On wanted to expand their reach with younger runners who already live in the activewear space but hadn’t yet connected with the feeling behind On’s lightweight Swiss engineering. We gave that feeling a name: Schweben, the German word for “to float.” The word became our platform to reframe the runner’s high in a way that was simple, memorable, and uniquely On.

The campaign leaned into a striking visual style of athletes suspended in air, drifting above skylines and clouds, to make Schweben feel instantly ownable. It all came to a head with a New York Marathon stunt where performers appeared to run mid-air above the crowds, designed for virality and social pickup. From there, Schweben grew into a cultural idea through manifesto films, creator content, and UGC that invited people everywhere to share how they Schweben, turning a Swiss-engineered detail into a global movement.