Vans is driving giant van replicas of its new shoes around NYC

Stunt by Gut Los Angeles aims to showcase its 'extreme weather defense'

Published On
Dec 15, 2022
Car-sized Vans sneakers parked in a city.

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Vans kicked off the release of its new all-weather shoe collection in a big way–literally. 

On Saturday, the footwear brand sent two vans, designed to look like giant, 10-foot-tall replicas of Vans’ new MTE-3 shoe line, on a drive throughout New York City, aiming to showcase the “extreme weather defense” the brand promises the new sneakers provide.

With one van shaped like a left shoe and the other a right, the pair of “Vans vans” traversed the city streets side-by-side, offering passerby the opportunity to enter the vehicle’s cozy interior, meant to replicate the warmth and resilience against the elements the new sneakers provide, Vans said in a statement. 

Additionally, those who stopped to take a closer look at the enormous shoes—conceived of and created by creative agency Gut Los Angeles—were offered a pair of (normal-sized) Sk8-Hi MTE-3 sneakers to take home and test for themselves, the statement said. Vans recruited two local influencers—Nicolas Heller, also known as New York Nico, and Lil Mo Mozzarella—to accompany the giant sneakers around the city, hand out shoes to visitors and share the vehicles’ journey throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City. 

 

Two people standing in front of car-sized Vans sneakers

“Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the most impactful,” Bruno Acanfora, executive creative director at Gut, said in Vans’ statement. “What better way to show the latest MTEs have arrived than by literally taking a pair of them on a walk through the streets of New York City?” 

Heller shared a series of video clips featuring the oversized Vans on his Instagram, in which he shows himself riding in one of the wheeled sneakers and chatting with several city residents about the new shoe. 

 

 

Heller’s posts, along with user-generated footage of the vehicles, have garnered widespread organic engagement on Instagram, collectively earning over 1.4 million views and 88,000 likes in just two days, Vans’ statement reads. The brand will share these user-generated videos and social media content captured during the activation by experiential marketing agency Street Factory Media across Vans’ social channels over the coming weeks. 

"This is something new for the brand,” said Bruno Luglio, creative director of Vans Americas. “Our goal is to illustrate the benefits of MTE in a bigger way, no pun intended. It's a product demo meets product test drive.”

Credits

Date
Dec 15, 2022
Client :
Vans
Agency :
Gut Los Angeles
Senior Director Brand Management Marketing :
Marc Johns
Director of Brand Management Lifestyle :
Steve Balser
Director Product Marketing :
Mark Goldman
Manager Brand Management, Lifestyle - Street :
Hector Osuna
Product Marketing Operations Specialist :
Taylor Olson
Creative Director :
Bruno Luglio
Sr. Creative Director Brand Environments & Experiences :
Benjamin Kaplan
Sr. Global Public Relations Manager Brand Communications :
Taylor Norman
Global Public Relations Manager Brand Communications :
Cassandra Ahwah
Senior Coordinator, Global Brand Comms, PR, Influencer Seeding :
Nina Nasr
Co-Founder & Creative Chairman :
Anselmo Ramos
Managing Director Global Chief Client Officer & Partner :
Carmen Rodriguez
CCO & Global Partner :
Ricardo Casal
CCO & Global Partner :
Juan Javier Peña Plaza
Global Chief Strategy Officer & Partner :
Fernando Ribeiro
Head of Account Management :
Joselyn Bickford
Account Management Supervisor :
Carolyn Martin
Head of Production :
Renata Neumann
Executive Producer :
Jack Cutler
Producer :
Amber Pena
Director of Communications :
Alexandra Velasco
Executive Creative Director :
Ariel Abramovici
Executive Creative Director :
Bruno Acanfora
Associate Creative Director :
Sofia Rosell
Associate Creative Director :
Paulo Damasceno
Associate Creative Director :
Jeffrey Schermer
Director of Creative Operations :
Junia Parodi
Creative Manager :
Carolina Perez
Group Strategy Director :
Bruno Steffen
Senior Strategist :
Maria Fernanda Perez
Jr. Strategist :
Carolina Pileggi
Creative Intern :
Natan Dorenbaum
Creative Intern :
Max Palmer
Media :
Street Factory Media
SVP Integrated Projects :
Aurora Bell
Senior Producer :
Bri Morel
Associate Producer :
Kayla Bauer
Associate Producer :
Eli Sanchez
Fabricator :
Robert Butters
Content Director :
Mike Jones
DP/Editor :
Nate Estrada
Videographer :
Reilly Balcom
Videographer/Drone Operator :
Rugz
Photographer :
Scott Kaplan
Audio Specialist :
Michael Marchand
Head PA :
Michelle Rosado
Locations Manager :
Tim Hayes

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