Far Out in the City: HOKA brings the Mountains to Manhattan

Far Out in the City: HOKA brings the Mountains to Manhattan

HOKA set out to reignite the trail performance category by generating excitement for the relaunch of Mafate X, not as just another shoe, but as a beacon of pure, unrelenting obsession.

Challenge

HOKA, the iconic California performance footwear brand, aimed to showcase its dominance in trail running and crown the Mafate X the ultimate emblem of endurance, innovation, and intensity.

Jellyfish Solution

Jellyfish created the Far Out Experience, which transported ultra trail-running into the heart of New York City via a 48 hour immersive ad. 

Inside this custom-built portal-like experience, trail runners found themselves running through a lifelike Joshua Tree desert. A custom treadmill was buried in desert terrain and surrounded by native flora, simulated wind hit runners with every stride, while climate control replicated the heat. Layered desert sounds, including birdsong and breeze, transported them even deeper. 

The real immersion came from the tech

A bespoke digital backdrop coded from scratch, that moved with your speed and ensured no two runners ran the same trail. The faster you ran, the faster the desert blurred past. And as time passed, the light shifted too. Morning, noon and dusk, all rolling by in real-time. 

When no runner was in the experience, the installation became a 3D billboard, with Mafate X graphics and film of trail runners tackling ultra trails displayed in our real desert environment.

Impact

The activation turned a busy city block into a head-turning reminder of HOKA’s innovation and trail heritage, reconnecting the brand with the elite ultra-running community while sparking curiosity in a broader audience. By collapsing the distance between city and trail, the Mafate X Far Out Experience didn’t just launch a shoe, it launched the Mafate X mindset.

Resources

2 Jun 2026Jellyfish

Google Marketing Live 2026: Key Insights for Brands

At GML 2026, Google delivered on a vision two years in the making: formally repositioning Gemini as the central engine driving its entire ad, commerce, and measurement ecosystem. This marks Google’s most aggressive AI-first stance yet, shifting the marketer’s role from granular channel management to strategic input curation. Check out our breakdown of the key takeaways and what they mean for your brand.

Read Article
27 May 2026Jellyfish

Google Marketing Live 2026: What it Means for Search

Search has evolved. It’s now an AI answer layer that recommends, not just retrieves. At Google Marketing Live 2026, Google confirmed the shift from “10 blue links” to AI-generated answers, actions, and commerce inside conversational interfaces. To help brands navigate this new landscape, Jai Amin, Chief Solutions Officer, Media Activation at Jellyfish outlines six priorities for brands in the AI Search era.

Read Article
21 May 2026Jellyfish

HOKA turns Hackney Half into a live canvas celebrating the intersection of running and culture

HOKA partnered with Jellyfish to launch "Let's Fly Hackney," an experiential, multichannel campaign in celebration of its support of the HOKA Hackney Half Marathon. From an evolving mural and a Lime bike takeover to Citymapper activations and free recovery rides in branded black cabs, we embedded HOKA right into the fabric of Hackney culture.

Read News

Up Next

The Deadly Billboard marks Final Destination Return

To mark the 25th anniversary of the cult horror franchise, Final Destination returned in 2025 with Final Destination: Bloodlines. Warner Bros partnered with Jellyfish to design a bold, eerie activation designed to reintroduce the saga and tap into Gen Z's taste for twisted thrills.

Read More