Sneaker Lovers Can Get Their Kicks With These Cool Items

Now, you can own a part of advertising history.
Freedom Of Creation (FOC) designers, Janne Kyttanen and Mads Thomsen, produced this Laser Sintered creation for the international ad agency Amsterdam Worldwide for its client Onitsuka Tiger ‘ASICS’ premium heritage brand and the ad campaign called Electric Tigerland. (By the way, the recent Tansu Shoe for Onitsuka Tiger by Amsterdam Worldwide won a Gold Lion at the 2010 Cannes Advertising Festival for design)

The meter-long shoe called the ‘Electric Light Shoe’ was central to the global Electric Tiger Land campaign for 2008. The 70 cm and 40 cm sized versions were created for Onitsuka Tiger stores world-wide and are now available for purchase.

Several additional designs were produced by FOC to support the campaign such as USB sticks, keyholders, POS material, shoe displays etc. and now you can buy some of these items.

The Electric Shoe
Created for the 2008 Onitsuka Tiger brand campaign, The Electric Light Shoe was the 2nd in the series of iconic sneaker sculptures developed from the agency's ‘Made of Japan’ strategy.



The one meter long ‘city in a sneaker’ was inspired by and pays homage to the Toyko cityscape and provided a platform to tell more stories about the brand to engage the target audience.





The sculpture was used in POS, online and television advertising and received numerous awards and now is your chance to own one.

Electric Light Shoe (large, 70 cm and small, 40cm)
Limited consumer edition of 10 pieces
Type: Media art developed in cooperation with 'Amsterdam Worldwide' for Onitsuka Tiger campaign
Color: White with LED colored lights
Material: Laser Sintered Polyamide
Designers: Janne Kyttänen & Mads Thomsen 2007
Awards: Titanium Lion, International Advertising Fest. Cannes 2008, Dutch Design Awards 2008, Integrated Silver, ADCN 2009
Price for Large (excl. VAT): € 5879.83 buy it here
Price for Small (excl. VAT): € 1678.15 buy it here
Delivery Time: 6 weeks

The USB Shoe (sold as 4 pieces)
And the USB memory shoe – a tiny replica of ‘Electric Light Shoe’ that once activated, the key diffuses a soft illumination, is also available.



Type: 2 GigaByte USB-stick
Color: White with colored LED
Material: Laser Sintered Polyamide
Designer: Janne Kyttänen 2008
Price (excl. VAT): € 81.51
Delivery Time: 2 weeks
buy it here.


Shoe Sculpture Charm (sold as 4 pieces)
A metal miniaturized reproduction of FOC’s ‘Electric Light Shoe’ which can be used as a key ring, pendant or charm is also available for purchase.



Type: Miniature reproduction
Material: Stainless steel
Designer: Janne Kyttänen 2008
Price (excl. VAT): € 81.51
Delivery Time: 2 weeks
buy it here.

Converse Launches New Campaign With "Dr. J" Commercial By Antoine Fuqua.

This is one of those posts inspired by actual events. A few nights ago I was watching tv --Family Guy, if you must know-- and this commercial came on. I paused the dvr (oh, the wonders of technology) and rewound it to watch it again and again. As an advertising creative for over 20 years, I can assure you this happens very rarely. Turns out, the spot is the part of new marketing effort conceived of and executed by Anomaly for Converse.

Basketball legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Carlos Arroyo of the Miami Heat; musicians Jim Jones and Doug E Fresh, legendary ball-handler and God Shammgod, Harlem streetball player Adrian "A-Butta" Walton, Kenny Anderson, Converse skaters, Sammy Baca, Eli Reed, Rune Glifberg and more 'Join The Procession' in Brooklyn for this new :60 commercial for Converse, shot by the director of "Training Day."




The white-haired guy under the hood is basketball great Dr. J., looking better than he did in his heyday. Don't roll your eyes... I had to explain that, given that most people under 30 have no idea who he is (including my 19 year old dog walker and her friends).



The spot, directed by Antoine Fuqua from Pittsburgh, has stunningly composed shots, editing, music ("Hello Operator" by the White Stripes) and color transfer. Each frame in the spot is composed and lit like a miniature piece of art.



Coincidentally, director Antoine Fuqua landed a college scholarship to play basketball, but the power of cinema drove him to a successful career as a film director. He is best known for the award-winning film Training Day.

