The Intelligent Choice: New Balance and Aime Leon Dore
Installment #2 of the weekly ad campaign spotlight departs from the historical in favor of the contemporary. While the current saturation of clothing collaborations makes the announcement of a new collection hardly noteworthy, the care taken by Aime Leon Dore and New Balance to craft a new branded image around their collaboration results in an ad campaign as tasteful as the product. Enjoy.
During the first quarter of 2019, good sneakers were very hard to come by. Nike was regurgitating old product with fresh licks of paint and calling it ‘OG’ or ‘Retro’ when, in fact, nothing about your 2019 Jordan 1 was the same as a 1985 Jordan 1, except maybe the child labour. A once surefire marketing strategy, monetizing nostalgia has become a risky move— seemingly the business equivalent of walking a tightrope between the Twin Towers. Brands such as Nike and Adidas have long relied on nostalgia to sell most of their basic models (the aforementioned Jordan 1 and the Adidas Superstar spring to mind, to name a few). Bland, repetitive designs with a logo slapped on. It was time for something different. In walks New Balance, in collaboration with the then up-and-coming New York based brand, Aime Leon Dore.
Teddy Santis, founder of ALD, can sniff out a quality collaboration like a pig to a truffle. Look at the recent Porsche design collaboration, for example. Beautiful to look at and, despite essentially being a vanity project to anyone outside of NYC, it still drew appreciation for the time and effort put in to such a well-executed campaign. ALD’s magnum opus, at present, remains the New Balance 997 capsule collection. Drawing upon the iconic ‘When the going gets tough…’ campaign, Santis and ALD took the concept and gave it a modern twist. The ad features a similarly older model decked out in Aime Leon Dore and wearing a crisp pair of 997’s from the upcoming collab. This is how you do nostalgia in a way that connects with the consumer. Unlike most collaborations, real effort was put into the full marketing image beyond a simple background and fresh colourway. Sure, the shoes were great, but ALD and New Balance, through this ad campaign, shaped the whole ethos of the collaboration that placed it leagues ahead of most other collections at the time.
It came at the perfect time for New Balance, which was still riding off the back of the immensely successful 990v5 launch earlier in 2019. As a long time fan of the American brand, I was pleased to see their resurgence in popularity, though concerned at what said popularity would bring. In short, every New Balance shoe now had a strong resell value, and my plans to waltz into my local sneaker store and walk out with a pair of ALD’s were shattered. But that’s besides the point.
The point is, these were very exclusive, and the marketing gave off that effortless aura of elegance that elevated the regular 997’s to a higher plane of existence. For me, the devil is in the details when it comes to a collaboration— what may seem simple on the surface is elevated by the more subtle aspects of the collaboration. For example, the racquetball equipment featured in the promotional material was included with the shoes, along with 3 pairs of laces adorned with ALD trim, and the capsule’s motto “The Intelligent Choice.” Along with the shoes, a bouquet of flowers was gifted to the purchasing customer, ensuring that even if the contents of the box were to be resold, the purchaser would not be left empty-handed. How do I know this? Well, the irony of a collaboration being based on vintage adverts and product is that the only way to get said product was through an online raffle (an inherently modern way to sell sneakers). An online raffle that I won.
As one of the lucky few who own an ALD 997, perhaps I’m biased in my love for this campaign. However, seeing the aesthetics and quality of the marketing from another time whilst researching for this article, my opinion feels vindicated. This was, at the time, a breath of fresh air. It is a shame that Santis has reverted to the same vintage tropes for the following two New Balance collaborations (which is why they are only briefly mentioned in this article, as they’re still good, but not nearly as good). I can, however, only applaud a brand that keeps their quality consistent. And despite raising prices for their apparel, the collection generally keeps to the standard New Balance price point. Aime Leon Dore have found their niche, and long may the New Balance partnership continue.
