Once the leading sports brand in Taiwan, Reebok had faded in popularity due to reduced investment and strong competitor marketing over several years. Reebok decided to re-enter the Taiwan market with the launch of EasyTone sneakers, but recognised that the brand was perceived as out-of-date and lacked a connection to a younger generation of consumers.

Taiwan’s youth have experienced the economic and social benefits of an ‘Asian tiger economy’. A savvy generation, they are less responsive to traditional advertising, instead seeking inspiration from brands around movements that are bold and challenge convention. Reebok Taiwan captured this youth sentiment through a ‘No Pants Day’, the day after Valentines, to purposefully clash with the romance and sentiment of the 14th Feb in a daring way.‘No Pants Day’ was 1 stage in a campaign that created cheeky, creative content that communicated product benefits and tied back to Reebok’s mantra of ‘redefining sports to bring back joy’. The integrated PR, social media, events, and advertising campaign caused a storm both online and offline helping Reebok’s brand perception shift from old and dated to young and fresh, increased in-store traffic by 150% and boosted EasyTone sales by 20% in March alone.

Challenging post-Valentine sentiments, on 15th Feb, 20 female models participated in a flash mob with their upper body dressed in formal, work clothing and lower halves in underwear only, causing a storm of interest amongst professionals commuting to work, with many capturing and sharing images and videos on smartphones, triggering a word-of-mouth effect. The agency secured an exclusive with Taiwan’s leading online news site, Apple Daily, in addition to creating a bite-size viral to seed onto popular social media platforms to build on the wave of interest. As awareness peaked, conversations were expanded upon by issuing a challenge to the public to participate. Held the next day, a combined models and public ‘No Pants Day’ was undertaken in tandem with spokesperson media interviews on the brand’s re-emergence in Taiwan. To drive impact, images from the events were adapted for use in advertising and in-store consumer events to engage consumers.

EasyTone sales grew 20% in March alone following the campaign and sales momentum for Reebok continues to grow. The campaign generated a total ad value of US$1.3m and 13m+ impressions through 295 media stories - 98 of them broadcasts - totalling 162 minutes of free airtime across news and culture TV programs. 10 broadcast channels reported on 'No Pants Day' during prime time and all TV news channels in Taiwan covered the news, with over half describing Reebok as a ‘leading’ and ‘famous' brand – driving positive perceptions. The campaign’s impact spilled into other markets, with online articles in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and China. YouTube virals of the events have generated 5m views to date, and the various campaign touch points increased in-store traffic by 150%.