s advertising had always been in magazines such as Runners

World and Running Times, publications that reached the company’s target audience but
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missed a segment of the consumer audience interested in healthier life-styles, not

necessarily strictly in running. An interesting fact found in focus groups was that only a

quarter of those who buy running shoes actually purchase them for running.

To reach into the non-runner group, Asics expanded the brand’s advertising,

boosting its ad budget by 22 percent and moving it into magazines that reached bigger

target audiences. “We’re not just talking to the running geek, which we were with

Runner’s World or Running Times,” says Gohashi, and employee of Asics. “We still

maintain magazine advertising, but now it’s going to a broader audience in publications

like Oprah or Cooking Light, so it’s out to a broader consumer in hope that sales will

increase when more people know about the brand instead of just runners.”

(http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/11580/77/0/Sprint_to_the_finish.aspx).

Although Asics offers products for a wide range of age groups and athletic

competitions, Asics current market strategy is one that targets competitive mid-distance

and long distance athletes from the ages of 18-34. They focus on high performance and

have been working to expand products that are geared toward competitive women’s

runners. Based on observation, Asics products are in athletic stores around the country.

They claim that this is the first time in years that there are more women runners than

men. An interesting thing to note is that Asics running shoes are also available at Kohl’s

Department stores. This seems to be overreaching their target audience, as those who

shop at Kohl’s are less likely to purchase these shoes for stability and gel technology and

go for more of the shallow characteristics such as color and/or design of the
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shoe. (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ASICS-Corporation-

Company-History.html) and (personal observation of visiting a Kohl’s Department Store)

Asics seems to be the athletic shoe based more on scientific “technology,”

advanced products for the serious athlete such as their infamous “gel technology.” They

take each gender and break down the biomechanics in their Asics lab to create a shoe that

alleviates biomechanical problems runners of either gender may experience. They use gel

technology to reduce impact and Impact Guidance System (IGS) to solve pronation

issues, and use Personal Heel Fit (PHF) to provide gel cushioning for extra comfort. The

website of extremely interactive, giving information video clips on biomechanics of the

shoe, how individuals run, and how Asics can help increase performance and reduce

injuries. The company’s ultimate goal is to deliver scientifically better products to the

market of consumers, as well as to develop human resources management that will more

efficiently run the branches of the company. To accomplish this, they are determined to

pushing the limits on what they can learn from the body and its needs in athletic apparel

(www.asics.com).

Asics mission comes from the phrase “Anima Sana in Corpore Sano ” a Latin

phrase meaning a “sound body in a sound mind.” They want their products to resemble a

relaxation feel, a get away from it all, and a desire to bring harmony to the body and soul.

Athletics not only has a positive effect on the body but on the mind as well. Sports have

a universal meaning and have been responsible for overcoming cultural differences,

resulting in a more unified world. In their research and development section they state,
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“All this research is being done with only one goal: To enable professional and

recreational athletes all over the world to perform better, to reach a higher level and to

enjoy themselves (http://www.asicsamerica.com/about_us)

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Brand Equity

When searching Zappos.com for “Running Shoes” in the Men’s category (sorted by

popularity) Asics shoes are at the top and sell for 100 to 140 dollars. Next Nike sells for

70-85, Saucony for around 50 and then New Balance in the 65 – 130 range. For Women’s

Asics(100-125) is still on top with even more of their shoes leading, this time with

Saucony (50) following, then Merrell (90), Nike (80), and New Balance (65-85). So not

only are Asics more popular as running shoes but they sell for a higher price as well.

Also when searching for facebook the top fan pages for Asics total around 70

thousand fans while Nike has over 2 million, Saucony around 7 hundred, and New

Balance 10 thousand fans. Also Adidas has about 2.5 million fans. This suggests that

Asics might have a more pull in the young runners market with the exception of Nike

who spans more than just the running niche.

They’re recognized for their high dedication to serious running and marathon enthusiasts.

