Press

BOSTON, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Global athletic leader New Balancedebuts a new brand campaign on March 27, 2008 that highlights running asfundamental to all sport and spotlights the runner's complex love/haterelationship with running. The campaign brings these struggles and personalbreakthroughs to life by personifying running in a light-hearted andengaging manner and showcases the brand's ability to increase the love ofrunning through product innovation.

"Running is our history and our reason for being," says Rob DeMartini,CEO at New Balance. "We believe our 'LOVE/hate. this is the new balance'campaign will strike an emotional chord with athletes. This campaigncaptures the complicated love/hate struggle of runners and shows how NewBalance is dedicated to reducing the hate and growing the love of runningthrough innovations in footwear, apparel and equipment."

The multi-media campaign utilizes television, print, and onlineadvertising to reach performance athletes with a primary media target of18-29 year olds. The full campaign tag line reads "LOVE/hate. this is thenew balance."

"New Balance understands that being a better runner makes you a betterathlete," says Christine Madigan, Director of Global Marketing and BrandManagement at New Balance. "The LOVE/hate campaign is grounded in deepglobal consumer insights and inherent truths about the role of running inan athlete's life and how our products can help tip the balance towardslove."

While the campaign emphasizes the brand's heritage in performancerunning, it also highlights New Balance's expansion into other team sportssuch as football and baseball. The campaign targets three differentconsumers -- the dedicated runner, the fitness runner and the competitiveathlete -- all who have different motivations but a shared struggle withrunning.

The television campaign breaks nationally on March 27th in the U.S.during the NCAA basketball tournament on CBS and will have heavy emphasisin the March-May and August-September timeframe through Fox, cable andESPN. The campaign includes five television spots that capture the essenceof the runner's love/hate struggle.

The cornerstone of the campaign is the "Anthem" spot which introducesthe complex love/hate relationship with running and presents New Balance asthe brand that tips the balance in favor of love. The spot also introducesthe brand's visual "red world" -- representative of the runner's struggle-- filled with temptations and obstacles at the start but with an endresult of euphoric accomplishment and "love."

The other four television spots highlight how the innovations ofspecific brand products help alleviate relationship struggles related todifferent runners. "Party" and "Shower" acknowledge the social temptationsand workout fatigue of a competitive athlete while "Rain" and "Park Bench"showcase the dedicated and fitness runner's love/hate struggle with theelements and their commitment, respectively.

The campaign expands into multiple print components that capture thelove/hate struggle with running in relationship dialogue. Each ad relayshow specific New Balance footwear and apparel products help tip the balancefor athletes in their love/hate struggle with running. For example, in the"Running's Friend Rain" print ad, the copy highlights how the brand's StormStriker Jacket can provide technical innovation to help a runner increasetheir love for running in the rain.

The print campaign appears in vertical running/sports national andregional magazines starting in March including Runner's World, RunningTimes, ESPN the Magazine and Running Network.

Online campaign initiatives include banner ads and rich interactiveelements that communicate both brand and product messaging. Highlightsinclude a homepage flash unit that allows visitors to enter the world oflove and hate, while "Moments of Truth" demonstrates through animation thatrunning gives all athletes the competitive advantage. The online media buyin the U.S. includes ESPN, SI.com, CBS Sports, active.com and Max Preps,among others. The brand's Web site http://www.newbalance.com will featurethe new campaign starting on March 27th.

The brand campaign will be integrated into New Balance events andsponsorships including Major League Lacrosse, Komen Race for the Cure, Rockn' Roll Marathon Series and the Summer X Games, among others. Campaignimagery will also be showcased through point-of-purchase and productdisplays at New Balance stores and retailers.

The campaign launches in major international markets during the next 90days including: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, UK, France, Germany, Spain,Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, South Africa, China, HongKong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

The brand campaign creative was developed by BBDO New York who wasnamed New Balance's global creative agency of record in October 2007. BBDONew York leads a roster of agencies that also includes Atmosphere BBDO(digital marketing), and PhD (media buying and planning). Almighty ofBoston, MA manages the NB.com creative.

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission:Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletesare proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proudto host. New Balance employs more than 2,800 people around the globe, andin 2007 reported worldwide sales of $1.63 billion. For more informationplease visit http://www.newbalance.com.