David Gianatasio at Adweek has written about Reebok's new campaign created by Venables Bell & Partners in "Reebok Is Quietly Emerging as a Challenger Brand to Contend With Athletic company is leveraging 'tough fitness' movement to boost sales", showcasing the Be More Human commercial as it kicks off Reebok's global repositioning. He asked us to opine about the ad, and we gushed about the colours because we freaking love good colour. Ok, I love good colour. The tone set by the colours in the campaign is one of reality, attainable reality. There's bruises and mud and actual sweat and it looks glorious.
"We were basically trying to come up with an idea that felt provocative and spoke to our audience in an authentic way," said Will McGinness, ecd at Reebok agency Venables Bell & Partners. "Tough fitness is an organic movement driven by everyday people, and we wanted to shine a spotlight on their dedication."
Though the message can seem preachy, industry watchers generally applaud the approach because it's true to Reebok's heritage—the brand rose to prominence in the '80s as a serious running shoe—and taps into CrossFit and other hot trends. "I can see how this can expand into talking one-on-one with very specific target groups," noted Åsk Wäppling, who blogs about marketing at Adland. What's more, she said the campaign provides a refreshingly honest counterpoint to competitors' star-fueled ads by depicting a world most consumers can instantly relate to. "The color palette of the TV ad is so nice, bringing rainy, dreary reality to the Reebok universe," she said.