“It’s not over until we say it’s over!” – John Belushi in Animal House
In true manly-man fashion, Old Spice isn’t willing to accept evidence that the second running boom is over, particularly for men. Rather, it’s doing its darndest to get men back out onto the streets. Will it lead to more men participating in 5Ks and so forth? Hard to say, but you gotta admire the creativity.
Old Spice’s newest campaign, Dream Runner, invites runners to turn their regular route into prizes.
Backstory: Tech-savvy runners can use apps to create running routes that when viewed from above, (theoretically) take the shape of just about anything – dragons, political statements and even some less-than-safe-for-work diagrams. (Naturally, these are posted on social media – what good would they be otherwise?)
But Old Spice wants to keep up the momentum. Their new campaign invites runners to submit the doodles of their running route, and in exchange, to (theoretically) receive prizes.
What kind of prizes? Well, in Old Spice’s opinion, those that match the doodles. Like…a yardstick (honoring a run that went in a straight line) or a dragon-shaped toilet paper holder (Old Spice seemed to have used their imagination on that one.) Someone was also named to win a Hydro Blaster RC Speedboat (call us cynical here, but we’re guessing it’s made of plastic and comes from Toys R Us.)
Whatever. It makes for a fun contest. Will it get more men out running? Maybe. It’ll certainly up the usage of run tracker apps. And maybe, just maybe, there’s an event director out there who wants to create a 5K that harnesses some creative juices and puts the fun back on the streets.
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