• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Adpulp

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas

  • About
  • Featured Creative
  • Ad People
  • Content
  • Social Media
  • Political Advertising
  • Media Trends
  • Contact

Fighting Words: Foamposite One Galaxy

February 27, 2012 By David Burn

Creating over-the-top-demand for a product (or service) is a what brand managers dream about. But in real life, it’s a perfect storm that only a few will ever experience. Apple knows this storm, and so does Nike.

I use the word storm not lightly. Last week, people began rioting outside shopping malls in Florida and Maryland, creating Black Friday-like criminal mayhem over a $220 basketball shoe from Nike.

According to USA Today, the release of the $180 Air Jordan XI shoe before Christmas also caused a riot at a mall in Indianapolis, fights in Seattle and a stabbing in Jersey City.

“Nike is mostly watching from the sidelines as its name has been linked with consumer rioting,” claims the paper.

Brand consultant Jonathan Salem Baskin told USA Today that Nike shouldn’t ship product “until there is ample supply to meet demand.” I agree, but I also see how that goes against every fiber in the Beaverton company’s polyester mesh.

Kicks on Fire, a sneaker freak’s site, says the hype around the Galaxy Foamposites has been one of the highest recorded buzz for a sneaker in the past decade. USA Today believes social media has a hand in the hype, and while Foamposite One Galaxy was trending on Twitter prior to the release, the new kicks also graced the front cover of the New York Daily News. Which is to say, the Nike press and branding machines were in full gear around this launch, as always.

What was not in full gear was the production line, by design. Like Apple, Nike is introducing their new item deliberately. Both Apple and Nike intend to deny many of their customers, on first approach. Why? To sink the brand’s hooks ever deeper. Twisted, but true.

But let’s not blame the Foamposite One Galaxy team in Beaverton for doing their job so well. After all, they made a shoe people not only want, but simply must have. No matter what it costs or what they have to do to get their feet in them. That’s success in American manufacturing, as well as retail and advertising success.

Yet, violence ruins that win. Violence is a big ding on the brand, whether it goes down in Asia where the shoes are made, or at a mall in Anytown, USA. Personally, I don’t see how the brand guardians in Beaverton or the Pearl district can laugh or shrug this off. Nike’s 21st century challenge is to become a better company and a better winner (something Nike shares with every other high profile brand today).

Nike has always had a champion’s swagger, so walking a higher path won’t come natural or easy in Beaverton. Regardless, it is time.

Related

Comments

comments

Filed Under: PR

About David Burn

Co-founder and editor of Adpulp. David wrote his first ad for a political candidate when he was 17 years old. She won her race and the advertising hook was set. Today, David is a copywriter and creative director in Austin, Texas.

Primary Sidebar

About

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas.

Edited by David Burn in Austin, Texas.

“World’s greatest ad blog.” –Vinny Warren

See our About page for more.

Navigate by Topic

Sponsors

Breaking News

  • YETI Presents Derrick Begay, Navajo Cowboy February 15, 2019
  • The Answer to Your Protein Problems? Lean Meat February 14, 2019
  • Prepare To Lift Your Cognitive Ceiling February 13, 2019
  • “Savvy” Looks at Society’s Fakeness, and Advertising Looks Good In Comparison February 7, 2019
  • Become A Premium Sponsor and Captivate The Adverati February 5, 2019
  • Can We Quit All the Quitting, Already? February 5, 2019
  • Senioritis or Reggaemylitis? February 4, 2019
  • Hulu Makes It Clear: Reagan’s “Morning in America” Is Over February 4, 2019
  • Super Bowl Advertisers Guarantee the Game Will Be More Entertaining February 3, 2019
  • Freelancers Work The Creative Problem, Sometimes Fail To Avoid Their Own Problems February 2, 2019
  • Catching Up with Bart Cleveland: Art Director, Mentor and Entrepreneur January 31, 2019
  • What’s Playing Between Plays On Sunday January 30, 2019

Get Adpulp in Your Inbox

Receive an email notification when we publish a new article.

Connect

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on E-mailFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on LinkedIn

Footer

What People Are Reading

  • YETI Presents Derrick Begay, Navajo Cowboy
    YETI Presents Derrick Begay, Navajo Cowboy
  • Need New Answers to Old Communications Problems? Head to the Woodshed
    Need New Answers to Old Communications Problems? Head to the Woodshed
  • Aftermarket Mods Take The 2019 RAM 1500 To Incredible New Places
    Aftermarket Mods Take The 2019 RAM 1500 To Incredible New Places
  • Prepare To Lift Your Cognitive Ceiling
    Prepare To Lift Your Cognitive Ceiling
  • The Danish Way: Probably Perfect Pilsners In Sustainable Packaging
    The Danish Way: Probably Perfect Pilsners In Sustainable Packaging

Search the Site

Hours & Info

Off Madison
[email protected]
Always on.