ASICS launched the May 12, 2026 campaign Get The Glow — the first in the brand's history entering the beauty space. No creams, no filters, no multi-step skincare routines. Instead: athletes’ faces straight after running, walking, or playing tennis.
The Japanese sports footwear manufacturer is reaching for one of the most coveted aesthetic trends and redefining it completely — placing movement where serums and face masks once stood. This is not an experiment. It’s a precisely planned strategic move that could change the rules of the game in several categories at once.
Glow Not from a Tube, but from Movement
The beauty market has long built its narrative around products: the more advanced the formula, the better the result. Consumers invested time and money in multi-step morning and evening routines, while the beauty industry responded with continuous innovations. Against this backdrop comes ASICS with a surprisingly simple message: "no filters, no expensive skincare, no complicated routines".
The Get The Glow campaign showcases real faces — unretouched, not illuminated by studio lighting that flattens pores. These are portraits taken immediately after physical exertion: runners crossing the finish line, tennis players after a match, women returning from a walk. Blushed cheeks, slightly damp hair, a spark in the eyes. This is what the brand calls "glow" — and claims it comes from movement, not a product.
One of the campaign’s faces is Zeynep Sönmez, a professional tennis player representing ASICS. Her natural post-match photo became one of the most recognizable visuals of the entire campaign.
"I love how I feel after playing tennis and after movement. Sport has always been a huge part of my life. I’m convinced that movement has the power to lift you up and make you glow from within." — Zeynep Sönmez, professional tennis player, ASICS ambassador.
An Insight That Changes the Power Dynamic
Behind the campaign lies a specific market observation: global interest in the concept of "glow" is growing at a pace that catches the eye of every brand strategist. According to data cited by ASICS, searches related to the term increased by 43% year-on-year, while social media discussions about "quick glow" surged by 375%. This is not a fleeting trend — it’s a signal of a shift in collective consumer imagination.
At the same time, the brand reached for data showing the scale of the problem on the other side of the equation. Women spend an average of 22 minutes per day on skincare, and 74% use multi-step routines — morning and evening. This time and financial burden is challenged by the Get The Glow campaign, which offers an alternative rooted in movement.
The key narrative element of the campaign is the result of the ASICS Uplifting Minds Study — a research project conducted by the brand in collaboration with Dr. Brendon Stubbs from King's College London. Its conclusion is precise and easy to remember: just 15 minutes and 9 seconds of physical activity is enough to start improving your mental state. Translating into beauty language is obvious — the visible glow begins in the mind.
A Category-Hijack Strategy — 'Category Hijack' in Practice
From a marketing perspective, Get The Glow is a classic example of a category hijack: a brand enters the space of another category not to sell its own products, but to claim its most important concepts and emotions. ASICS does not launch any serum or cream. It does not enter pharmacies. Instead, it redefines what "glow" means — placing it firmly within the context of physical activity.
This is a particularly risky but also potentially highly valuable move. The risk is obvious: for a sports brand to enter the beauty space without proper execution could look like opportunism. A brand that for decades was primarily associated with advanced running shoes must convince consumers that its voice in the discussion about skin and appearance is authentic.
Gary Raucher, Global Head of Marketing at ASICS, explains the logic behind this move in a way that is hard to dispute:
"ASICS was founded on the belief that when you move your body, you move your mind. Long before the beauty industry started bottling glow, people achieved it naturally through movement. In a culture where glow is often manufactured, we want to show something real.The most meaningful glow starts from within — through movement. "
— Gary Raucher, Global Head of Marketing, ASICS.
The answer to the question of credibility lies precisely here: ASICS did not enter beauty randomly. The brand has been building a narrative for years centered on the connection between movement and mental well-being, and this campaign is its logical extension — not an impulsive jump into a trend.
"Move Your Body, Move Your Mind" — The Foundation Behind the Campaign
To understand why Get The Glow works strategically, we must go back to January 2026, when ASICS launched its global communication platform Move Your Body, Move Your Mind.
The campaign, which featured a new arrangement of The Beach Boys’ classic hit "Good Vibrations", defined the brand’s position for the year: movement as a tool for mental well-being, not just physical fitness.
On this same platform, earlier activations were built: Desk Break, where Brian Cox warned against mental burnout caused by sedentary work; Dramatic Transformations, where the brand seized the popular "before/after" format and redirected it toward mental health; and finally Little Reminders — a campaign with children reminding adults that exercise matters because of how it makes you feel, not how you look.
Get The Glow fits into this sequence as the next step — this time aimed directly at the beauty space. The brand doesn’t change its topic, it merely changes the stage on which it plays out. This is what makes the campaign credible: it is not detached from context, but grows organically from a foundation built consistently over several years.
