During the 40 minutes or so it usually takes me to traverse the ten miles from work to my apartment (L.A. has bad traffic, who knew?), I have a fair amount of time to take in the city's roadside sights. Lately, I've been seeing ads for this new Reebok "Run Easy" campaign cropping up all over town, and I find I'm kind of fascinated by them.
Have you seen these things? The whole point of the campaign seems to be based around encouraging people not to work too hard, which is either a brilliant marketing ploy or the dumbest move ever for an athletic wear company. My favorite ad features a picture of an exhausted marathon runner collapsing by the side of the road, with the words "What Are You Doing?" plastered across it. Other gems include "Why are you hitting the wall? It hurts." and "Run + Puke +Run=Crazy"
It's clearly meant to be the antithesis of Nike's hard-charging "Just Do It" slogan, and I kind of get it. Most of us have no real aspiration to compete in a triathlon or scale Mt. Everest. If you're like me, you're proud of yourself if you manage to make it to the gym a couple of times a week and not fall off the treadmill. (Believe me, it happens). There is a certain irony to companies like Nike marketing their unattainable iron-man image to a nation of people sitting on the couch in their pajamas watching Joey Fatone cha-cha his little heart out.
But, seriously, what does it say when even our sports equipment requires only minimal effort from us?
In Boston--where I spent my halcyon student days--Marathon Monday is a city-wide holiday. Thousands of runners clog the streets, while even more drunken revelers toast the athletes as they sweat and pant their way towards the finish line. As one of those drunken revelers, it would never have occurred to me to go up to one of the runners and say "what are you thinking?"
I'm quite sure I thought it...but I would never say it.
It's a little troubling to me that even advertisers for athletic companies are deciding that it's in their best interest to appeal to our inherent laziness. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but in a culture where becoming the next Pussycat Doll is a viable career path and to win a million dollars you only have to prove that you're smarter than a fifth grader, do we really need to be instructed to lower our standards even further?
While it may not rank high on my list of life to do's, running a marathon is a huge undertaking and an even bigger accomplishment. Regardless of what the good people at Reebok seem to think, I believe that people who set goals and push themselves to excel should be congratulated, not mocked for their efforts.
Except for Joey Fatone, he totally deserves to be mocked.
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7 comments:
And the brilliance keeps coming. I agree--the condescending tone of the adverts does belittle the accomplishments of those who choose to accomplish pretty awesome feats. I always liked those Nike commercials. I don't think society needs to be patted on the back for its laziness.
And--halcyon? What does that even mean??
Good thing they didn't go with the ORIGINAL ad campaign: An exhausted marathon runner, collapsed at the side of the road, with text reading, "Hey Fat-ass, why don't you just kill yourself?"
Neetu - she TALKS like that too. We were having a political discussion the other day and I had to feign urination, so I could look "apostasy."
Look UP "apostasy." One cannot look apostasy, ESPECIALLY while feigning urination.
Oddly enough, I completely understand what they're doing with those ads. The average person has to work to do exactly as you said: make it to the gym a few times a week and not hurt themselves. In a world where most people aren't even doing THAT, pushing EXTREME WORK OUTS seems a bit, well, out of touch.
The majority of people will never be fit enough to appear in a Nike ad or join the Pussycat Dolls (although I keep trying). It's actually a decent plan to advertise to the rest of us.
Also, I get a twofer with this:
I've been a fan of the word halcyon every since I first learned it when I was younger -- from a COMIC BOOK.
I said it.
Oh matt, if I had a nickel for every time I feigned urination, I'd have like fifty cents or so. I don't really do it that often.
Great post. I really enjoyed it! I'm currently training for the Denver marathon, and although I'll admit that I might be a little crazy for doing it, I don't need Reebok reminding me!
Thanks for sharing.
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