Shwood

Shwood

This is the kind of brand that I'd normally be really guarded about. I got a pair of sunglasses made of rosewood for my birthday last year and I get my fair share of compliments on them. Even when people don't say anything, I can tell they notice those shades. Not the type of thing you want the average DC prepster to catch onto. Anyways, I ended up breaking my pair last spring and the guys at Shwood were so cool about fixing them for me that I have to give them some love on the blog. Also, they have great marketing so I shouldn't try and keep them a secret (not that it's up to me anyways.)

This is a cool video, they started to build a tree fort out near Mt. Hood and they provide you with the coordinates so if you feel up for it, you can go hand out there and add on to it. 

Experiment No. 2 - Backcountry Nest from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

Red Wing shows off its Workhorse

This is the kind of the new old thing. When you make things the old-fashioned way with care and precision, you tend to have some special machinery. Showing off your connection with the machinery is a convincing way to show that you are for real with this. It's also just a great way to talk about how much you care without actually talking about yourselves.

Self Edge just made kind of a deal of the fact that they finally tracked down a chainstitcher that they'd been trying to track down for years. It's pretty cool.

Red Wing is a little bit beyond that though. They've got a fleet of classics that they've used for years. They also just made a great video about it, The Puritan Stitch Machines. It's a nice and sincere video about what the machine can do. The narrator is totally a guy from the floor and you can easily tell that this is no bullshit. I mean I already wanted a pair of Red Wings so maybe they are preaching to the choir but I hope this video inspires some other consumers.

Field Notes manufacturing video

If I could do it all over I might not have gone to grad school or even college. I think I would drive around the states with a camera and capture American manufacturers that love their jobs. If I was good at it, I might put these videos up on vimeo. Even if I wasn't that good, I'd probably put them up on youtube.

Here's a video about a Field Notes notebook and the care that goes into making them. It's a little long but it's nice to watch.


Wings: Making the Field Notes 2010 Fall Edition from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

The Best Running Video Yet

A few weeks ago we looked at a cool running video from Japan that Nike did with Undercover. Seems like we've seen a lot of this kind of thing in the past couple of months so it's a little difficult to get excited about them at this point. Then this comes along. Now I know that wheat paste isn't really all that new and I don't live in a cosmopolitan city so it is difficult for me to tell if it is even still in style. However, it's what they do with it in this video that is so cool and makes me want to drop out of the start-up world and go to film school.

This come from Nike Stadium and was shot in Milan. Enjoy.

via Hypebeast

Wolverine makes great boots

Wolverine just put out a video on Vimeo. I guess you could call it a viral even though it's not funny or clever or whatever. It's a video about how they make their boots. It's really pleasant to watch and it's converted me. It's interesting how platforms like youtube and vimeo have opened up all kinds of avenues for companies to really present an honest portrayal of the craftsmanship that goes into their products instead of a 30 second ad spot with lots of bells and whistles or some glossy magazine buy with attractive hikers. If you put this much care into your product, who needs brand consultants and limited colorways? 

Wolverine 1000 Mile | 721LTD | Making the Boot from Wolverine on Vimeo.

This video gives off a similar patriotic vibe that the Detroit Lives series presents. It's funny, I almost feel like this is a little window into the America that I thought of when Obama was on the campaign trail and talking about making the nation great again.

via Hypebeast 

A Much Lighter Video

Studiocanoe made this fun viral for Lego called "Build Anything." It's creative, it's witty, it has good music and it's brief. The only frightening thing is that it's reminding me that I'm getting to that age at which I might be buying Legos again
.

Build Anything from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

via Hypebeast

Palladium Boots brings us a different side of Detroit

It's not often you receive a gift like this from a footwear brand. Sure converse will give us a new Kid Cudi song and Asics will give us a photo shoot of a girl in a bikini but this is way different. Palladium Boots has made a mini documentary on Detroit and what is going on there today. The picture it paints is far different from what I expected. Yes there is urban decay but there is also an emergence of youth moving to the city in order to contribute to rebuilding it. It's actually a very exciting time for this city and not in the the sense that it's going to go back to the glory days. Rather, it has it's own unique future and people are moving there because they care.


This isn't terribly new; it's been out for at least a few weeks. It's also a bit longer than your average 3 minute viral but it is so worth watching. Please do.

Can we talk about gimmick shoes?

My brother sent me this youtube video with Kenny Powers advertising some new K-Swiss trainer that comes with a state-of-the-art technology they call “Tubes.” I’m not exactly sure what Kenny Powers’ origins are. I’ve never seen Eastbound and Down save for a few youtube clips and I see him featured in internet memes from time to time. I’m pretty sure he is a fictional character though it appears the actor spends a lot of time in character ala Paul Reubens. Anyway, my point is that I want to give K-Swiss props for kind of admitting that their new shoes are a ridiculous gimmick.

