the anti jogger ad campaign

Benson St. Wales wrote:

but sadly do not realize that 97% of the population could not care less.

Or that 97% of the population could run faster than them if they weren't playing the other sports...

Runners are a sad breed.

The sport of running will never be popular b/c these types of ad campaigns come out just as popularity begins to increase.

Can you imagine an ad campaign blasting middle school kids for playing basketball?

"C'mon guys, with all these scrubs hitting the courts, we have to make sure they know we are the real basketball players! No t-shirts, only tank tops when you are on the court!!! Only losers wear t-shirts."

No, it wouldn't happen b/c the people who play basketball don't have inferiority complexes.

LOLLERCOPTER wrote:

No, it wouldn't happen b/c the people who play basketball don't have inferiority complexes.

Bingo.

It's a response to all the Galloway, Bingham crap that has been dumbing down running for the past 20 years.

Of the people who hit 5:30 pace in training, how many of them are wearing headphones. How many are not. Do the math.

I'm tired of people telling everyone to "go easy" and "don't push it". Watch out for too many miles". "Be sure to take some Gu in your next 5k". That mentality is the reason -- the ONLY reason -- why American running has such a lack of depth compared to 25 years ago.

If you truly are running 5:30 miles in training, do you honestly believe that you are the target demographic here? Running with headphones, staying on the treadmills are generally the domain of the "participant". not the racer. You are an exception. Good for you. Most are not.

Stop being so sensitive and insecure.

on the topic wrote:

Stop being so sensitive and insecure.

I see your points, but I think the overall elitist attitude is horrible for the sport.

This Pearl Izumi ad campaign is exactly what the Reebok campaign is describing. The pushy, insecure elitist who looks down on the jogger. Do you see Tim Duncan making fun of kids in rec league basketball?

No.

Why?

Do you see Reebok posting ads saying, "Don't bother practicing for your next game," or "Shoot the ball with your eyes closed" or even, "Don't try to win the next time you play"?

Of course not. But why not? If we're all about Run Easy, why aren't we about play easy too.

Basketball isn't suffering from the same relative lack of depth relative to 25 years ago. Neither is baseball, football, etc. They haven't been told all this time to basically "not try".

I'm pretty sure the Pearl Izumi campaign is a direct response to the incredibly annoying Reebok campaign. I think the Reebok campaign is an intentionally stupid approach. Dumb down the sport to get the most money for Reebok. I like that someone is giving us exactly the same treatment from the opposite side. Maybe it will prevent the average from going down.

It's a response to all the Galloway, Bingham crap that has been dumbing down running for the past 20 years.

Of the people who hit 5:30 pace in training, how many of them are wearing headphones. How many are not. Do the math.

Wow you nailed it. That must be the ONLY reason American running has not been succesful. It has nothing to do with the lack of support after college, other competing sports, or lack of amateur funding.

Also I know alot of elite runners who run on treadmills as well as with ipods.

This is the best post I've seen in a while. Really enjoyed it.

i thinkkk wrote:

Wow you nailed it. That must be the ONLY reason American running has not been succesful. It has nothing to do with the lack of support after college, other competing sports, or lack of amateur funding.

Yes I did nail it. Not hard when it's so obvious. You think Frank Shorter had a $500,000 contract with Nike when he won the Olympic marathon?

Also I know alot of elite runners who run on treadmills as well as with ipods.

I know a couple myself. And I (though not elite) have no problem running on a treadmill when I the weather is bad and I need a tempo run. You are missing the forest for the trees.

Lots of folks who play basketball have problems with the law and do get arrested...........

Greetings all

Its all about selling shoes - Reebok, PI, Nike, impossible is nothing ADIDAS -. A runner knows who is the jogger, a jogger knows who is the runner. We all know the true, no need for ads to tell us who we are.

A runner runs a marathon, a jogger jogs for 42,2 km.

A jogger sometimes run. A runner sometimes jogs.

We all know who is who. Its not the shoes who will say the true.

sorry about my english

Regards

Rod from Portugal

on the topic wrote:

Do you see Reebok posting ads saying, "Don't bother practicing for your next game," or "Shoot the ball with your eyes closed" or even, "Don't try to win the next time you play"?

