Foot Locker and Asics launch 2016 ‘Real Runners’ campaign

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jul 22, 2016

Foot Locker announced on Thursday its second annual “Real Lives. Real Runners” campaign with Asics. In 2015, the New York-based athletic retailer and Asics joined forces to launch the film campaign for the TCS New York City Marathon, and the two companies have partnered once again to give filmmakers a chance to tell their story through film.

 
The “Real Lives. Real Runners” campaign calls for filmmakers to submit a two-minute video and an abbreviated 60-second version that celebrate runners from all walks of life. Foot Locker and Asics will then select five finalists and air the 60-second spots on the Foot Locker YouTube page in October. The top three filmmakers will attend an exclusive event hosted by Foot Locker and Asics to present to a judging panel, and the winning video will be nationally televised during the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon on ESPN2. In addition, the winning filmmaker will receive a cash prize from Mofilm.
 
"Our first installment of the 'Real Lives. Real Runners.' campaign in 2015 uncovered a wealth of talent and self-expression from both our filmmaker entrants and their running subjects," said Stacy Cunningham, vice president of marketing for Foot Locker. "The campaign shined a light on the different types of inspiring runners out there and their fascinating stories. This year, we're raising the bar and challenging filmmakers to get creative, inject a new wave of freshness into their projects and develop their own interpretation of what 'Real Lives. Real Runners.' truly means to them and the runners they document."

Evan Kelman won the 2015 “Real Lives. Real Runners” campaign with a film titled, “The Push” featuring Marco Reininger, a US Army veteran living in New York City who runs every day to pay homage to the military.
 
The deadline for film submissions is Tuesday, September 6, and the TCS New York City Marathon will be held on November 6.