When I started seeing the subway ads for Reebok’s new Run Easy campaign, I actually thought they were an intentional attempt at irony and/or reverse psychology.

The stark images of distance and marathon runners, collapsing from their strain, are superimposed by seemingly cheeky ad copy suggesting, for instance, that “A 10-minute mile is just as far as a 6-minute mile. Run easy.” I figured, oh, that’s just supposed to egg on the serious runners into buying a pair of Reeboks, just to show them (whoever “them” are — the copywriters?) how a run’s supposed to go.

But maybe I was just outsmarting myself. Because the Run Easy campaign doesn’t really hint at any such ironic intentions. And even if that was the intent, the messaging seems to have fallen flatter than flat with other subway denizens:

It sounds like they are trying to promote being slow. Maybe its a ploy for a whole other shoe product. They are trying to fatten us up so that we have to buy their velcro sneakers when we are too fat to reach our shoelaces.

It’d be a novel way for an athletic apparel maker to create mindshare in anticipation of future flab-related business. But then, it does position Reebok to grab a bigger slice of that athleisure market.