Iris launched an integrated campaign for Speedo, entitled “Don’t Just Get Fit, Get Speedo Fit,” which features the brand’s first broadcast ad in over a decade.
The ad of the same title is a somewhat familiar looking sports anthem ad, but with more of a focus on swimming as the agency tries to draw attention to the sport and position it as a way to take one’s fitness routine to the next level.
“Whatever fitness means to you,” says the voiceover, as the spot shows a group of runners, a woman doing yoga and a man biking. As a man’s running shoe changes into a bare foot about to dive into a pool, the voiceover continues, “The most powerful thing you can do to your routine is to change it.”
From there, the other amateur athletes are shown morphing into swimmer mode and the voiceover adds that swimming is the way “To push your body further, to go deeper,” at which point someone decides to cue some questionable EDM.
Cheesy as the approach may be, it’s certainly brand-appropriate. So while those of us who have seen way too many similarly-minded sports anthem ads by virtue of writing about advertising for a living may yawn, the average fitness obsessive may see the ad and decide to add swimming to their workout routine. The timing, of course, in the lead-up to beach season, is well-planned. That tagline may strike some casual viewers as a bit too close to the “Are You Beach Body Ready?” ad that didn’t go over so well for Protein World last year, except aimed at making the already in shape question if that’s good enough. But the approach works with the current brand perception around the skin-tight swimsuits as for the truly toned, while also addressing the benefits of swimming as an athletic endeavor that can push the already fit to the next level.
The campaign launched in over 50 markets globally, aimed squarely at fitness enthusiasts. In addition to the 80-second version above, the spot also runs in 60 and 30-second versions. Supporting the broadcast effort in the integrated campaign are digital, social and print initiatives.
“Elite athletes and fitness enthusiasts are constantly seeking out marginal gains to improve their performance,” Iris executive creative director Andy Taylor explained to The Drum. “This film highlights one of the most significant, yet often overlooked, gains you can add to any fitness routine.”