Iceland offers to turn your lockdown sweatpants into hiking boots

Last year, with travelers unable to visit, Promote Iceland offered to release people's screams of quarantine frustration into the wilds of the country. Now, with travel opening up a little, it's back with a new offer -- turning your lockdown sweatpants into hiking boots. The new campaign from M&C Saatchi agency SS+K and Icelandic agency Peel is opening a pop-up store in downtown Rejkjavik throughout July, where people can upcycle their sweatpants into the limited edition footwear crafted by Icelandic designer Ýr Jóhannsdóttir (with any leftover fabric made into a bag in which to carry it home). All people need to do is book a slot at the pop-up in advance showing a valid plane ticket to Iceland. Travel to Iceland might just be a possibility for some (the country is one of the very few on the U.K.’s quarantine-free “green” list, for example). However for those that can’t make it to Iceland just yet, there’s a website that invites everyone to virtually try-on a pair of Sweatpant Boots. To promote the launch, Icelandic rapper Cell7 and former song producer for Stop Wait Go, Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, have recorded an exclusive “Sweatpant Boots" song and made a music video, seen here (be warned; it’s catchy.) The international campaign is launching today and running in the U.S, U.K., Canada, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Along with the music video, there will be a TikTok challenge, promoted in Germany but available globally, and a custom Snapchat AR filter that will turn your shoes into Sweatpant boots. “Sweatpants are the symbol of how we’ve coped with the pandemic. They are the perfect thing for a year cooped up inside where the biggest adventure is dialing into a video call," said Stevie Archer, executive creative director, SS+K, in a statement. "Now Iceland is literally turning our comfy sweatpants into the boots we need to get out of our comfort zones and enjoy all the incredible experiences we’ve been missing out on.”

Iceland offers to turn your lockdown sweatpants into hiking boots

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