Somewhere north of Crocs and south of the jelly shoe lies the ever polarizing yet eternally popular Ugg. Depending on how you see the brand, the furry boots are either a nightmare experiment in Wookie and sheep taxidermy or the shoe god’s gift to toasty toes. Regardless of how you feel about Uggs, one thing is certain: It’s a girl’s shoe. Period. Dudes don’t want anything to do with the Ugg debate so they don’t get anywhere near the darn things. Yet the tides may be turning in Uggland… and it’s all because of Tom Brady.
That superstar football player with the equally polarizing hair has been touted as the man who could put Uggs on the feet of guys everywhere. Online videos from the company that don’t feature Mr. Gisele only gather about 100 views the day after a big game, according to Click Z News. But videos with Brady are a different story. His Ugg clip has racked up nearly 160,000 views on YouTube while Ugg has seen a significant bump in Likes on Facebook.
Mos Def provides the soundtrack for the ad while Brady is in charge of giving Uggs that manly swagger. From the park with Fido to the gym with a leather man bag, viewers witness the star’s feet in various states of being fashionably well- (and warm-) heeled. The shoes themselves look more like the kind of thing Kenneth Cole has been doing for a few decades, which is a good thing. As powerful as Brady is, even he would have a hard time selling fuzzy boots to men.
Ugg has a viral marketing hit on its hands while Brady, despite some scoffing from football folk, emerges as a viable sports brand that could achieve Jordan-like status (that is, assuming he stays out of Tiger territory). Regardless of what the future holds for Brady, the campaign is a perfect example of video genius mixed with brand engagement.
But let’s hear what you think, my shoe-loving, brand-watching readers: Can Brady help reinvent Ugg for dudes, or is the brand doomed to a life of being on the feet of girls in leggings at the mall? Tell us all about it in the comments section!
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