Over the past few years, VITRO’s work for ASICS has been consistently high-quality, doing a remarkable job of depicting products’ ability to allow athletes achieve the impossible but not quite the unbelievable. I’m talking, of course, of popular spots that feature athletes out-running arrows and kind of walking on water, which I would link here but I know you’ve seen them hundreds of times already.

Because of this history, a new spot, “What’s Next” is a bit surprising. There’s nothing superhuman or jaw-dropping here. Just some good ol’ fashioned working out. In a note from VITRO, they mention that the spot was “shot in three days, in two countries, 4 parks, 3 gyms and an Italian restaurant, using 3 Olympians (Bryan Clay, Andy Potts & Ms. Lolo Jones) 12 elite US athletes in all — a hurdler, shot putter, javeliner, golfer, tennis star, triathlete, decathlete, pole vaulter, and track star. Cool Stuff: Our creative director wrote the lyrics for the song which provides the backbone of the piece.” Even more cool stuff: “Javeliner” is apparently a word. Try to use it in a sentence sometime this weekend!

While “What’s Next” certainly looks beautiful, and is very well directed (by some dude named “Xander”), it doesn’t exactly employ an execution brand new to the area of sports apparel. Perhaps as a results of heavy marketing, ASICS feels it doesn’t need to be different to stand out, having gained that brand recognition of the last few years. In short: It’s great, but not the groundbreaking work we’ve come to expect. Credits after the jump.

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Vitro’s new Asics spot for the GEL-Kayano 19 sneaker would’ve been perfect for Super Bowl XVI with its subtle Bayou flavor and rain-soaked streets. Two weeks later, the ad may not exactly be topical, but it’s still effective enough to make running seem enjoyable. Not only can you get cardiovascular exercise, but you can also make new friends with overpopulated birds. Usually people run from pigeons to avoid getting hit with droppings, but hey, if Rocky Balboa can catch a chicken and become heavyweight champion, imagine what you can do once you catch a pigeon.

The commercial is part of the “Nothing but Next” campaign from Asics. Pigeons around the world are training harder than ever to elude capture from nondescriptly handsome white guys. Credits after the jump.

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Last time we covered Asics’ ‘Stop at Never’ campaign, Vitro was running tests on the brand’s latest shoes. An athlete played tennis suspended upside down from a crane (proving Asics are form fitting), while a different shoe withstood the pressure of an industrial jackhammer. In the latest ads from the campaign, Vitro’s veered slightly from their initial track.

Don’t get me wrong, Asics is still completing fun, gravity-defying challenges. In these recent videos, though, it’s not always clear what aspect of the shoe we’re supposed to appreciate. In one, athletes create sidewalk art by running in neon paint. Though the spot successfully emphasizes a neighborhood athlete feel, we’re left wondering what actually sets this shoe apart. Lighter and faster? Isn’t that the message of every running sneak? Another video compares a volleyball player to a grasshopper and a tiger. The animal-athlete thing feels familiar.

This series does best when it’s bizarre. A soccer player dribbles his way through a bespoke “urban treadmill” and a block-breaking martial arts master succumbs to a squeaky shoe. While they don’t always get it right, Asics’ latest tests show that if an athletic brand opts to detour from the typical run faster, harder, be a superhuman strategy, they’re better off highlighting the character-filled and unexpected.

Credits after the jump.

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My, we’ve a lot of new Asics work from Vitro, haven’t we?

Following a series of bizarre durability tests and a shoe-shaped balloon animal, Asics is back to tell you that, yes, the Gel-Lyte33 is quite lightweight, and it enables joggers to keep pace with a truck in the desert should the need arise. Also, this Wild E. Coyote-esque archery contraption might be well suited for super-villains that feel compelled to leave their marks on victims. Are you listening, Rex Velvet?

