Birkenstock Insists Its Shoes Are ‘Ugly For A Reason’ In First Global Campaign
By Alexa Heah, 05 Jul 2022
It’s not often you get a company declaring its own products are “ugly,” but that’s exactly what Birkenstock has done in its first-ever paid global campaign.
While the popular unisex sandals, which have been around for over two centuries, aren’t the most fashion-forward footwear on the market, the brand wants to highlight the importance of shoes on one’s health.
Thus, the campaign—created by T Brand Studio as part of The New York Times—comprises a three-part, documentary-style video series that explains how feet have evolved throughout the history of humans, with scientists lending their credence to the need for proper footwear.
“Foot health is at the heart of everything we do at Birkenstock. This campaign has been developed to inform consumers about the marvels of the foot. The evolution of mankind is deeply grounded on the development of our feet,” said Oliver Reichert, CEO of the Birkenstock Group.
“With our campaign, we want to stage the human foot—and address the role of proper footwear for our health. Most people are born with healthy feet and develop painful foot issues because the shoes we’re wearing are often too small, too narrow, or have heels that are too high,” he continued.
“We want to draw attention to this and enable consumers to make better-informed decisions—no matter which footwear brand they ultimately choose.”
The second episode, Finding Out Feet, will premiere on August 11, with the final video of the series scheduled to launch on September 21. Check out the first edition below.
[via The Drum and Birkenstock / PR Newswire, images via various sources]