In comparison to popular brands that were listed above, Asics holds about the 4% of the

total population in brand popularity. Although it runs at about 5% for the demographics

ranging from 25-54, it varies between 1 and 3 percent for all age groups above and below

those middle demographics. Ahead in brand preference are companies like Nike, New

Balance, Reebok, Adidas, Sketchers, K-Swiss, and Converse. These companies range in

average preference from as high as 30% (Nike) to 5% (Converse) (Mintel search for the

Asics brand, under the Brand Commitment section).

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Brand Positioning

In general, the “athletic and rugged shoes market” has been experiencing about 2.8% of

steady growth and has increased to a market size of $2.4 billion. Although this seems

like a substantial increase, adjustment for inflation indicates that sales have actually

neither grown nor decreased.

Although Asics has just increased its sales by 11% with its recent venture into television

advertising (according to a recent AdAge article), they are still far behind brands like

Nike, Sketchers, K-Swiss, Puma, and Reebok in the LFA (lifestyle fashion athletic) shoe

market. Brands like New Balance and Asics, however, are almost non-existent in this

category because they are seen primarily as performance footwear. This may create some

difficulty for Asics, primarily because footwear that is non-performance-based is

beginning to gain in popularity (Mintel search for the Asics brand, under the Market Size

and Forecast section)

Of total athletic shoe sales, Asics falls far behind the leading competitors in this market.

Ahead of Asics in sales are several companies, including Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok,

New Balance, Sketchers, and K-Swiss. These sales run in order from the top sales of

$13,740 million (Nike sales) to $508 million (K-Swiss) (Mintel search for the Asics

brand, under the Leading Companies section)

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Advertising campaigns

In 1993-1995, Asics attempted to attract the world of basketball athletes. Realizing that

they were failing miserably and so was most of their advertising, they reorganized and

decided to focus on running shoes. This allowed them to recover remarkably, and they

have since continued to focus on building awareness among all of the different types of

runners that might be interested in buying Asics shoes

(http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous/4479197-

1.html).

In 2002, Asics tried an advertising campaign where they ran six print advertisements and

one television commercial. They were primarily black and white advertisements, and

they were intended to retain brand loyalists and remind their consumers why they bought

Asics. The campaign was designed to have a “simple conversation with the consumer”

and to spark interest in the brand, and was named, “This is ASICS”

(http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4197426-1.html).

In 2004, Asics ran an ad campaign with a new agency called StrawberryFrog in an effort

to attract a fashionable, hip audience. The advertisements played off of the brand’s

Japanese heritage and were depicted with a 1960’s, Japanese action movie type style.

There is a large emphasis on movement, sports, and action, and the advertisements

themselves were loud and bold. All in all, this campaign was one of their more

controversial (http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4206833-1.html).
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In 2005, Asics ran a campaign that was intended to attract the “casual enthusiast” who

might not normally be interested in something that was seen as a serious runner’s shoe.

Their tagline was “What would YOU do if you couldn’t run?” and was meant to stress

the importance of running in the everyday consumer’s life. Although this campaign was

not nearly as controversial as the year’s before, it represented a 40% jump in Asics ad

budget for the U.S. (http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/branding-brand-

development/4695672-1.html).

In March 2007, Asics developed an advertising campaign that was primarily focused on

Asics not as a running aide, but as a running campaign. They developed a print campaign

that they then named, “My Running Partner.” The print advertisements were designed

around a runner in a specific, non-descript outdoor area, usually featuring the shoe and/or

running gear belonging to Asics (of course). This campaign has a number of similarities

to their current, 2009 campaign, which places a heavy emphasis on the runner in a non-

descript, outdoor environment.

Their current advertising campaign for Spring 2009 includes print advertisements that

focus on popular phrases of speech and flips them so that they are targeted specifically at

runners. The way these ideas are manipulated allows them to revolve around ideas like

the relationship between the mind and the body, as well as the effect one has on the other

in the running world.

The print advertisements are very simple. They generally show some kind of runner

doing a simple activity (running on the road, jumping in the air, etc.) on a background
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with almost nothing in it. The shoe itself is very prominent and is clearly one of the

primary focuses. We have listed five samples of the taglines on the advertisements

below.

