A new Foot Locker promotion uses creepy hoarding pictures to prove a point about shoes. Each print ad features a different collection of strange knickknacks arranged into a single shot. The campaign features rooms filled with clown memorabilia, birdhouses or elephant trinkets. Written directly below this disturbing image is text suggesting that "It wouldn't be weird if it was sneakers."
Foot Locker commissioned America-based ad agency BBDO to design and execute the ads. BBDO created the print advertisements to suggest that collecting sneakers is an acceptable hobby. By stating that sneakers are acceptable to hoard, BBDO is hoping to encourage footwear fanatics to continue to purchase their shoes from Foot Locker. In addition, the ads also imply that collecting shoes helps you distance yourself from the type of person that would hoard trinkets.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Disturbing Advertising
- Creating ads that feature creepy or disturbing images to capture attention and provoke conversation.
- Acceptable Hoarding
- Promoting the idea that collecting and hoarding sneakers is a socially acceptable hobby.
- Branding Through Contrast
- Using the contrast between hoarding trinkets and sneaker collecting to reinforce the value of sneakers.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Advertising
- Exploring unconventional and shocking approaches to advertising to grab attention and engage consumers.
- Fashion and Footwear
- Capitalizing on the sneaker collecting trend by positioning it as a popular and acceptable form of self-expression.
- Retail and Consumer Goods
- Developing marketing campaigns that emphasize the uniqueness and value of a product to differentiate from competitors.