Of course not. But why not? If we're all about Run Easy, why aren't we about play easy too.

Basketball isn't suffering from the same relative lack of depth relative to 25 years ago. Neither is baseball, football, etc. They haven't been told all this time to basically "not try".

I'm pretty sure the Pearl Izumi campaign is a direct response to the incredibly annoying Reebok campaign. I think the Reebok campaign is an intentionally stupid approach. Dumb down the sport to get the most money for Reebok. I like that someone is giving us exactly the same treatment from the opposite side. Maybe it will prevent the average from going down.

I don't think the Reebok campaigns are very positive, but the Pearl Izumi is even worse. I am a fairly fast runner too, so it isn't that I feel insecure about them...

If Reebok were simply touting having fun with running, I would love the ads... that is what other sports do, they promote the fun of working hard and having a good time practicing... Unfortunately Reebok decided to make serious training appear ridiculous, which is in itself ridiculous.

Pearl Izumi is simply alienating serious runners and turning people off from the sport.

Why such extremes?

Nike has - by far - the best ad campaigns out there. For the last 15 years, they have been putting out ads and commercials that give me goosebumps.

I just don't care much for their shoes.

Look at the Brooks ad from a few years ago, that was a damn good ad. Promoted running, showed the benefits and joys, and did not alienate anyone. It showed a serious runner that also partied and got in trouble. It didn't paint runners as the weirdo masochists that many truly are.

They were successful with it too, it came at a time when they really needed to showcase their quality product.

One thing I'm not seeing in this ad—and I think, whether you agree with Pearl Izumi or not, the ad raises some interesting points—is, what exactly are they doing to improve the state of running? I mean, aside from selling shoes with the same basic stuff in them as every other company? It's one thing to wax philosophical about the state of running, it's completely another to actually do something about it.

FANTASTIC Post...

i think you missed the point of my post entirely if you think i am the insecure one.

my comments were directed to all of those people so insecure in their running that they feel the need to say that others are not "real runners" simply because they do things like listening to music.

additionally, i realize that i am not the target demographic for this ad campaign. my comments were not solely in response to that ad, but more in response to the countless posts i see every day on this topic. this thread just kinda pushed me over the edge and i figured i'd post it here.

That Brooks ad has always been my favorite.

The *main* difference between runners and joggers has nothing to do with shoes, gear, clothing, pace, etc. It is the attitude. Joggers are weekend warriors who plod ten minutes on pleasant Saturday afternoons so they won't feel guilty for the five Krispy Kreme donuts they ate that morning. Runners enjoy running and cannot imagine life without it. We don't see it as a punishment. Even when we are injured, we desperately want to get back to running. A jogger will stop as soon as there is a slight ache in their knees (likely caused by heel-striking in their Nike Shox). Runners have a competitive drive while joggers have an "everybody is a winner" philosophy on life. If we never fail then we never learn or get stronger so we just keep waddling on. Joggers are average, normal people. Runners are just...different (some might say a little crazy). If that makes us elitists, then so be it.

bump

TRG, you're on the money.

-great post txrunrgirl. hit the nail on the head. to the people making an analogy between basketball/tim duncan not ripping on rec players, i don't think it's a valid comparison. serious runners treat running almost like a religion and a major part of their lifestyle. i don't think as many so-called basketball players think the same way about basketball being a lifestyle as runners do about running.

I personally see a reason to draw a line between the "real" runners and the "penguins" except to alienate a lot of people. In general, I find that the runners quickest to scoff at the "joggers" are the ones with their own inferiority complexes. (They are decent and dedicated runners who are not "elite", probably never will be, and beat themselves up about it.)

where do you draw the line between runner/jogger, anyway? if i run a 19:00 5k (on a good day) is that jogging in your book? when i trained and struggled like hell to run my first 24-something 5k was I jogging then? Are my efforts invalid because I'm not elite?

The Pearl Izuno ad is damn pretentious. Maybe people don't give distance runners a lot of respect because some distance runners are so damn anti-social and condescending. They need to grow lives and cajones.

As a public health person, I would love to see running/jogging/walking adopted by the masses (so long as the masses of walkers aren't lined up in the front at the starting line.)