The ASICS brand has been my choice for running shoes ever since my high school running coach recommended it to me. I had started running competitively in third grade, and had not exhibited loyalty toward any brand until experiencing ASICS. At the time of my switch to ASICS, I had been wearing Nike, during which time I had developed a microfracture in one of my feet. Quite some time has past since high school, and no other injuries have arisen since (and I continue to run every morning on a daily basis, even though I have not run competitively since high school).
The current advertising campaign for ASICS is absolutely superb, touting the English translation of the Latin phrase for which the ASICS acronym originated, "anima sana in corpore sano", as "sound mind sound body". The four separate magazine advertisements show male and female runners running off anxiety, sadness, stress, and worry (and I find it interesting that the two males are touching the ground while the females are not). Running has always proven to significantly reduce stress for me, and is one of the reasons why I continue to run despite the competition that so many other runners seem to require in order to keep up the habit.
In addition to these magazine advertisements, ASICS created an accompanying television commercial that is absolutely phenomenal.
Note: a follow-up post on the subsequent ASICS advertising campaign was submitted on January 30, 2011: Anima Sana In Corpore Sano: Part 2.
