Before and after shots, beach body comparisons, fad diet culture - it won’t come as a surprise to know that a recent study found that 73% of Brits believe society's obsession with the perfect body image is damaging to mental health. ASICS’ latest creative campaign from Golin, supported by mental health charity Mind, plays on the ‘before’ and ‘after’ exercise trope to highlight the transformative power of exercise on the mind, challenging society’s focus on exercising purely for aesthetic transformation.

As part of the campaign, influencers Dr. Alex George, Motsi Mabuse and Jada Sezer provoked reaction online by sharing ‘before’ and ‘after’ “dramatic exercise transformation” photographs that showed little physical difference. 

ASICS worked with award-winning portrait photographer, Sophie Harris-Taylor, to create the series of images showing each celebrity before and after 15 minutes and 9 seconds of exercise - the length of time of exercising proven to lift people’s mental state. The images show no dramatic physical change to highlight the fact that not all exercise transformations are visible.

The influencers posted the before and after shots on their social media accounts four days before World Mental Health Day with the hashtag #DramaticTransformation and saw commenters remark on the lack of change between the two images showing societies obsession with physical appearance. On World Mental Health Day the influencers revealed that the images were part of a campaign to highlight the power of exercise on the mind, reinforcing the benefits of exercise beyond physicality.

“The culture of ‘body transformation’ images, driven largely through social media, has conditioned society to view exercise through the lens of physical change” explained Gary Raucher, EVP, ASICS EMEA. “At ASICS, we believe the true benefit of sport and movement goes beyond the body to also uplift the mind. That’s why we’re called ASICS – Anima Sana in Corpore Sano, or a Sound Mind in a Sound Body.”

Further to the creative campaign, ASICS EMEA also committed to ban physical results before and after photographs on its own channels and on over 500 ASICS FrontRunner community accounts. The community will instead only share images that reflect the uplifting feeling movement brings and that show the emotional impact of exercise on the body and mind.

The campaign aims to fight against unhealthy relationships with exercise and, by going against category norms, challenges perceptions of what an exercise transformation can be. By highlighting the mental health benefits of exercise and encouraging people to engage in fitness for wellbeing the brand breaks down barriers of entry and makes fitness more accessible for all.