For those wondering, the guy taking his aggression out on the truck is Ryan Hall, an athlete best known for placing fourth in last year’s Boston Marathon, making him the fastest American marathon runner alive. If the race’s actual winner, Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai, had taken part in this challenge, we assume we’d have a dead truck driver on our hands. Credits after the jump.

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We’ve seen Vitro try some nifty experiments to promote Asics before, but the MDC agency has stepped it up, so to speak, by testing the durability of its client’s various shoes in a project called “Stop at Never.”  The project essentially consists of 10 different videos that reside on the Stop at Never site (an interactive, visually appealing effort in its own right) and show how tough Asics sneakers can be. Who needs the same old shots of beautiful, athletic people running when you can instead watch a burly dude show you how much impact a shoe with gel cushioning can absorb via a jackhammer (above).

Or, how about highlighting how “midsole geometry” can improve agility with the help of 500 lbs. of water pressure (below)? Anyhow, rather that inundate you with every clip, just go to the site, scroll and see for yourself. Guess it’s time to trade in those busted Reeboks we’ve been kicking for who knows who long (ok, they’re actually Ponys but let’s keep that between us). Check out one more clip and credits after the jump.

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From Vitro (the agency formerly known as SKINNY) comes the above TV spot launching the super-light ASICS GEL-Neo33.

As a runner, I can confirm that a move to lightweight shoes has a profound mental effect, similar to how drinking Gatorade can make you think that you’re somehow better at basketball. When your knees and shins hold up, you tend to push yourself past where you would go with heavier shoes, despite experiencing a similar level of fatigue.

Clearly, the joggers in this spot feel the same way, running deep into the late hours of night with their glowing balloons trailing behind them. After constructing a floating tribute to their lighter-than-air idol, the runners rock out to some soaring indie music. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with positioning yourself as the athletic footwear provider to the fashionably fit, is there? See more from the campaign here and view credits after the jump.

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Being from the Midwest, I’m a beer drinker through and through. That’s why ever trip to New York always makes me nervous when I hit the bar scene. It’s not that beer isn’t available; it’s just that it’s your typical, generic crap that I generally don’t enjoy. New Yorkers are classy, mixed-drink types, which I understand and respect. But, we flyover folk need an ice cold brew that doesn’t taste like water to put us at ease. Many times, I’ve owed a wonderful night to Newcastle.

It’s always fun when a product you enjoy makes its foray into television advertising. Did Newcastle need a TV aspect for its U.S. marketing campaign? Probably not. Never underestimate the power of having your logo on taps at the local pub. But, kudos to agency Vitro for trying to capture the odd, quirky conversations that happen in English pubs with this spot, “Goons,” and two others. ECD John Vitro explains in a statement, “Through these characters we learn that first impressions can be deceiving. And just like our beer, things that might at first appear dark can have a positive outcome.” Score one for the Brits. Credits after the jump.

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The folks behind MDC shop Vitro swear to us that no CGI was involved in the making of this clip for Asics, which was inspired by the brand’s lightweight GEL-Blur 33. Instead, the agency solicited the input of a real-life rocket scientist and used 3,000 ping pong balls, two industrial air compressors, 24 air valves, and nearly 800 separate guide lines to create a 72 square-foot shoe that hovers two feet above the ground.

Like a Mr. Wizard episode gone mad, the centerpiece of Vitro’s new Asics campaign is a welcome change from the wet, “shedding” approach the agency has opted for in recent spots for the shoe brand. Credits after the jump…

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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. At least that’s what we gather is Vitro’s thinking behind its latest campaign for Asics, which is pretty much identical in style to the “Sound Mind, Sound Body” spot the San Diego-based agency created for the shoe brand almost a year ago. Well, at least the title’s different in this campaign, which is dubbed “Sport Releases More Than Just Sweat.” Whatever the similarities, it appears that the MDC-owned shop’s efforts are paying off for Asics, which claims to be the number two running shoe brand in the U.S. behind Nike. Broadcast credits and select “Sweat” print ads after the jump.

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