I expect more from Marketing Professionals

I know it has been discussed and studied for years – the issue of self-image and what the media promotes and how it can affect those who don’t fit the ideal images.

You have the issue of the Ken and Barbie dolls – who really looks like that?

You have Sport Illustrated and their Annual Swimsuit Edition – have you ever been to any beaches like those?

This winter there was a big to-do with a major player in the make-up industry – they were actually touching up the photographs of their models marketing their products!! How good is their make-up if their model's photos need to be touched up after using it?

Every day on TV you see commercials for all sorts of products to make us skinnier, younger, less wrinkles….

It’s all about image in our society today.

I get it and I know sadly, it’s not changing anytime soon.

So we are forced to accept being bombarded by all this perfection in what seems to be every aspect of our lives.

And I have come to accept that in advertising it is always going to be the young, the fit, the good looking. I get it - it sells.

When it comes to movies, having served in the Marine Corps, I have always had issue with directors who do not accurately portray military details. There is no excuse for movies having actors wearing uniforms improperly, or using inaccurate military terms while speaking, or a major pet peeve of mine, saluting improperly!!

Come on folks, bring in a consultant and get it right.

And now I have a beef with the marketing department of a major company in the running industry.

Here is a photo that recently came across a social media feed of mine.

Check out this dude!!!

Young! Lean! Handsome! This guy is so damn good he’s even color coordinated with a nice stripe in his shorts matching his fashionable, over-priced shirt!!!

Now I have nothing against good looking guys – OK, maybe I’m a little envious - myself being old, stocky and out of shape - but hey, good for him.

And I know I often say, “I respect runners of all shapes, sizes and speed” - So I am not going to hold this guy’s good looks against him.

But I am going to question why, whomever produced this advertisement just grabbed some good looking guy from a casting call, gave him some running gear and said, “Go run for us while we take some photos.”

Obviously this guy is not a runner - nor is anyone involved in this advertisement campaign.

Check out his form!

OK, he has good alignment from his ear, through his neck, shoulders and hips, and his elbows are bent nicely………but that is where my compliments end.

Now check out his legs – and no, don’t focus on his muscles – obviously those are going to look good!!

Check out that lead leg. This picture should be in the dictionary next to the term, “over-striding”!

His foot is landing well out in front of his body mass and that means every time his foot comes down he is putting on the brakes!

Now check out his knee – actually, does he even have a knee there? I don’t think he can straighten out his leg any more so than shown in this photo. There is zero bend in that knee which means 100% of the impact as his heel striking the ground is traveling right up his leg and ending in his hip joint! Ouch!

We can discuss the heel strike but I will acknowledge that this is a debatable subject. Is how your foot touches down due to your individual mechanics or have the shoe companies compensated things so much that you now think heel striking is natural? Either way, there is no way this guy can be anything but a heel striker with that over-striding going on.

As for the trailing leg – I honestly don’t know what to say. The only time I have ever seen a stride like this is when someone is running down a steep hill totally out of control!

I understand that most runners don’t focus on their trailing leg – you’re thinking “forward” movement, driving forward, stepping out. You’re not usually thinking about what is going on behind you.

That being said, as your running experience progresses, more attention on what is going on behind you can generate some real positive gains. As you attempt to go faster I stress extending your stride – “behind you” – not out in front, which leads to the aforementioned over-striding. A nice extended push-off. And once you push off, you bring your foot up and around in a circular motion until it comes back under you and then continues down for a landing – a nice mid-foot strike landing. Some runners subscribe to the Pose Method which has your foot moving in less of a circular motion and more of a piston like motion – coming off the ground and heading up towards the hip before rotating forward. I’m not an expert with Pose, I’ve studied it and I have practiced it but I have never mastered it so I’m personally neutral on which approach is best.

Either way, circular or Pose, this guy is neither! Not to be rude but I have no clue what this guy is doing! With the trailing quad at that angle and his foot that high, he is in the middle of the largest possible circular path his foot could physically take! Where is that foot going next? As that knee comes forward, I can’t imagine that foot can go any higher. So where is it going to go? Your guess is as good as mine.

When I give my seminars I have always used the following visual to depict “Good Running Form” vs. “Familiar Running Form”.

When asked about “Bad Form” I often struggle to describe it. It’s like the old definition of pornography: “I can’t describe it but I know it when I see it!”

Perhaps now I should be thanking the marketing director of this major company in the running industry - now I have a photo to add to my presentation to depict “Horrible Running Form”.

So as I previously stated, I have nothing against this good looking model and I don’t judge runners – but please, if you are in the marketing industry, get your details correct.