Gimmick Shoes-

I’m only an casual footwear historian and will not pretend that I know the origins of gimmick shoes but the first one I remember being cognizant of was the Reebok Pump. You probably remember remember the big campaign push. I also remember the kid with indulgent parents showing up with a pair in gym class. Of course they weighed like well over a pound and even fifth graders kind of thought they were silly. 

photo via NiceKicks

Gimmick shoes are back. Actually, they have been back. As anyone in the shoe industry will tell you, Nike Shox are a joke and actually pretty bad for you if you run in them. Of course adidas rolled out the Bounce soon afterwards. I was in an adidas training session one time and was told that the Bounce is for people that aren’t serious about working out but want to look cool in the gym.

Reebok has been busy too. I’m no insider but it seems like adidas, the owner of Reebok since 2005, has been looking for a space to put Reebok in that won’t actually cannibalize adidas sales. Their solution is gimmick shoes.

One is supposed to give you a workout just be wearing them and has lots of great ads with girls rocking spandex and wearing these around.

The other is supposed to work like a slinky and spring you forward or some such. They weren't shy with the colorways on this one.

Photos via City Sports

I know this all because I had the benefit of talking with a Reebok sales rep at a running tech event last weekend. It was kind of comical. He showed up late to this big running tech event and squeezed his table between the Saucony and Mizuno tables. The Saucony and Mizuno gear is really well respected in the run world and their reps are really knowledgeable and take gear super seriously. The Reebok rep was a nice guy but just a full on sales personality. He started talking up the Reebok gear like it was the second coming of the pump. He had a slinky out on his table and would push it over on its side and say, “See that? These shoes are just like that.” It was a little shocking how many people wanted to hear more.

All the serious run techs in the room were quietly shaking their heads- kind of amused and kind depressed. I’ve talked to some retail sales associates and they’ve told me that people are always asking about the Reebok products because they want a work out but they don’t want to work out.

So where am I going with this? If you shoe is gimmicky, embrace it and get Kenny Powers to endorse it. I know there are NFL players in the ad as well but nobody has ever emailed a youtube video to their little brother because Drew Brees is doing a push up. 

We are back with a little summertime jam

I’m back after a long vacation to Europe so please put the blog and updates back on your radar screen.

I found this video in my inbox upon my return home (thanks Ellen and Fool’s Gold.) It features Kid Cudi, Rostam Batmanglij and Bethany Cosentino and was brought to you by the good folks at Converse.



There are a couple of reasons to be excited about this. First off, Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend should be given as much love as possible. He’s a local DC kid that done good (he grew up in Georgetown) and is super cool as well as crazy talented. Secondly, Converse’s new ad campaign is behind all this. You can never be mad at a brand that gives us gifts of good summertime jams. This is especially the case when said brand encourages quirky collaborations with artists that are so hot right now.

It is efforts like this that allow the Converse brand to create shelf space at Barney’s Coop while having a strong presence at discount retailers like Target and even Marshalls. Few other brands, if any, are successful at straddling distribution channels that are this disparate. To do so successfully is an amazing feat. Converse isn’t just successful in the U.S. market either, the brand is all over Europe right now.

Native Instruments Viral

So you have a ill product and a DJ Craze endorsement. What follows is a no-brainer viral video that will be seen, without a doubt, by your very specific target audience. I don't even want to think about how long it took Craze to develop this routine. Probably like an afternoon.

More World Cup viral awesomeness from NSW

Are you ready? Are you pumped? Yes the world up is almost here. Here's one more video to get you excited about the big event.

NIKE SPORTSWEAR: NSW+FBGT from fla on Vimeo.

Spike Jonze Absolute Vodka short film

Spike Jonze directed a 30 minute film for Absolute Vodka. The film, titled "I'm here," is free to view online. It's about a lonely robot living in a society of mixed robot and human denizens. You can view if at imheremovie I haven't had time to watch it yet but I hope it has something close to a happy ending complete with a party scene and Absolute Vodka.

Of course there is some funky social media element to it as well. Absolute has worked out a way for viewers to watch the movie with their facebook friends in a virtual theater. I think that should help with the loneliness that might accompany watching an online film about a lonely robot. All kidding aside, this is way to get your brand some real online exposure while adding value to viewers and consumers. I hope to see more of this kind of thing in the future.

Samsung Olympics Viral

In my mind the Olympics is providing an opportunity to produce creative and effective ads that better than super bowl ads. This is a totally off the wall viral video that Ads of the World hipped me to. Halfway through I thought it was pretty corny but the ending did not disappoint.

The viral gift that keeps on giving

New Balance is launching a new viral video campaign that will feature a new short video a day for 365 days starting today. The videos are really short, 15 to 30 seconds, and will deal with the theme of balance. The videos will also feature New Balance users and exhibit parts of their lives. We are already aware of several brands using viral videos and social media to get closer to become more intimate with consumers. This is an exciting and ambitious campaign that we get to watch play out over the next year.

The very first one shows some robots stitching up a grey 574. Not a bad start.


The link for the videos is here www.newbalance365.com

Brandweek is reporting some more details about the campaign.