The cost of running: LSKD reveals female runners’ fear inside

Just ahead of International Women's Day, LSKD, an Australian activewear brand, has launched an ad campaign highlighting what it is like for women to go for a run.

The ad features a woman leaving her gated community to go running with her earphones on. Throughout the duration of the ad, the viewers become a party to the woman’s internal monologue as she reacts to the many men ogling or even catcalling her.  

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The catch here is that all her reactions are in her head. Starting with a precautionary “Is there anyone around? No, all good. She calms herself by saying "He was just being weird” and "They are just being stupid” as she meets one rude man after another. 

After being leered at, honked at, and whistled at, the woman finds herself being followed by another runner who, to her dismay, happens to be a man. 

Her mental monologue now goes from “I should turn my music down" to “it’s probably nothing" and to “is anyone going to hear me if I scream?” To her relief and to that of the viewers, the male runner happens to be just that, a runner. 

However, her ordeal does not end before driving the message across: “She runs, but she’s never just running,” highlighting the invisible mental labour women have to undertake to do something as mundane as running. 

While the woman was probably dressed in LSKD activewear, the objective of this ad wasn’t to push the brand’s product but the plight of its female consumers. 

“92% of women feel concerned for their safety when on a run… let that sink in,” reads the caption of the ad on Instagram. 

While the brand is Australian with minimal to no awareness in India, the communication of its latest ad has the potential to resonate across borders: “An activity that should be freeing quickly becomes a mental checklist: is my phone charged? Who’s around? Is the path lit?”

LSKD isn’t the first international activewear brand turning the grim reality of the “92% women” into an ad. In 2023, the German brand Adidas launched a similar ad campaign titled, The Ridiculous Run. 

This ad, launched in response to the same 92% statistic cited by LSKD, shows the absurdity of what women feel they must do to stay safe, such as running with a 10-car motorcade and floodlights. 

Conversely, Samsung’s 2022 ad campaign titled Night Owls showed a woman running alone at 2 AM with earbuds. The ad faced massive backlash for being tone-deaf and unrealistic, with many pointing out that no woman would feel safe doing so. The ad had to be pulled down.