Zendaya stars in Spike Jonze shoe ad
On Running dropped a dreamy new ad called “Shape of Dreams” directed by Spike Jonze that stars Zendaya and stylist Law Roach and spotlights playful product design rather than a straight product demo. The short form campaign is already circulating on social and leans into cinematic storytelling to sell sneakers as style and performance at once. (x.com)
On just put Zendaya into a Spike Jonze-directed dream instead of a standard sneaker ad, and the film is short enough to live on social while still carrying Jonze’s usual cinematic fingerprints. On’s own YouTube playlist labels it “Shape of Dreams, starring Zendaya,” and the brand’s post is the launch point now circulating online. (youtube.com) (x.com) That pairing is unusually specific: Spike Jonze is the director behind films like “Her” and a long list of ads that feel more like short movies, so hiring him signals that On wanted atmosphere and story, not a treadmill-style product demo. Trade coverage has spent years treating Jonze’s brand work as event advertising for exactly that reason. (campaignlive.com) (shots.net) Zendaya is not a one-off celebrity face for On. The Swiss company has been building a longer partnership with her, including a dedicated collection page on On’s United States site and multiple film-led campaigns that tie performance gear to fashion styling. (on.com) (press.on-running.com) Law Roach’s role matters because he is not just another cameo. He is Zendaya’s longtime stylist and image collaborator, so putting him into the campaign keeps the ad connected to the fashion identity that helped make Zendaya valuable to a sportswear brand in the first place. (variety.com) (britannica.com) On has been moving in this direction for at least a year. In April 2025, the company launched “Zone Dreamers,” another Zendaya campaign built as a fictional film trailer, with Law Roach on styling and a surreal visual world instead of a plain product showcase. (press.on-running.com) (wwd.com) By August 2025, the partnership had moved from image to product. Zendaya and Law Roach were tied to the Cloudzone Moon sneaker, described in coverage as Zendaya’s first co-created silhouette with On, which pushed the relationship beyond endorsement into design. (hypebeast.com) (pedestrian.tv) That helps explain why a dreamy ad is useful to On right now. The company is no longer selling only running shoes to serious runners; in its March 3, 2026 results, On said annual net sales passed 3.0 billion Swiss francs, apparel and accessories reached 7.0 percent of sales, and global brand awareness approached 30 percent. (investors.on-running.com) A brand in that position needs to look bigger than footwear without losing its performance credibility. On told investors its apparel business grew 76 percent at constant currency in 2025, which means the company has a real financial reason to market a whole visual world around Zendaya instead of isolating one pair of sneakers in close-up. (fool.com) (investors.on-running.com) So the new Jonze film lands as the next step in a pattern: Zendaya brings star power, Law Roach brings fashion continuity, and Spike Jonze gives On a format that feels like culture before it feels like commerce. For a company that now runs nearly 70 of its own stores and is trying to become a full premium sportswear label, that is not decoration around the product; it is the product story. (investors.on-running.com) (on.com)
