by Larry EderThis is one of the best videos that I have ever seen about a brand. Taking an iconic moment, the 1983 NYC Marathon, where, in the final, agonizing steps of the New York City Marathon, Rod Dixon, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 1,500 meters in 1972, who caught Geoff Smith, who would go on to win two Boston Marathons.
The story of this marathon was personal for me. I had been at Runners World for two years by then, and when Saucony’s Harry Friedman wanted to run an ad spread saluting Saucony’s Rod Dixon winning the marathon, our production department was in chaos. Remember, this was years before desktop publishing. The ad was beautiful, showing runners crossing the Verrazano Bridge, and a small picture of Rod Dixon celebrating his victory, with Geoff Smith laying on the ground at the finish. It was one of the highest points of the first running boom.
Saucony was a strong brand then, and could have been the biggest brand in running in the early 1980s, but, due to a lack of understanding by Saucony’s management, they missed their opportunity. An iconic brand, they did not battle as well as Nike, New Balance and Brooks.
Saucony, now owned by Wolverine, provided this vide0, showcasing their history of product and their legacy. It is fascinating to look back at product development, and how Saucony’s team built the story with this video. Saucony is in a tough battle with four other brands for running specialty marketshare.
The key with this video is to get it out to local running stores, and help the staffs build enthusiasm for the brand. This video can help build enthusiasm for the Saucony brand. We applaud the work of the video team and hope more runners get to enjoy the video as we have.
