Asics announced the launch of the Onitsuka Tiger 2012 global brand campaign. The campaign will span one year from January 2012 and will be featured at a number of events, including music concerts, art exhibits, and festivals.

The Born of Sport, Made of Japan campaign, dubbed the “podium” campaign, pays homage to the iconic competition podium. The concept is inspired by Onitsuka Tigerʼs connection to its rich athletic history and Japanese heritage.

The Winnersʼ Podium in the visual motif is linked to the history of Onitsuka Tiger. The brand originated in sports and was loved by athletes from 1949 to 1977. Today, the brand is known throughout the world as an original Japanese sports fashion brand.

The design and motif on the Winnersʼ Podium is a modern arrangement of a traditional Japanese flower, the plum blossom.

The brand history expressed in Onitsuka Tigerʼs Born of Sport, Made of Japan campaign will be featured on onitsukatiger.com, and will be updated periodically beginning February 2012.

The campaign was established by a new internal Onitsuka Tiger management team and outside global marketing agency, Culver City, California-based Pitch. The new Onitsuka Tiger team is leading the charge of reinvigorating and transforming the brand including new product and the addition of several new retail accounts.

The ads will appear in menʼs and womenʼs lifestyle, fashion and music magazines such as Nylon, Complex, Teen Vogue, Filter, Fader and Vice. Beyond traditional magazine print ads, the podium campaign will also appear on key online media and regionally in stores, at music and art events and festivals and through a variety of unique grassroots promotions throughout the year.

“Today, Onitsuka Tiger embraces its vintage athletic roots while redirecting its focus to the designs that have lasted the test of
time,” says Senior Category Lifestyle Manager Natacha Alpert. “The brand maintains a spirit that only comes from having such a fertile history with many triumphant moments shared with some of the worldʼs greatest athletes.”

The new campaign demonstrates the evolution that is currently
taking place at Onitsuka Tiger. In mid-2011, the brand expanded
its internal team with the additions of Alpert and Sales and
Marketing Manager Colin Brickley. Soon after, Pitch was named
the global agency of record.

The new team has been responsible for expanding and invigorating distribution. Existing accounts that will continue to sell the brand include Nordstrom, Journeys, Bloomingdales and Zappos.com. New accounts include Barneys and J.Crew, and accounts such as Urban Outfitters have been expanded to include womenʼs product.

“We are establishing Onitsuka Tiger as a business unit in order to become a premier global lifestyle brand,” says Kevin Wulff, president and CEO of Asics America Corporation.

New styles and collections will launch for Fall 2012 which will be
previewed at the Agenda Tradeshow in Long Beach, Calif., Jan.
5-6, 2012 and the Project Tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nev.
Feb.13-15, 2012.