L.A. Gear Ad Concept

Concept 1 (Print)- Show two opposing images of prior endorsers of the L.A. Gear brand (i.e. Karl Malone, Paula Abdul, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, etc.), the first being an image of said icon in the present doing some sort of mundane task. Next to the first image is a second of the same icon in their heyday (i.e Karl Malone slamming a dunk), with the tagline "Return to Greatness", evoking not just the idea that these shoes will take you back to better era, but also that the brand is relaunching as a new heavy-hitter in the athletic shoe market.

Concept 2 (Video)- The video ad would serve as a spinoff of the aforementioned first concept, with the first shot showing a prior endorser performing some sort of boring mundane task, looking out of place and upset. The next shot shows the endorser looking down at a pair of L.A Gear shoes on their feet which is then followed by some sort of thought bubble, or dream sequence showing the athlete or pop culture icon in their prime with old footage of performances, games, etc. Following the dream sequence we see the endorser back in their current, and inspired by the vision they have, recreate the past (i.e Karl Malone dunking on the players he is now coaching). The ad finishes with the tagline "Return to Greatness. L.A. Gear".

The challenge of this ad campaign would be to relaunch a brand that not only evokes a nostalgic emotion from past owners of the shoe but also generates interest amongst a new community of athletic shoe owners. The target audience of this campaign is young adults ages 18-30 in both genders that either remember wearing the brand or at least know of the brand's existence. The target audience believes that this brand is that only exists in the form of collecting deadstock, but with this ad I hope to bring this brand back to the forefront of the athletic shoe community. I hope the audience gains some sort of feeling of nostalgia through seeing this brand once again, and through this nostalgic feeling, hope to rekindle any emotions had during that era. Through using testimonies from pop culture icons of that era that once endorsed the shoe, I hope to assist in creating that feeling of nostalgia. The brand in its essence is a melding of style and performance, which also reflected by the icons they chose to endorse the product in the brand's heyday. Once again, nostalgia is the emotion that I am using to create a relationship between the audience and the brand.

I believe print and video would both be perfect mediums in which to convey this feeling of nostalgia. The most important elements of the ad will be the imagery of these icons to reflect the nostalgia of the shoes. The most important thing for the audience to takeaway from these adds is that if you wear L.A. Gear shoes you will return to an era of greatness not only metaphorically but also physically with the capabilities the shoes will afford the target audience. We want the audience to not only remember the brand, but to associate it with a better time in their lives, hopefully making them feel as if they purchase the shoes they will return to tat time.