New Nike sneaker capitalizes on nostalgia

PORTLAND — When Blayke Esparza tries to explain the popularity of the retro Air Force 1 sneakers at the Undefeated specialty sneaker store he manages in Los Angeles, he talks about Dr. Dre.

Specifically, an assistant to the rapper who once came into the shop with the task of buying some Air Force 1s in "white on white." And not just one pair. Sixty.

"[Dr. Dre] will wear them one time out and never wear them again," Esparza said.

Fanatical yes, but not unheard of in the sneaker's 25-year history. In fact, Esparza notes that "the crazy thing" about the wildly popular Air Force 1 — Nike's best-selling sneaker — "is they've never spent one cent on any type of marketing to hype up the product."

Sneaker ancestry

Now enter the hype, with an ad campaign to celebrate the new Air Force 25, which traces its ancestry to the Air Force 1.

Facing a weak basketball-sneaker market, Nike is looking to trade off the milestone anniversary and nostalgia for the classic shoe as it debuts a new on-court version. In a campaign expected to dwarf any marketing effort this year, Nike has marshaled its advertising expertise, pulled its top NBA endorsers into commercials and hired Kanye West and other rappers to help turn consumers' loyalty to the old into hype for the new.

Nike is "hoping this rejuvenates the performance basketball side and makes the connection between old school and new school," said Matt Powell, contributing editor to trade publication Sports Executive Weekly.

A new commercial set to air this weekend promotes the Air Force 25, retailing for $175. Some of the top players in the NBA — including LeBron James, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant — will be featured in the commercial and subsequent marketing campaign called "The Second Coming."

It might more accurately be the third coming. The Air Force 1 debuted in 1982 and was the first basketball shoe to use Nike's Air cushioning system. Designed by Nike's Bruce Kilgore, the thick-soled sneaker instantly gained a following among athletes as well as musicians and entertainers.

Brand phased out

But the company phased it out in 1984, prompting three East Coast retailers to plead with the company to put it back in production, said Joaquin Hidalgo, Nike's vice president of global marketing.

Nike soon complied, releasing the Air Force 1 in different color schemes. The shoes took off and have never come back down.

It is probably Nike's most profitable shoe, Powell said.

"It's been the shoe that you never could find at retail, the shoe that kids wait for," he said.

Part of that is Nike's doing. The company has kept distribution limited — at the same time designing more than 1,700 versions of the shoe throughout the years, from its most popular white swoosh on white upper sneaker, to the "Invisible Woman"-themed version with a clear upper, purple swoosh and baby blue laces.

The shoe has been such a fixture on the urban fashion scene that it was the subject of a 2002 song by rapper Nelly.

How can nostalgia sell so well? "It's almost like riding your first bike," Hidalgo said. "You always want to go back to that."

So does Nike. This month, it began releasing updated versions of its Air Force 1 sneakers, adding new materials and adjusting the fit, offering some premium styles that will go for as much as $2,000 a pair.

But for the masses, the company is also betting heavily on acceptance of its new Air Force 25, which already has been seen on NBA athletes including the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, the Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire and the Portland Trail Blazers' Zach Randolph.

Nike is working with retailers and some of its own NikeTown stores to create an Air Force-specific space. In Los Angeles, Undefeated will run one boutique big enough to house a basketball court and offer 50 or 60 different styles of Air Force 1 sneakers, Esparza said.

Though Esparza has been sporting the new Air Force 25s, he notes that the Air Force 1 is a classic. "It's hard to duplicate the original."