Asics: Mind Race by Golin

Asics is flipping the usual sportswear marketing script on its head by asking athletes not to exercise for a week to gain insight into the negative impact the lack of movement can have on mental health.

Created by agency partner Golin, ‘Mind Race’ sees everyday movers, shakers and athletes, including Olympic sprinter Iwan Thomas, stop working out for seven days to assess the impact on their mental wellbeing – testing the notion that ‘when we don’t move, our minds race.’

Throughout the trial, which was led by led Professor Brendon Stubbs, Asics used its ‘Mind Uplifter’ technology to measure the impact that movement has on the brain. It then used the data from thousands of people in many different countries who were exercising regularly and assessed it again when they paused their normal routines for the study.