An exploration of the human foot, the three-part documentary series produced by New York-based content studio T Brand explores the importance of foot health and why healthy shoes need to look exactly the way they do
“Ugly for a Reason” – with this provocative message, BIRKENSTOCK draws attention to its first global brand campaign – a three-part video short documentary dedicated to our feet and people around the world for the importance of foot health and the role that shoes play play, sensitized. The campaign follows in the tradition of the lectures given by master shoemaker Konrad Birkenstock in the 1920s to educate his colleagues in Germany and other parts of Europe about foot diseases caused by improper footwear and the means to alleviate them – a tradition that later became a reality was continued by his son Carl Birkenstock and grandson Karl Birkenstock.
Produced by T Brand, the content studio of The New York Times Advertising, the paid content campaign will appear on nytimes.com, BIRKENSTOCK.com and all other online channels of the global lifestyle brand and inventor of the footbed. The first episode will be online on July 1, 2022. The campaign is supported over the entire four-month campaign period by a media activation that literally makes the foot visible in every corner of the New York Times and on all print and online channels refers to the purpose that BIRKENSTOCK has served for two and a half centuries: foot health .
Oliver Reichert, CEO of the BIRKENSTOCK Group: ?Foot health is the focus of everything we do. The campaign is about the miracle of the foot. Human evolution is based on the development of our feet. Our species could not have survived without walking upright. It is all the more astonishing how little research has been done on the human foot. With our campaign, we want to put our feet in the right light – and address the role of the right footwear in our health. Most people are born with healthy feet, but many of us develop painful foot problems over time because our shoes are often too small, too tight, or have heels that are too high. We want to draw attention to this and enable consumers to make better informed purchasing decisions – regardless of which shoe brand they choose.”
HOW FEET MADE US HUMAN: WHAT ROLE DOES THE FEET PLAY IN EVOLUTION?
The first episode of the series deals with the question of the role played by feet in human evolutionary history. The importance of foot health is also a key issue. The first episode features a variety of activities involving the feet, with footage of runners, gymnasts, mountaineers, ballet dancers, etc. showing how our feet carry us throughout our lives ? and how little we actually pay attention to them. Modern motion design and spectacular animations illustrate the biomechanical movement of the foot from a scientific point of view. In addition, the video contains exciting and insightful interview sequences from conversations with the two renowned scientists Carol Ward, Professor of Paleontology at the University of Missouri, and Benno M. Nigg, Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Calgary, who put the documentation on a fact-based scientific basis place.
EPISODE 2 WILL BE RELEASED ON AUGUST 11TH, EPISODE 3 ON SEPTEMBER 21ST
Episode two (“Finding Our Feet”) explores how the future of foot health looks from the perspective of BIRKENSTOCK’s orthopedic heritage. It will be released on August 11, 2022. Episode three (“Stepping into the Details” ) investigates why functional design, quality and responsibility for foot health are so important. The final episode of the series will go “on air” on September 21, 2022.