ASICS writes a paid 15-minute movement break into employment contracts — Silver Lion

In September 2024, ASICS and PR agency Golin launched 'The Desk Break', an earned-first campaign built on the brand's 2023 State of Mind study of 26,000 people in 22 countries. It found that mental wellbeing starts to decline after just two hours of continuous desk work, with stress rising sharply after four hours. Instead of running another wellness ad, ASICS did something a sports brand had never done: it entered the world of employment law.

Working with Dr Brendon Stubbs of King's College London, ASICS ran an experiment in which 80 office workers added a daily 15-minute movement break for a week: State of Mind scores jumped 22.5%, stress fell 14.7%, productivity rose 33.2% and focus improved 28.6%. Armed with that evidence, the brand created the world's first employment contract clause for movement — a legally worded guarantee of a paid 15-minute Desk Break — added it to ASICS UK contracts, and gave the clause away for any employer to use.

To make the science loud, Succession's Brian Cox starred as 'the world's scariest boss' in a 75-second PSA that ends with him in gym shorts yelling 'Run, jump, roller-skate... just move for your mind.' HR and workplace influencers spread the clause, and #DeskBreak empty-desk posts before World Mental Health Day raised charity funds. The campaign reached 2.3B people in 37 countries, tracked 1.2M real desk breaks, saw 60+ companies adopt the clause, was shared by the WHO Director-General — and won a Creative B2B Silver Lion at Cannes 2025.