Press Release

Onitsuka Tiger™: Hashirimasenka Shall We Jog?

Irvine, CA (March 1, 2006) - In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Onitsuka Tiger is re-introducing two very popular shoes from that era, the Montreal™ and Marathon 76™. Both models feature upgraded upper materials, from the original nylon to suede and leather, for a more fashionable look.

During the 1970’s, there was a jogging boom in the United States and the Tiger Corsair™ running shoe played an important role. The jogging trend eventually spread to Japan and the Montreal jogging shoe was released, which was seen as a natural evolution of the original Tiger Corsair. The Montreal was the centerpiece of Onitsuka Tiger’s advertising campaign to promote the jogging movement in Japan in the 70’s and 80’s. The campaign was called “Hashirimasenka?” (Translated: Shall we jog?). The Montreal will be available in four color ways and each shoe includes an embedded metal plate on the outsole and a Canadian Maple Leaf embossed on the heel.

What the Montreal was to joggers, the Marathon 76 was to racers. The original was released with the tagline ‘for global domination at the Montreal Olympics’. The Marathon 76 featured a curved outsole in the forefoot and for the first time, vents were built into the upper to provide the ultimate marathon shoe. These advancements must have worked because the Marathon 76 was worn by Olympic Marathon Medalists Frank Shorter and Lasse Viren in Montreal. The updated Marathon 76 will be available in three color-ways, sans air vents.

Onitsuka Tiger continues to roll out authentic athletic footwear for Fall 2006, and there’s a story behind every shoe. From a living room in Kobe, Japan to the hottest shopping districts in the hippest cities on Earth, Onitsuka Tiger stays true to its heritage.