Foot Locker had a little bit of fun when creating its most recent advertising campaign, highlighted by its “Make an Impression” ad. The commercial features two professional athletes, NFL player Ndamukong Suh and NBA player DeMarcus Cousins, walking through a parking garage before accidentally kicking someone’s crutch out from under them, stepping on their cast and shutting someone out of an elevator.
The ad itself is a spoof on the fact that both athletes are controversial within their respective sports, and have gained bad reputations for their sometimes hotheaded on-field behavior.
The RTP team discusses whether they think the Foot Locker ad is good or bad for the company’s business, especially given the reputation of the athletes involved. The editors also share what they think retailers can learn from this type of advertising campaign.
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Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: Personally, watching someone step on a cast or kick someone’s crutch does not motivate me to want to purchase from the brand promoting this behavior, whether or not they consider it a spoof. I am definitely not the demographic for this and I’m glad about it. From a strictly business perspective, I find it difficult to understand how Foot Locker thinks this is going to be good for sales. Drawing attention to the celebrities’ bad behavior definitely will get eyes on social media but I don’t think it reflects positively on the brand, to the point that seeing that will motivate anyone to turn around and buy some athletic wear. It might prompt people to do some more research on those athletes but I just don’t see it converting to sales.
Adam Blair, Executive Editor: Oh, I’m shocked, shocked to see Foot Locker “celebrating” such AWFUL behavior…just kidding, as is this ad. This actually seems like a clever way to play off of these athletes’ real-world reputations in a humorous way. The ad also works by making its intended audience feel like they are in on the joke. Actually it’s nice to see unintentional bad behavior when we’ve been treated to so much on-purpose violence in the news recently.
Marie Griffin, Managing Editor: Blame it on Gen Z (from birth to 20 years old or so), which is the target demo for Foot Locker and these ads. It’s very, very hard to catch the attention of youth who never knew a world that wasn’t Internet-enabled, or an occasion that wasn’t shared on social media. Distinct from the sheltered Millennials, Gen Z grew up in the shadows of 9/11/2001, two wars and multiple recessions, so they’re less materialistic and more wary of marketers. Relatively speaking, the “bad behavior” of this spot is pretty tame. I predict we are just beginning to see advertisers breaking the usual barriers of appropriateness to get eyeballs and equally important social media shares. The day after people generally agree that a certain ad “went too far,” the line that was never to be crossed will move a little farther along.
Klaudia Tirico, Feature Editor: I actually think this commercial is a good example of how retailers should partner with celebrity influencers. Foot Locker knows its audience and knows that they have an interest in sports, so partnering with NBA stars just makes sense. This is a humorous way to spoof these players’ actions on the court in a way that relates to the basketball fan base and the retailer’s product offering — and it’s a fun way to get kids excited for back to school shopping. I’m a firm believer in not taking things too seriously, so I applaud Foot Locker for having some fun with this campaign.
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: Like many instances in retail, or anything in entertainment for that matter, publicity certainly draws attention, and Foot Locker could use a little bit of that right now. The footwear brand saw comparable sales and earnings decline in Q2, having the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500 two days in a row. I can see why they would want to use humor to generate some chatter, especially given that the offerings they have aren’t really differentiated from any other athleticwear/footwear products right now. But what got me is that the ad didn’t even really highlight a product, so I don’t know what exactly they were going for here. I guess the lightheartedness of the ad can spin the athletes into more likable characters since it shows that they are aware of their reputations.
