Reebok gets its Zig on

March Madness has progressed to the bracket stage, and while watching ESPN for stats, I happened to see this new spot for Reebok's ZigTech shoes ("the energy drink for your feet"). I like the fun mix of animation becoming the real athlete in the end. I saw the one featuring John Wall, but I love the music for the one with Peyton Manning (both shown below). There's also spots with Iker Casillas, Alexander Ovechkin, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (he jumps over a cow!).

The ads were created by DDB (Berlin), who have worked with Reebok for the past two years. According to Ad Age, "In 2010, the athletic brand nearly tripled its measured media spending in the U.S. to $75.7 million, with $38 million devoted to ZigTech and $31 million to EasyTone."

And it's been paying off. Sales grew about 12% in 2010, and with the ongoing momentum of advertising, Reebok anticipates more in 2011.

Richard Prenderville, VP-global brand marketing at Reebok comments on the attitude of the brand:

"We walked into the relationship with DDB saying we've always had a different take on the world. All the other brands take more of a blood, sweat and tears approach. We think fun is more of a sustaining motivational factor. Having fun staying in shape is our strategic territory." (Advertising Age)