Threatened species are often the subject of documentaries, classification systems and conservation programs. Asics has transferred all these codes to humans to pose a provocation: What if what was in danger of extinction was our own ability to move?
It is the starting point of “Human Nature”, the new global campaign of the sports brand, which uses the language of nature documentaries to address the growing sedentary lifestyle associated with current lifestyle habits. The action is launched coinciding with the proximity of World Mental Health Day and maintains the line of communication that Asics has been developing around the relationship between movement and mental well-being.
The centerpiece is a ten-minute film narrated by Sigourney Weaver that observes humans as if they were a species studied in their habitat. But this environment is no longer made up of large natural spaces: sofas, screens and different amenities appear that progressively reduce the need to get up and move.
The campaign has been created by Golin Ketchum and uses visual and narrative resources associated with conservation documentaries. The gaze that is usually directed towards threatened animals and ecosystems turns here towards the daily behaviors of people.
Asics argues in this way that modern life is silently eliminating opportunities for movement. Solutions designed to make everyday life more comfortable can also reduce the need to walk, get up or perform minor physical efforts. “We are born to move, but the modern culture of comfort is making us increasingly sedentary”explains Al Wood, Chief Creative Officer at Golin Ketchum.
Almost one in four people analyzed by Asics exercise less than 30 minutes a week
Asics creates a “state of conservation” to classify how much we move
Creativity is supported by Asics research carried out among 34,000 people from 31 countries. According to the results shared by the brand, participants spend on average 86% of their waking hours without moving, while 53% say they do not comply with physical activity recommendations.
From this data, Asics has developed what it calls the first “Movement Conservation Status”, a system that transfers the categories of species conservation to the level of people’s activity.
The classification establishes three states: “Active”, “At Risk” and “Endangered”. According to the research, almost one in four people analyzed are in this last category, corresponding to those who exercise less than 30 minutes a week.
Faced with the diagnosis, Asics once again defends an idea that it has used repeatedly in its communication: it is not necessary to consider movement only in terms of great training or sports performance.
“Today, as modern life quietly eliminates movement from our daily lives, we hope to inspire people around the world to move for just 15 minutes.”says Gary Raucher, Global Head of Marketing at Asics.
The campaign thus connects the problem of sedentary lifestyle with the platform that the company has been developing around mental well-being and the effects that incorporating small amounts of physical activity into the routine can have.
Last year, for example, Asics tackled this territory with a 15-minute wellness experience that questioned luxury retreat culture. “Human Nature” now expands that conversation by focusing on how the design of everyday life is reducing the occasions in which we need to move.
“Human Nature” will be activated globally in the days leading up to World Mental Health Day, which is celebrated on October 10, reinforcing the link that Asics establishes between physical activity and mental well-being.