1. Elevating the body has a remarkably similar effect on the mind.

2. Be more satisfied with the grass on your own side of the fence.

3. The first weight you lose is what you carry on your shoulders.

4. Nothing brings you back to earth like feeling it beneath your feet.

5. Lacking the breath to speak makes you a better listener

(www.asicsamerica.com/about_us/advertising).

In the past year, Asics has also decided to begin exploring the TV campaigns. One

example of a spot done in the UK depicts a man running in the city. Then, his

environment slowly morphs into a forest-like environment, with the phrase “a sound

mind in a sound body.” The advertisement is very simple and direct, and emphasizes their

already existent tagline “Sound mind. Sound body.” (youtube.com under the search

Asics commercial, with the title “Asics commercial 2008”)

The current advertising agency is Amsterdam Worldwide, and will remain so until 2010.

At that point, Asics will switch to the agency Vitro Robertson. (http://adage.com/article?

article_id=135527)
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Industry

Not much is being said about the most recent Asics campaign. BrandWeek briefly

mentioned the launch of their latest campaign in New York among other campaigns that

were increasing advertising before an upcoming marathon (http://www.brandweek.com).

You can see the half dozen print ads and one television ad for their Sound Mind Sound

Body campaign at asicsamerica.com/brandcampaign. However it has not caused any buzz

or discussion in the advertising or news publications. The only current buzz in the

advertising world is about how Asics (along with MillerCoors, are running short 15

second ads on ESPN.

However most, if not all, of their publicity comes exclusively from their involvement

in sponsoring marathons. There was a lot of pre-Olympic buzz for them in 2008 before

the Beijing Olympics. The New York Times ran a story about Asics’ master craftsman

Hitoshi Mimura, who created special shoes for marathon runners using rice husks in the

shoe that increased traction and moisture absorption to navigate the Olympic marathon

route. Mimura has made the shoes for many Olympic marathon winners. One of them

slept with the shoes next to her bed the night before and later proclaimed Mimura the

“god of shoes”(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/sports/olympics/11shoes.html).

They had their master shoe Runnersworld.com has glowing reviews of their shoes

and awards their shoes many awards for being the runner’s shoe of choice. They seem to

do very well in their niche of hard core runners yet they seem to want to appeal to those

further down the scale that do not actively participate in marathons.

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Cultural Brief
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Cultural brief statement

The Asics brand is seeking to create a world for the everyday consumer that is currently

leading an active lifestyle due to social pressure. This brand will allow the consumer to

experience freedom from the social expectation that they must be fit and active to be

happy and accepted by society. Wearing this brand will allow consumers to realize that

they will find happiness in self-worth by accepting who they are and meeting their own

standards of fitness, rather than meeting others’.

Myth Treatment

i. Cultural contradiction—

Right now, there are consumers who work out and stay active not because they

choose to, but because society dictates that it is socially acceptable to maintain a certain

level of fitness. In many cases, consumers even feel the need to pretend that they are

continually active because of pressure they feel from others to maintain a certain type of

social image. There’s a current trend with health and with people leading healthy

lifestyles, and all shoe companies are saying “go to the gym”. What we want the Asics

brand to say is that it’s ok to be happy with who you are.

ii. Myth treatment

Our campaign will appeal to the everyday consumer who stays active simply

because of the pressure they experience from society. They are the type of consumer that

gets up early in the morning, eats a quick breakfast with maybe a fast, pick-me-up coffee
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and runs off to a fast-paced work environment. There they will work busily with clients

and with their peers, and will probably make plans to spend time with them later in the

week or during the weekend. Then, in order to continue fitting in with their peers and

their judgments, they will spend time every night after work at the gym, even though they

themselves recognize that they aren’t doing it for themselves—they’re doing it to meet

society’s standards.

Asics will strive to contradict this belief by communicating the myth treatment

that the everyday consumer doesn’t need to add a work out in order to meet the standards

of society and their peers. They will treat this myth by conveying the idea that Asics

users are those consumers who are confident enough to live by their own standards, and

that it is not society’s opinions that make them happy—it is only their own. So, instead

of working out every night in order to please others, our consumer will feel comfortable

with relaxing during a movie marathon after work, or baking and eating brownies with

their friends, instead of working out to maintain their “perfect”, athletic figure.

