The technology has historically been used because it can be, not necessarily because it should be. Marketers' use of VR has been given a bad rap. Inspired by its first trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, Edelman and Asics landed on the idea of using VR. We couldn’t get the shoes to the journalists so we had to make them feel like they can reach out and touch it. And as soon as everything fell through it was really hard to think of something that would land both the product story and the Asics brand story. “By bringing local media to Japan we were going to be able to take them on a brand experience. “At one point we considered a livestream but there were language barriers and there’s only so long people will tune in for,” says Edelman director Jonathan Halliwell. With options for what the brand could potentially do changing by the day, and no indication for how long lockdown in various countries would extend, the agency was instead tasked finding a solution that would give Asics the big ticket event it needed without a physical presence. Lockdown logisticsĪsics had been working with PR agency Edelman on its ambitious launch plans. Delaying for just a few months would have a knock-on effect for the shoe range, already in the design phase, to launch in 2021. Besides, the company has a strict timeline in which it can design, manufacture and market a product before work starts on the next one.
“These were three of the best products we’d ever produced so there was an element of pride in wanting to keep going with this,” she explains. Indeed, according to IAB research, over a quarter of brands have chosen to stop any marketing activity until the third quarter of the year.īut Berwick said it wasn’t an option. At this point, most marketers with a highly prized product to promote might opt to postpone launch activity. Japan went into lockdown, swiftly followed by France and the UK.
“But within days of that plan, it changed again.” For example, a white-and-black polka dot shirt reads “Nice” on the chest, while trousers have been split into different colors per leg.Ĭheck out the campaign in the gallery above, and be sure to pick up the Nice Kicks x ASICS GEL-LYTE III OG “Nice Cream” from Nice Kicks’ website and in its stores on July 30, where it will retail for $130 USD.įor somewhat similar sneakers, check out Social Status’ milk carton-inspired Nike Dunk Mid collaborations.“We still thought we’d have a domestic event and then started planning a live-streaming event around the Paris Marathon which sponsors,” she recalls. To highlight all of this, Nice Kicks has captured the collaborative “Nice Cream” shoe in an editorial campaign which sees models wearing ice cream palor staff-like uniforms that have been updated with the store’s branding. Of course, the controversial yet fan-favorite flavor mint makes a subtle appearance highlighting the sole unit and forming one of the two pairs of laces (white or “Emerald Green Tint”).Īs per usual, Nice Kicks pulls out all of the stops regarding attention to detail, so there’s a cherry hangtag and even the box is inspired by a milkshake glass, meaning you can see the shoe through the transparent segments. Across the white outsole, patent leather, tonal net, and splattered midsole we get the vanilla, while at the rear we find chocolate leather and satin elements, and pink strawberry ice cream makes a small appearance on the heel and for the branding too. More specifically, classic flavors including vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry are most prominent in the sneaker’s look. From the initial cold wave that hits your face to the sweet selection that lies before you, this pair of sneakers blend all of that together for a harmonious aesthetic comprising multiple materials for a premium, limited-edition look. Inspired by an ice cream palor, the “Nice Cream” pair looks to pick up on all the feelings you go through when you enter the building.