Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Sneaker Boutique Ad

I blogged not too long ago about an article detailing the world of sneaker collecting. Given how much ink has been dedicated to the whole phenomenom, I found the article's wide-eyed perspective pretty amusing. My take was that there's nothing new or even underground about rare sneakers, a take, while hardly controversial, was reinforced in my mind with an ad I spotted in a recent issue of Wire magazine.

Here's the ad:


Mainstreaming of the trend aside, I found the ad really interesting and here are some of the questions/observations that popped into my head while studying it:

1. The mail carrier featured in the ad is a real United States Postal Service employee. But is the store owner real? I don't think so. Check out his track jacket, and for that matter his jeans and logo-less sneakers.....it's all wrong somehow.

2. And while we're focusing on him, isn't it interesting that USPS chose someone of Asian ethnicity to own the store?

3. Check out the shoes on the wall behind the "owner." You'll recognize styles, but notice how their logos are strangely obscurred. I recognize my Nike Stabs on the far left of the middle shelf, but its orange swoosh looks like it was half-erased.

Now granted, I doubt the ad was targeted to reach the small population of people who frequent sneaker boutiques, but it's interesting to take note of how USPS interpreted the concept, tweaked it slightly and transformed into an advertisement designed to appeal to the masses.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

it seems like u find it wrong that they chose an asian store owner for the ad.


and of course the logos dont look right on the shoes in the background. this isnt a nike ad. its a usps ad. they blurred out the logos for the same reason they blur them on tv.

Lois said...

Not wrong, just an interesting choice. I wonder about the thinking that went into choosing someone of that particular ethnicity.

And yeah, I realize that it's not a Nike ad, but given that it's set in a sneaker boutique, it might as well be. So I just wonder, why obscure the obvious?

ian said...

You have to clear the use of other trademarked logos in ads like this. This is S.O.P.

Lois said...

I did not know that, Ian. Still, movies use products all the time that they don't clear. I wonder if USPS just didn't want to deal with any hassles from Nike (even if sans logo many of the styles shown in the ad--like the Jordans for instance--are clearly Nikes).

Dee Wells said...

I look at this ad and find it very interesting who they chose to own the store and how he's dressed for sure. The dress is "Ok" and that seems to be the key, keep it simple and keep the attention on the mail carrier and USPS.

To sneakerheads, we can look at the kicks on display and decipher Air Max '95, Air Stabs, Air SC Trainers, etc.

Thanks for posting this as usual.

Kangsta! said...

and the ad was shot at undefeated on la brea. i don't know if he's the actual owner.

Lois said...

The plot thickens! Thanks for the added info, Kangsta.