This campaign will target the consumer who is already experiencing an active

lifestyle. However, it will offer that consumer a world in which they have the freedom to

be happy with whatever lifestyle they choose to lead. This will certainly not denounce

the active lifestyle that many of these individuals continue to lead, but it will eradicate

society’s implication that happiness is based on anything other than your own perception

of self-worth.
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Populist world/authenticity

Our campaign will focus on the populist world of the “Irresponsible College

Student.” Within this world, the Asics consumer can return to their carefree beer-pong

playing days in college. This is a world where the consumer defines him and/or herself

through their independence—their decisions to go to class, do homework, study for an

exam, or even work out is dependent on nothing but what they would like to do. Here,

society plays little to no role in the consumer’s decision-making process, because this is a

place where the consumer thrives in making their own decisions (whether positive or

negative).

Charismatic aesthetic

Our charismatic aesthetic will be conveyed through the nostalgic tone of the college life

and the memory of what it meant to be truly uninterested in what society thought of them

and the decisions they made. So, when the prospective Asics consumer feels bogged

down in the expectations of their peers, their family, and the rest of society, they will

encounter the charismatic aesthetic of the Asics brand and remember what it felt like to

be irresponsible and uninterested in the opinions of others. Upon purchasing an Asics

product, the consumer is making a statement to themselves and to the rest of society that

it’s OK to be irresponsible.
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Repackaging of Texts

With this campaign, we will be repackaging this myth by saying that the everyday

consumer, through wearing Asics, will gain the confidence to reject social expectations

about being active, fit, and healthy. While every other shoe brand is saying that their

shoe will lend a competitive edge that will lead the consumer to success and happiness,

the Asics brand will argue that the consumer can be happy simply through being

themselves, no matter what level of activity in which they might choose to participate and

how irresponsible they may appear to be.

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Advertising Campaign
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Campaign Particulars

In 2008, Asics spent 27 million dollars on their advertising campaign in the

United States (http://shiftmarket.com/2009/04/01/an-inconvenient-truth-sales-jump-11-

after-asics-gives-tv-a-try/). We will use this approximate number for constructing Asics’

new campaign. We will dedicate 40 percent to television, 20 percent to magazines, 20

percent to out of home media, and 20 percent to online advertising. The out of home

media segment will include transit advertising on buses and taxis, as well as billboards in

high traffic areas just outside of major cities around the U.S.

The new campaign will run through May 2009-May 2010. The goals of the

campaign are to bring about a new identity to the Asics brand and attract an entirely

different demographic. Rather than targeting core runners from 18-55, we will target a

type of consumer that leads a busy life after college, who is interested in remembering

their youthful fun, lazy attitude.

Within the first three months, we hope to see brand awareness increase by 10

percent and sales of Asics shoes increase by 5 percent. In 8 months, we hope to see these

figures both double. By the end of the year, our ultimate goal is to see brand awareness

reach 30 percent and annual sales increase by 15 percent.

The Asics brand will stray away from their usual target market, a market

comprised of individuals who are extremely health conscious and those who are

competitive, “hardcore” athletes. Instead Asics will be targeting the everyday consumer,

ages 24-40. A consumer who leads a busy, career oriented lifestyle and is often bogged

down by social pressures. We will be moving our print venues in a completely different
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direction. We will no longer be advertising in print publications such as Runner’s World,

Cooking Light, Sports Illustrated, etc., but will be advertising in such magazines as

Entrepreneur, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Oprah, Family Circle, and Self Magazine. It is

possible to target a roughly equal amount of both women and men when utilizing all of

these magazines.

