Ogilvy Singapore teams up with Nike to make running fun with Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge

To promote running among youth, Nike Southeast Asia has tasked Ogilvy & Mather Singapore to create a platform where runners can meet, run with and challenge each other. The result is the Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge, which pairs up two runners randomly online, creating a network of peer support.

Nike and Ogilvy Singapore launched the Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge in late June in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Commented Hani Mahdi, Brand Connections Manager, Nike Southeast Asia: “Nike+ is a social technology platform that allows young athletes to plug into a global community of runners. Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge takes a prevalent insight amongst today’s youth – namely the “mash-up” – and applies it to the spirit of running. We’re encouraging runners who’ve never met before to run and win prizes together through our MASHDASH Facebook app with a leaderboard and trash talk forum that keeps the competition energetic and conversational throughout.”

The Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge pairs up runners who sign up on the Nike Running Facebook pages and on the Nike+ website randomly, providing each team with a unique team image and name formulated by mashing together half of the team member’s face and name. Using data logged from each respective Nike+ account, the application calculates the distance each member of the team ran that week to make a total amount for the team. All updates are shown on the Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge application on the Nike Running Facebook pages as well as on the Nike+ website.

Prizes are available at the end of each week for achievements such as the most distance clocked or best improvement. At the end of the challenge, the pair that clocked the most distance will win the grand prize of an all expenses paid trip to the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco for themselves and a friend each.

The Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge application on Facebook also has a TRASH TALK feature, a space that gives the competitors a chance to post comments on the wall, spurring on their teammates, raising team morale and making running an exciting part of the day.

All potential runners require to participate is a valid local address within Singapore, Malaysia or the Philippines, and a Nike+ account, which can be set up at any time.

The campaign is being advertised online through Facebook, the Nike Running website, and the Nike+ website. In addition, the Nike Events Teams will also be visiting schools to maximize student participation in the event.

“With the encompassing slogan of Run Together, Win Together, the Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge hopes to bring together young people who enjoy running and are motivated by their team member and the opposition of competing against other teams for the top prize,” said Dan Gibson, Managing Director, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Singapore.

 The Nike+ MASHDASH Challenge will end on July 31, 2011.

Credits

CD: Steve Back

Copywriters: Jatinder Sandhu, James Yap

Art Directors: Andy Grant, Ian Lee, Jared Kang

Planners: Owen Dowling

Production House: Flok

Account servicing: Dan Gibson, Dennis Yeung