McCann Tells 'The Truth' To Win Brooks Sports By Kathy Tyre

SEATTLE - There's still truth in advertising, as McCann-Erickson proved last week. In fact, the agency used it to win Brooks Sports' estimated $4-million

Brooks vp of marketing Ian Gomar, who denied reports in ADWEEK (June 14) that a review was underway, last week confirmed that the company had selected McCann via a press release. Gomar did not return calls for this story.
‘I didn’t want to see a lot of irrelevant spec work,’ Gomar said in the release. ‘I wanted to see how the agencies would respond to a specific assignment: to name, position and launch our new technology to the trade and consumers.’
The centerpiece of McCann’s presentation was the name it created for a new shoe: The Truth.
‘Our research showed that runners are skeptical, if not antagonistic, about hype and gimmicks in running shoes,’ said McCann creative director Jim Walker. ‘They want honest, functional technology.’
McCann’s presentation included everything from a spread ad about injury prevention, ‘Truth or Consequences’ to a sales clerk’s button, ‘Ask Me for The Truth.’
Agencies presented to Brooks executives on Thursday. The following Monday, the new product, advertising and ad agency were unveiled at Brooks’ global sales conference.
The review was prompted by Brooks’ relocation earlier this year from Rockford, Mich., to Bothell, Wash., near Seattle.
The relocation followed the acquisition of the company by Norwegian conglomerate Rokke Group, which bought the company from Wolverine World Wide for approximately $21 million.
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