Trail runners keep coming back for the mud, the climbs, and the misery, and ASICS wants to showcase that.
Independent creative agency AGIT8 has released the brand's latest global trail running push titled "Good Vibrations."
And the film doesn't try to make the sport look easy.
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Alistair Foster, global marketing director for performance running at ASICS, said the team wanted the film to feel true to the trail community while still carrying a distinctly ASICS POV.
"Pairing the rawness of the trail with ‘Good Vibrations’ captures that unexpected joy you find when you push yourself outdoors – and the lift it gives both body and mind," he added.
Gerry Human, founder and creative director at AGIT8, said trail runners chase the hard stuff on purpose, since that's where the fun lives.
He wanted the work to match that instinct with no gloss and no gimmicks, just strong shoes, tough trails, and the payoff of getting stuck in.
Overall, the film pushes ASICS' "Move Your Body, Move Your Mind" brand messaging through a trail-specific lens, seeing discomfort as the route to the feeling the brand is chasing.
When Hardship Is Part of It
The hero spot shows all the uncomfortable parts of a trail run.
This includes grinding through steep climbs, technical descents, mud, and unpredictable terrain.
But while these necessary parts of outdoor activity may be difficult, they're also the most rewarding.
A distorted, gritty rework of The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" builds alongside the runners as they push harder.
This sets up a clash between the on-screen punishment and the high that follows it.
The effort continues an ongoing partnership between ASICS and AGIT8, which has also produced global social, retail, and e-commerce assets tied to the campaign across key markets.
Notably, the ads also feature an elite roster to lend the campaign credibility, with trail runners Tom Evans, Ben Dhiman, and Sara Alonso all part of the brand's athlete lineup.
Banking on the Sport's Growth
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's report cited by the brand, US trail running participation grew by 1.3 million people in 2024, an 8.8% year-over-year increase.
Strava activity data cited by UTMB in a September 2025 announcement showed athletes uploading trail runs doubled in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period three years earlier.
All signs point to the sport's growth not being confined to any one market.
And ASICS is using that to its advantage.
Here are key lessons to learn from its efforts:
- Match the soundtrack to the point of the story: A warped "Good Vibrations" was effective because it mirrors the exact contrast the campaign is making between suffering and euphoria.
- Let athlete casting do quiet credibility work: Evans, Dhiman, and Alonso give the brand's "trail community" claim something concrete to stand on beyond the film itself.
- Build participation data into the pitch: The SFIA's 8.8% growth figure gives ASICS a market-timing story that a values-only campaign wouldn't have.
A field of trail-specific brands is also fighting for this growing base of runners, from established names to newer entrants building shoes purely for the category.
This competitive pressure is part of why the emotional angle matters as much as the shoe.
Our Take: Can Discomfort Be the Selling Point?
Most running ads show effort as something to get through on the way to a finish line.
This one asks you to want the effort itself, which is a more honest approach.
The song choice is doing more work than it looks like, too.
Switching up something familiar and joyful mirrors exactly what mud and elevation do to a runner's body, and it's a great creative diversion from another slow-motion victory shot.
What keeps the ad from tipping is that ASICS never claims the trail gets easier, only that the runner gets something out of it.
That's a narrower, truer promise than most fitness marketing bothers to make.
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