Summer Stories: Go Ride
Nigel Sylvester and Jordan Brand have successfully executed one of the year’s best marketing campaigns. The latest installment in the Nigel Sylvester x Jordan brand relationship, the Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 RM SP 'Grandma's Driveway,' is set to release this Saturday, July 20th and over the past two weeks, the promotional effort has been in full swing. From sharing images on his Instagram to shutting down the streets of NYC and London with hundreds of bikers, Nigel and Jordan’s advertising for their upcoming project has been dialed. Nigel has been teasing his latest collaboration with Jordan Brand online for several months, before officially announcing the shoe release a few weeks ago. This kicked off what has been one of the best prelaunch marketing campaigns in recent memory. It all centers around his origins, in his grandma’s driveway he learned to ride a bike, and a dream was born. The promo materials feature a commercial that was shot in that very driveway, uses clips from his childhood, and stars Jo Marie Payton playing the part of his grandmother. When Nigel wasn’t riding his bike in the driveway he was inside watching Family Matters with his grandma so having Jo Marie Payton in the ad is a cool connection to this factoid from Nigel’s past. (Grandma's Driveway Ad)
The Grandma’s Driveway commercial, while exceptional is not the most exciting part of the campaign. This came on July 13th, with Nigel Sylvester’s third annual Go Ride event. This event invited all biking enthusiasts out onto the New York City streets to ride with Nigel, enjoy their shared love of biking, and experience community. This year, the response was greater than ever before, with hundreds of people (including the likes of Lil Yachty) taking to the streets to participate. The throng of bikers, made their way throughout NYC, documenting their rides and stopping to check out larger-than-life billboards celebrating Nigel’s upcoming release. With all of this excitement, the Instagram rollout, the Jo Marie Payton commercial, and the Go Ride event, Jordan Brand has delivered an incredible ad campaign for the sneakers. The story-telling reminds us of time spent in the driveway or neighborhood riding with friends. The cultural moments brought by Go Ride are exciting and stirs the hype. With this campaign, they have brilliantly weaved together, childhood memories, and moments today, while connecting them to the product. All of this sets up the Nigel Sylvester x Jordan 4 RM ‘Grandma’s Driveway’ as one of the most anticipated releases of the year. As for the shoes themselves, that’s up for debate, did they create a product worthy of such a strong marketing initiative, or did the marketing have to be strong to bolster the sneakers? The sneakers, while a new twist on the Jordan 4 and seemingly in line with Nike’s mission to innovate, have prompted sneakerheads to declare that this is not the kind of innovation they’re after. They may have a point, the model is more similar to one of Nike’s many takedown models than it is true innovation. It begs the question if this was not tied to a collaborative partner, would these be outlet-bound? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
