Check us out on Pinterest

I met the founder of pinterest last spring at the Tech Crunch Disrupt conference last spring. He explained to me that the site is basically twitter but just for images. It was just still in a beta phase at that point but now it is open to the public and I've finally got my pinboards up and running.

I wanted to pass on my pinterest page- stevea- and encourage everyone to start their own.

Undercover X Nike video

I check streetwear blogs on the regular and sometimes follow the link check on prices and availability. Inevitably, the stuff I'm, most excited about shows up on some Japanese site with all kinds of characters and crazy rendering. I still check the price and it's always like tens of thousands of yen. I don't bother to do any math.

But this post isn't about crying over the state the dollar, this is a post about how Japan always seems to have the best gear. I'm sure at some point in time, you've seen flocks of Japanese teenagers with astounding outfits. They'll have Nikes in exotic colorways and New Balances in models that you've never seen before. Their jeans actually fit and they make it look effortless. Meanwhile, I'm scratching my head wondering- why are these American companies holding out on us stateside and how come these teenagers dressing so well while American teenagers are still wondering in the wilderness.

So you can imagine my frustration when I see a video like the one below. I run probably 3 to 4 times a week (just to throw that in there.) I usually wear an old t-shirt or some functional polyester top. I figure its that part of my day where I really don't need to stress my look. Meanwhile, these Japanese guys just don't stop. They have a team that's running all weekend in knit beanies and nicely cut windbreakers. They are making collaborations with Nike and filming videos with nice drum beats. Even if we could get our hands one any of this stuff, we wouldn't be able to afford it. Still though, I have the sense not to run in traffic. 

Gyakusou International Running Association from POP Magazine on Vimeo.

More on the collaboration and the line at Pop Magazine

Excuse the late pass...

It's tough on this side of the pond to keep up with British adverts. I wanted to post this up though because it is another example of blue-collar alcoholic beverages going white-collar once they get stateside. I went to London once and saw a three liter bottle (I didn't know about the three liter bottle at that point either) for 1.80 quid in a Safeway. The only people I ever saw drinking it were winos and the occasional Brit with a gluten allergy.

Here's an ad that firmly places Strongbow within the trenches, pun intended, of blue collar folk. Please think of this next time you pay 7 bucks for a pint of Strongbow during happy hour in D.C.

How cute...

The Rolling Stones have made a Monopoly game. This kind of makes sense in a real Phillip Morris kind of way. As your target market gets older and falls off, you need to reach the next generation. I imagine at one point in time the Rolling Stones were the type of thing you wouldn't want around children. But this could well be a product that baby boomers buy their grandchildren for christmas. 

I'm personally going to feel extremely old when I see Justin Beiber working on similar cross-branding efforts.

via Brand Republic

Arcade Fire Video

You will see this on every blog all week. In a month's time, your 75 year old father will be sending you this with a nice note attached. Why even post it? Well, it's really pretty rad.

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Make sure you use Chrome though.

Kaws X Dos Equis

Dos Equis teamed up with graffiti artist gone super famous Kaws for special beer bottle. There is bad news and good news. The bad news is that it's only slated for a Mexican release. The good news is that they made a video.

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.