adidas Japan runs a full Tokyo marathon with zero red lights — ADFEST 2018 Grande

adidas Japan was opening the Harajuku Brand Core Store, its first dedicated to city running; Tokyo's 15,772 traffic signals make an uninterrupted urban run nearly impossible.

Analyze every traffic-light cycle in Tokyo and design a full 42.195km marathon route where runners never hit red — a race against the city's own timing.

TBWA\Hakuhodo analyzed Tokyo police traffic data and NAVITIME maps to compute red/green cycles, then designed a 42.195km course with a voice-guidance system. On March 10, 2017, thirty runners picked from 180 applicants left Marunouchi at midnight and ran to the new store; anyone stopped by a red light was eliminated.

All 30 runners passed 96 signals without stopping once; the teaser film's buzz went global and the winner became the new store's first customer. Store sales, adidas Runners of Tokyo membership and brand image all rose; the work won the ADFEST 2018 Outdoor Grande Lotus, AdStars 2017 Silver and a Ciclope Silver.

Tokyo has 15,772 traffic signals — more than New York's 12,460 or London's 6,252 — which makes an uninterrupted city run nearly impossible. When adidas Japan opened Brand Core Store Harajuku, its first store focused on city running, it needed a launch that proved the category. TBWA\Hakuhodo's answer: build a marathon route through the city's timing instead of fighting it.

With cooperation from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the team analyzed the cycles and duration of red and green signals across the city, and used NAVITIME's mapping data to design a full 42.195km course through central Tokyo. A voice-guidance system told each runner the pace and routing needed to keep every light green.

On March 10, 2017, thirty runners selected from 180 applicants nationwide took their mark at midnight in Marunouchi and ran to the goal at the Harajuku store, passing 96 signals without stopping once. The rule was 'Get Stopped, Get Dropped': anyone held by a red light was out. The winner became the first customer of the new store.

A teaser film released in late February created instant buzz, and applications poured in; after the race the response spread globally. The event won the ADFEST 2018 Outdoor Grande Lotus, a Silver at AdStars 2017 and a Ciclope Silver — and adidas credited it with stronger store sales, a growing adidas Runners of Tokyo community and a lift in brand image among Tokyo runners.

The city's own infrastructure became the medium: traffic-light algorithms, normally invisible, were turned into the game itself.

It gave runners a genuine new capability — a non-stop 42.195km city marathon — so the brand earned the story instead of paying for reach.

Every element (pace, route, voice guidance) was data-driven, making the idea hard to copy without the same civic cooperation.

The store was the finish line, turning the event into footfall and the winner into the first customer.

Use the city's own data as the creative material: when a brand solves a real urban annoyance with infrastructure math, the campaign becomes the product and the story distributes itself.

The film and race travelled the award circuit through 2017–2018 — AdStars 2017 Silver, ADFEST 2018 Outdoor Grande Lotus and Ciclope Silver — and were widely credited with launching 'city running' as a category. adidas reported the Harajuku store's sales tracking well, growth in its adidas Runners of Tokyo community, and improved brand perception among Tokyo runners. The company discussed repeating the route in other cities, though no follow-up edition was confirmed; the idea remains a reference for data-driven urban brand experiences.