Famous Footwear’s “A New You” spring fashion /fitness television advertising by just broke nationwide under the ongoing Make Today Famous umbrella with spots dramatizing how new shoes can inspire the feeling of a “new you” – as a red carpet celebrity, a secret agent, a BASE jumper or a runner pacing with impalas.
“This new series dares you to envision who you want to be and how shoes can help you get there. We’ve presented a 15-second stream-of-consciousness reality where shoes lead the way for someone to imagine a new version of themselves,” said Famous Footwear senior vice president of marketing Will Smith.
The campaign represents the sixth execution under the retailer’s “Make Today Famous” umbrella and leverages the seasonal benefit of spring as a time of renewal. Four versions currently are running: a fashion spot called “Red Carpet” and three fitness spots entitled “Secret Agent,” “Base Jumping” and “Impalas.”
Each ad opens with a voiceover saying “A new you begins with new shoes from Famous Footwear” and then moves quickly to the vision imagined by the shoe consumer. The fitness spots run nationwide until the end of March; “Red Carpet” airs through April 24. Promotional versions direct consumers to a special offer available in stores or online at famousfootwear.com/TV. Three additional summer fitness spots will break in May.
Credits: The Snorri Brothers of Interrogate directed the spots; editor is Brian Slater of Fischer Edit; music and sound design, Todd Syring, . Agency credits: Andy Anema, art director; Bill Johnson, copywriter; and David Howell, executive producer. Spark is the media agency.
Each of the spots was shot on Super 16 and with an HD 2K digital camera.
Spring Fashion: “Red Carpet”
“Red Carpet” presents a woman who imagines that she arrives via parachute to the celebrity red carpet after she picks up a strappy Madden Girl Korral sandal. All eyes are on her, and her fabulous shoes, as she descends into the crowd. Creating the spot involved hoisting the actor 20-feet up via a rig and then lowering her slowly – in spite of high winds on the day of the shoot.
“Wind gusts upwards of 60 miles per hour enhanced the elegance and beauty of her dress,” said Campbell Mithun art director Andy Anema. “But the wind also required us to re-configure our lighting and to ditch plans to use an actual parachute which would have shredded; we decided just to let the viewer’s mind fill that detail in.”
Spring Fitness: “Secret Agent,” “Base Jumping” and “Impalas”
The series of fitness spots presents new identities and adventures imagined by consumers picking up a specific fitness shoe. “Secret Agent” presents a woman who receives a Top Secret file and escapes on a motorcycle down a flight of stairs from three black-suited men in pursuit. The shoe of inspiration? Women’s Asics Gel Frantic. Yes, a stuntwoman rode the motorcycle.
“Base Jumping” depicts a man who imagines BASE jumping off a cliff while he looks at a K-Swiss Tubes shoe. Stunt men performed the action, and the agency employed a variety of techniques to create the free-falling effects, including the use of a six-story crane as well as dangling the actor in front of a green screen (with his green-soled shoes). As for the jump off the cliff? “The stunt crew rigged a mattress – about queen size – over the edge, just out of camera view,” said Anema. “We let them take care of that.”
In “Impalas” a woman sees herself running across the African savannah alongside a herd of impalas – all inspired by a women’s Nike Dual Fusion shoe. The agency used stock impala footage and shot the actor both on location and in front of a green screen. “The challenge here was inserting the runner into the stock footage realistically,” said Anema. The spot ends with the woman making a literal impala-sized leap in those shoes.