As for television, we will be running our advertising commercials on the national

networks such as NBC, ABC, and CBS during primetime television viewing hours. We

will also begin running commercials on FOX and TBS. We will run our campaign on

these networks, as they are responsible for hosting a wide range of television audiences in

our 24-40 year old market. We plan on allocating 40 percent, double that of our print

venues, based on the fact that commercial production and time slots are very costly, with

an average 30 second spot amounting to $350,000. (http://www.gaebler.com/Television-

Advertising-Costs.htm)

As for our out of home media, we will be running our print ads on billboards just

outside of and inside major cities, including Chicago, New York, Los Angelos, Miami

and Dallas. In these same cities, we will run print advertisements on top of taxi cabs and

on bus kiosks. With these out of home media, we intend to target high traffic areas that

business men and women frequent. This part of the budget will be equal to about 20% of

our overall budget.

With the online portion of our budget, we will target sites that cater to the

businessman and/or woman. Some examples include Businessweek.com, cnn.com,

forbes.com, etc. The online portion, because of the high traffic on these sites and because
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of its rise as a media vehicle, will comprise another 20% of our budget.

TV Commercial 30 Second Spot: Description

Camera opens on a side-view of a house and the front door. Kids and families are

running around the busy, suburban neighborhood, and then all of a sudden, the door that

the camera is focused on opens and closes, and a woman steps out on the step. She’s

outfitted in fitness gear, as well as her Asics GT 2130 running shoes. She jumps up and

down once or twice to warm up, and then hurries down the stairs and begins to jog just

down the street. Then, the musical sounds of an ice cream truck are heard, and the truck

appears at the end of the screen. The woman’s head snaps to the side as the ice cream

truck passes her and, abruptly with no warning, she does a 180-degree turn and goes

flailing after the ice cream truck. The screen fades to black and the Asics logo comes up

with the tagline: “Asics Warning: Wear At Your Own Risk.” After the logo and tagline

fade in and out, the screen goes back to a woman walking down the street, happily

holding and eating two ice cream cones.

Discussion of TV Commercial

The commercial is going to be set on a busy college campus because that is where our

myth market is based. Our main character will be a woman, somewhere in her mid-

twenties, and she will be the type of consumer that is probably the “occasional runner,”

mostly due to social pressures from her friends, family, and society as a whole. We will
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show her making the decision to run after an ice cream truck versus running during a

work out because we want to show her making an irresponsible choice that ultimately

will make her happier than the work out in which she was participating. The ice cream

truck, therefore, represents the irresponsible nature of our myth market, which is the

world of the irresponsible college student.

Our tagline, which states, “Asics warning: Wear at your own risk,” conveys the

idea that making your own decisions confidently can sometimes be frightening, but it is

often necessary in order to end up with what you really need to be happy. We decided on

a tagline like this one because it really represents what our myth market indicates. For

instance, while college students are sometimes making “risky” decisions, they are usually

doing so because they believe that the benefits of those decisions are worth the risk they

might be taking. As they take these risks, college students become more confident and

independent. That is why this myth market is an ideal one for our consumers—we want

Asics consumers to believe that by wearing these shoes, they too can experience a

confidence and independence that will free them from social pressure.

This kind of commercial in our campaign will convey the idea that you can be

happy with your body and yourself, no matter what kind of “indulgent” decision you

might make. All of these commercials and print campaigns will center around the idea

that it is the Asics shoes that allow these characters to be so confident about the decisions

they end up making. These advertisements as a whole represent a picture of fun and

playfulness that not every

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Discussion of Print Advertisements

In our print advertisements, we focused the camera on characters that were young,

lively, upbeat, and clearly having a good time while doing something that they weren’t

supposed to be doing. For example, in one print advertisement, we have a number of

college kids blowing out a keg, which is something is largely disapproved outside of the

college atmosphere. In our other print advertisement, we have two people spraying hoses

at each other while they are each wearing all of their clothes. These images are important

because they represent what the consumer can do when he or she is wearing Asics shoes

—in a reinforcement of our myth market, “the Irresponsible College Student,” these

characters and “irresponsible adults” are breaking the rules in order to have fun and

please themselves, even if they are choosing to do the irresponsible thing. These ads

represent what college life was like, back when the consumer Asics is trying to reach (the

24-45 year old man and/or woman) was able to take risks and please only themselves in

the decisions they made.