Behind the Scenes

 

In this behind the scenes video, Director Antoine Fuqua talks about the concept behind the commercial, while participants like Jim Jones, Carlos Arroyo, Doug E Fresh, and Luam Keflezgy talk about the passion around the culture. And the struggle. And the sunshine:

 

a 15: cut about Dr. J, the blueprint:

“[Basketball]…it’s like a ritual. The basketball being the thing that brings everybody [together]. The rhythm and the beat,” says director Antoine Fuqua. “Converse is taking it to the streets. The streets are the heart beat.”




On their blog, Converse asks you to "Join the Procession" and in addition to the ad, each of the stars are featured in a series of online vignettes taken from outtakes that illuminate their mutual admiration for each other and that blur the lines of sport, music and lifestyle. The resulting short clips showcase new cultural, iconoclastic moments including Kenny Anderson teaching Dr. J a kickflip, and God Shammgod showing Sammy Baca how to do the “Shammgod”, his signature crossover move. Check them out here.  

Full Credits

Agency: Anomaly Client: Converse Executive Creative Director/Partner: Mike Byrne Creative Director: Ian Toombs Head of Production: Andrew Loevenguth Account Person: Stanley Lumax Production Company: Anonymous Content Director: Antoine Fuqua Director of Photography: Harris Savides Executive Producer: Dave Morrison Producer: John Bennet Editorial: Beast Editor: Lucas Eskin Executive Producer: Elizabeth Krajewski Producer: Elizabeth Krajewski Editorial Assistant: Jai Shukla Post: Company 3 Telecine: Tim Masick Flame Artist: Tom McCollough Executive Producer: Angela Lupo Mix: Audio Engine Mixer: Tommy Goldblatt Music: “Hello Operator” by The White Stripes Music Clearance: Sara Matarazzo Information and images courtesy of Converse. Some text portions in this post were directly taken from the press release.

Introducing The Dr. Seuss Chuck Taylor Kicks Collection From Converse.

Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars has a super fun new Dr. Seuss Collection of kicks for young and old alike. The collection has just under 20 pairs, with some for infants, some for children and a few styles for adults.

"From near to far, from here to there,
funny things are everywhere" - Dr. Seuss

Taking the imagery, words and art from Dr. Seuss favorites, the canvas athletic shoes feature the Cat In the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Red Fish and Blue Fish, Circus and Zoo art, all in the whimsical drawing style of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Here's a look at all o the shoes in the collection.


One Fish Two Fish Converse Chuck Taylors:



Thing One and Thing Two Converse Chuck Taylors:






Cat In The Hat Converse Chuck Taylors:





Miscellaneous Dr. Seuss Converse Chuck Taylors:



Each pair of shoes shown comes in a Dr. Seuss Cinch Sak , shown below:



Or Shop for all other things Seuss here!

Shoes Inspired by Clerks, QuickStop and 37: Kevin Smith Designs A Kicks Collection For Etnies.

above: three new pairs of kicks inspired by Kevin Smith's Clerks for Etnies; Clerks, Quick Stop and 37.

The action apparel and footwear company Etnies revealed some very fun new Kevin Smith -inspired sneakers at the 2010 Comic Con show.



Kevin Smith, the writer, director and star of the 1994 cult flick Clerks -and the guy who was 'too fat' to fly in recent news- teamed up with skater and surfer brand Etnies for three new fun pairs of kicks inspired by his hit movie.

Jay & Silent Bob Got Sole.

above: a still from Clerks featuring Jason Mewes (Silent Bob) and Kevin Smith (Jay)

above: Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes strike a pose as their characters Jay and Silent Bob, at Comic Con

One of the pairs of shoes feature Kevin Smith and co-star Jason Mewes on the soles and the movie's logotype on the shoes.




The other two Kevin Smith-inspired pairs also refer to the film Clerks. The yellow say "Quick Stop Groceries" on the heel, a reference to the convenience store in the movie.



The red pair has the number "37" on it referencing this funny and memorable scene from the movie:


The Quik Stop kicks and the 37 kicks:
 
Presented as an enticing giveway at Comic Con, the shoes will be produced and available for sale at Etnies soon (date not yet announced.)
 

In addition to the sneakers, tee-shirts with Kevin's own photo poking good-natured fun at himself, accompanied by the phrase "Too Phat To Fly" in white and heather grey will also be available.  
 

all images courtesy of Etnies, their blog, their flickr photos and their facebook page.

  Haven't seen the movie? try it on Netflix now!