How Brooks is targeting Gen Z and millennial runners in new campaign

Running shoes and apparel brand is trying to boost its appeal with younger runners with a new campaign voiced by “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour.

The brand is set on reaching “people who may not be as into running,” said its Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Melanie Allen. “This will skew younger,” including consumers 35 years old and younger, said Allen.

The campaign, “It’s Your Run,” was created partly with Brooks’ agency of record Huge, and partly in-house. It focuses on the idea of “personalizing the run,” said Mike Peck, VP Creative, and how each run can be tailored to each person. It includes seven ads that show runners trying different techniques, including a comedic take on “a run-walk…walk…walk…walk…run,” with Harbour narrating the scene.

The brand is leveraging the onset of the back-to-school athletics season as well as the start of autumn training for races, said Allen. Although Brooks has put out global campaigns before, “this is the first time we’re not featuring a product,” said Allen, and is the most the company has spent on advertising the brand itself.

The campaign has no end date, although the brand has planned media buys until at least the end of the year. It will be shown on streaming platforms such as Hulu, ESPN+ and Spotify, as well as social media such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. It will also include out-of-home spending.