The result is a 48-second film titled “The Ridiculous Run,” created by TBWA\Neboko, which sees women running on a main road at night in a convoy of cars and bikes to keep them safe.

In support of Adidas’ ongoing initiatives, its Running app includes safety-focused features such as sharing runners’ live location with selected followers, as well as educational content and allyship prompts. It claims to have collected more than 120,000 pledges so far to “never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.”

A positive response

Speaking to Adweek, Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, a group advocating for women’s safety through personal and legislative action, was positive about the initiative.

“It’s quite the entertaining two fingers up at Samsung after they had to pull their very very similar looking ad, which had a woman running at 2 a.m. alone and having a little flirt with the man behind her on a bike,” Klingler said. “I am all for turning a situation on its head and investing in women’s sport while getting one up on a competitor.”

Recently, Adidas released another campaign, also from TBWA\Neboko, focused on runners with disabilities. Titled “Running Needs Nothing But You,” the 1-minute film features five diverse runners and encourages them “to see past distance and expectation. Running is about you, your personal experience, and nothing else.”