ASICS has released Human Nature, a ten-minute nature documentary narrated by Sigourney Weaver in which humans are observed as endangered species. It plays on ASICS’ findings that 53 percent of adults fail to meet physical activity guidelines. The film is the variable. The strategy is not.
ASICS’ new campaign is once again drawing on its roots and the very name it is built on, which comes from the Latin phrase Anima Sana In Corpore Sano – “a Sound Mind in a Sound Body.”
Human Nature is a nature documentary style film, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. Its subjects? Humans themselves.
Meet the endangered subjects
In the ten-minute parody of the genre, office worker “Janet” – a roaming creature built for rugged terrain – is trapped in a 2x2 meter office enclosure; binge-watching “Hannah” is in a carefully constructed duvet “nest;” and “Menarto” is hunted by a relentless predator – the algorithm – and must “migrate” to his phone charger across the room.
What makes it so impactful is not just the successful landing of many tropes of nature documentaries, but the almost universal feeling of being “called out” by the behaviors shown the film will likely elicit.
Indeed the campaign is based on ASICS’ own global 2026 State of Mind study, conducted in July among 34,000 participants across 31 markets, which found that more than half (53%) of adults report failing to meet recommended physical activity guidelines.
The Movement Conservation Report
Accompanying the film is a Movement Conservation Report which uses the same classification of animal conservation status to apply to classify the world’s movement status as either “Active,” “At Risk” or “Endangered.”
According to ASICS, one in four people (23%) have movement levels classified as Endangered, doing less than 30 minutes of exercise each week. By 2035, the proportion of adults with movement levels classified as At Risk or Endangered is projected to rise to 56 percent – equivalent to an estimated 2.3 billion adults.
ASICS’ solution: Just 15 minutes of movement a day, or “Doing the one thing we were born to do: Move.”
Consistent message
Speaking to marketing publication The Drum, representatives from the PR Agency behind the campaign Golin Ketchum, explain: “Every year the brief [from ASICS] is exactly the same and it’s amazing.”
Golin Ketchum Chief Creative Officer Al Wood adds: “Coming back to the same brief forces us to find new, compelling and disruptive ways to make it mean something.”
The timing is also consistent, with campaigns released shortly before World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), to highlight the link between exercise and improved mental health.
Previous campaigns include:
● A 2024 Public Service Announcement style collaboration with Brian Cox, urging office workers to take a fifteen minute Desk Break;
● 2025’s Everyday Escape, which promised 15 minutes of exercise did more to uplift mood than a wellness holiday;
● 2026’s earlier “Move Your Body, Move Your Mind” campaign set to the Beach Boys’ song “Good Vibrations.”
Consumer reception
The campaign is so far going down well with viewers, with comments on YouTube including “Brilliant film! This is why I always buy from Asics,” and “Asics the goat.”
As observers have pointed out, this may be due to the achievability of the 15 minute figure. Rather than demanding consumers reach for the best version of themselves and push the limits, ASICS campaigns consistently offer a more holistic message to consumers.
