- Adweek Staff

BOSTON Mechanica has unveiled its first national campaign for Saucony, reinforcing the athletic footwear brand's street cred with runners and introducing the tagline, "We know...Because we run."

The work launches is November issues of national running publications and includes online, retail and event-marketing components.

Copy seeks to capture the mind-set of serious runners and the imagery tries for a documentary feel. Text of one ad reads: "We know runs end. But being a runner never stops. Because we run." The ProGrid Triumph 6 is featured in the fall campaign.

The Stride Rite brand, based in Lexington, Mass., spends about $2 million annually on ads. Measured media support was slightly less than $1 million through the first half of 2008, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Mary O'Brien, Saucony's vp, marketing, said: "We're confident that this new platform will be instrumental in Saucony's continued growth, especially at the run-specialty channel, while providing consistency across all consumer touch points."

Implemented by independent Mechanica in Newburyport, Mass., the campaign includes -- in addition to print ads -- sponsorship of the Runnersworld.com E-newsletter and several Web site features, in addition to a microsite that solicits the stories of real runners.