Reebok “Belly’s Gonna Get Ya”

Forgotten Adverts · 2000

Published 22 August 2026

Reebok “Belly’s Gonna Get Ya” was a 40-second British television commercial from 2000 in which a runner is chased through the city by an enormous anthropomorphic beer belly. The campaign catalogued the work under the alternate title “Reebok ‘Blob’”; the recurring warning “Belly’s gonna get ya” remains the preferred archive identity.

Why It Mattered

Its comic, slightly grotesque pursuit turned exercise into something more familiar than elite sporting aspiration: trying to stay in shape, feel good and enjoy yourself. The character became a recognisable advertising reference point, later inspiring Reebok and Hanon’s 2018 Workout Lo Plus “Belly’s Gonna Get Ya” footwear homage.

💬 ARCHIVE MEMORY CHECK

**Do you remember the moment the belly took to the motorbike?**

👇 *Primary sources, technical records, and historical breakdown in pinned comment.*

The Chase

- The belly pursues the runner through an urban environment, taking shortcuts along the way.
- Its shortcuts include using a lift and riding a motorbike.
- The runner escapes by clinging to a gutter as the belly goes into the water.

Built Monster Effects

- Lowe Lintas designed the belly, which Asylum made from hollowed foam, latex, artificial hair and synthetic moles.
- An actor performed inside the costume.
- Post-production removed the actor’s legs and extended the body.

Associated With

Reebok / Lowe Lintas - advertiser or agency

Defining Feature

An enormous anthropomorphic beer belly pursuing a runner

Status

Unresolved - Original campaign ended; exact final broadcast date unknown

Campaign Credits & End Frame

- Client: Reebok; agency: Lowe Lintas; writer: Brian Turner; art director: Micky Tudor.
- Traktor directed the film for production company Partizan.
- The closing shoe shot read “Lose your beer belly,” followed by “Reebok. Whatever your goal.”

Primary Records

- **Interest swells in Reebok belly — The Guardian, 6 December 2000:**
- **Reebok to make TV ad belly toys — The Guardian, 19 December 2000:**

Image Sources

- **Image 1**
- **Image 2**
- **Image 3**
- **Image 4**
- **Image 5**

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference.

Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

Low-resolution still of a man in a white T-shirt running toward the camera on a city street, with a large flesh-colored rounded object behind him near double yellow road lines. — Source
Credit
elephant.art
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The Reebok “Belly” campaign personified an obstacle to exercise as a pursuer following its runner through the city.

A large flesh-colored belly-shaped form with a visible navel is mounted over a dark motorcycle or motorized vehicle on a paved path beside trees and a metal railing. — Source
Credit
elephant.art
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Putting the pursuing belly on a motorised vehicle pushed the campaign’s physical joke beyond an ordinary foot chase.

A large flesh-colored rounded object rides above a dark wheeled vehicle on an elevated roadway beside a glass-fronted building. — Source
Credit
elephant.art
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The chase continues above street level, keeping the oversized belly at the centre of Reebok’s surreal running advert.

Source

Credit

Reebok advertising film; still from the supplied Belly's Gonna Get Ya video

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The Lose the Beer Belly slogan makes the chase's purpose explicit, turning an exaggerated creature into a comic warning about inactivity.