Launching nationally on June 15, the 60-second 'Goodbye' spot encourages viewers to look into the future, where 'anything is possible'.
"It's about encouraging the average person to do a bit of exercise, have some fun and unleash the potential within. It's not about breaking world records, just your own," said Kelvin Cheng, managing director of Li Ning's agency Leo Burnett Beijing.
"The brand wants to encourage Chinese people to participate in sport and use the power of sport to release the enormous potential of Chinese people. That is why the brand believes anything is possible."
The Goodbye spot focuses on people's outstretched hands. It features a sleepy man yawning before his morning exercise, a triumphant football player who has scored a goal and a woman relaxing her bound knuckles kick-boxing.
The campaign leverages the fact that either because of a fear of failure or society's emphasis on academic achievement above all else, few mainland Chinese participate in sports although there is wide interest in spectator sports.
Cheng said the campaign uses an inspirational rather than forceful tone to tap into people's hopes of riding on the back of China's unprecedented economic growth to improve and enrich their own lives.
"(It's about) saying goodbye to yesterday, and looking to the future."
The campaign is targeted at the 16 to 25 year-old consumers who are sport players, amateurs and those who have yet to take up a sport.
Li Ning has also leveraged an extensive retail presence - 2,000 sales outlets and 369 franchise shops - roll out a point-of-sales branding campaign across China based on its "anything is possible" branding platform.
Olympics gymnastic gold medallist Li Ning founded the sportswear label and raised its profile with a series of games sponsorships. Li Ning is now the biggest sportswear brand in China ahead of its international rivals.