How Distribution and Social Media Mechanisms Work
The campaign was planned from day one as a multi-channel initiative — encompassing television, digital channels, social media, and retail points. Social media plays a special role due to the nature of the concept itself.
Get The Glow Campaign: Why ASICS Redefines Beauty Without Cosmetics
Faces after exertion — flushed, real, unretouched — are by definition vertical content, perfect for Reels and Stories. The contrast between "filters vs. real skin" or "22-minute routine vs. 15-minute run" lends itself to endless content variations: ambassador testimonials, UGC from users, short affirmations about well-being. The brand also has a ready-made hook for generating discussion: does movement truly replace skincare? This question alone is an invitation to engaging comments.
According to the campaign’s logic, ASICS does not want to mirror cosmetic brands on social media — it wants to take over their language and emotions, while preserving its own positioning. This is fertile ground for earned media: the topic is simple, timely, and slightly provocative, naturally encouraging media and content creators to comment on it.
Market Data Confirms the Direction
ASICS’ move fits into a much broader trend of blurring boundaries between sport, well-being, and beauty. According to a Euromonitor International report from 2025, the global wellness market will reach a value of 7 billion USD by 2027, with the fastest-growing segment being category convergence: consumers are increasingly seeking products and brands that combine physical activity with aesthetic results.
According to Kantar BrandZ analysis from 2025, sporting brands that successfully expand their narrative into well-being and lifestyle achieve 34% higher loyalty among consumers aged 18–35 than those that communicate only technical performance. ASICS has consistently moved in this direction for at least four years.
Another noteworthy context is the dynamics of the cosmetics market. According to a Mordor Intelligence report from 2025, the global skincare products market is valued at over 180 billion USD and grows at around 5% annually. Entering this discourse — even without selling a single cosmetic product — gives ASICS access to audiences that were previously hard to reach.
Strengths and Risks of the Campaign
The strongest point of Get The Glow is its consistency with the brand’s previous platform. ASICS does not jump into the beauty trend from the outside — it enters it as a brand with years of credibility in the topic of movement and mental health. This is a crucial difference that builds trust and minimizes the risk of the communication being seen as opportunistic.
The second advantage is the simplicity of the message. The campaign’s slogan can be summarized in one sentence: movement gives a glow that no cosmetic can replace. In the era of information overload, such precision is valuable in itself. It’s easy to quote, easy to discuss, easy to adapt into dozens of content formats.
However, the risks are real. The biggest one is the tension between message and execution: ASICS criticizes "manufactured" beauty glow, yet the campaign itself is a carefully planned, professionally photographed PR production. If audiences notice this contradiction, the message may lose credibility.
The second risk is the breadth of the promise — the concept of "glow" is emotionally and fashionably broad, meaning the campaign must be exceptionally strong visually to avoid becoming too literal.
"ASICS is doing something many brands talk about, but few manage to sustain: building a platform through accumulation.It keeps finding new points of evidence, new environments, and new audiences for the same conviction — and that’s why the platform maintains its shape so effectively. "
— Famous Campaigns, analysis of ASICS’ communication platform, March 2026.
Strategic Assessment — Is This a Sustainable Move?
From a marketing perspective, Get The Glow is an example of brand stretch grounded in the brand’s own ownership of the topic.
ASICS does not enter beauty because beauty is trendy — it enters because, for years, it has built credible authority in discussions about how movement affects body and mind. This authority gives the campaign a foundation that no other sports brand attempting the same from the outside has.
The question of the campaign’s sustainability depends on one factor: whether Get The Glow remains a one-time experiential experiment or becomes a permanent component of the Move Your Body, Move Your Mind platform. If ASICS decides to continue the narrative of movement as a source of beauty in future iterations, the campaign could solidify the brand as the owner of a simple, emotional insight that has a real chance to change how people think about skincare and appearance.
If not — it will remain an interesting episode in the history of category hijack. But considering the consistency with which the Japanese sports giant builds its communication platform, the continuation scenario seems far more likely.
ASICS Corporation
ASICS is a Japanese sports conglomerate founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka in Kobe. The brand’s name is an acronym of the Latin phrase Anima Sana in Corpore Sano — a healthy mind in a healthy body — which has defined the company’s philosophy from the start. Today, ASICS is present in over 90 countries, employs tens of thousands of people, and is among the world’s largest producers of sports footwear.
The brand is best known for its running shoe lines GEL-Kayano, GEL-Nimbus, and GEL-Cumulus, but in recent years its position in the sportstyle segment has also grown dynamically. Over the last five years, the company’s stock has risen by over 400%, making ASICS one of the fastest-growing brands in the sector.
Fun fact: ASICS was the first sports brand in the world to sign an ambassadorship contract with... a dog — as part of the Mind's Best Friend campaign, promoting walks as a form of mental health care.
