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Succession's Brian Cox & ASICS Promote World Mental Health Day

The "World's Scariest Boss" highlighted ASICS' Desk Break experiment.

Michael Ehrlich

Brian Cox for ASICS
Brian Cox for ASICS / ASICS

Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, global footwear brand ASICS has teamed up with the world's scariest boss to encourage desk breaks in the office.

Emmy award winning actor Brian Cox of Succession fame stars in the brands PSA that highlight the silent threat to our mental health - the desk we work at every day - and calls on office workers to prioritize mental health by taking a short movement break during the work day.

Although an entertaining marketing campaign with Cox channeling his famous Succession character Logan Roy, ASICS is serious about encouraging in-person and home offices around the world to move for their mental health by taking regular breaks.

"I've played some pretty intimidating characters in my time but who would have thought a desk could be scarier?" Cox said.

"It's great to see ASICS try and do something about this and encourage people to support their mental health through exercise. As I say in the film, run, jump, roller skate. I don't care. Just move for your mind."

ASICS' global State of Mind study - involving 26,000 participants across the world - revealed a strong connection between sedentary behavior and mental well-being with State of Mind scores declining the longer individuals remain inactive. However, a new Desk Break experiment shows that just 15 minutes of movement can help to reverse the effects.  

"At ASICS, we champion the power of movement, not just on the body, but also on the mind," added Tomoko Koda, Managing Executive Officer for ASICS.

"It's why we're called ASICS – an acronym for the Latin 'Anima Sana in Corpore Sano' or 'Sound Mind in a Sound Body'. Our global study revealed that the hours spent at your desk for hours on end are having a real and scary impact on our minds. That's why we wanted to deliver a powerful message from the world's scariest boss to inspire people to move their minds.

ASICS' Desk Break experiment - overseen by DrBrendon Stubbs of King's College London - found that when office workers added just 15 minutes of movement into their working day, their mental state improved by 22.5% with participants' overall State of Mind scores increasing from 62/100 to 76/100.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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