The TCS New York City Marathon
Every November, the world’s largest marathon races through the raucous streets of New York City. The evocative event needed a powerful campaign to match, so we boiled the emotions behind a billion different marathon moments down to one universal truth…
TV
For three years, the campaign was anchored by a TV spot created to mimic the energy and intensity of not just the race, but of the city itself (hence the bucket drumming).
OOH
Then we papered the town with innovative OOH buys ranging from subway cards to wildpostings to billboards in Times Square.
50 Years Running
2020 was meant to be the marathon’s 50th anniversary celebration, but, well, you know the rest. Most of our plans for the year-long fete were scrapped, but our anthem spot comprised of historic footage and audio debuted during the 2019 broadcast—and it’s one of my favorite pieces.
Motion
Each year we supplemented the campaign with addition motion assets including runner profiles (like Sully’s air traffic controller), virtual running videos, and some one-offs like this one celebrating a particularly strong field of American women.
It will move you.
I was also fortunate enough to run the race in 2018.
And it was an unforgettable experience.
