Nike’s intentions are getting clearer with every release the brand is throwing at us. I think one of the major moves Nike is making at this point is directed toward the youth. The brand has lost a fair share of this age group to Adidas in light of the recent shift in trends. Take a trip to your local mall, station yourself in front of every shoe store and run the following uncontrolled experiment. You are going to have to use your common sense and figure out the ages of all people walking in and out the stores you are sampling. Record the sneakers each individual between the ages of 15-19 is wearing. I can guarantee you that three out of every four of them is rocking a pair of Adidas NMDs, Superstars, etc… Even though the NMD is trending down as far the resale market is concerned, young people are still more interested in wearing NMDs than Jordan Retros.
Years ago, if you were a member of Niketalk or Sole Collector, it was common to see folks getting married or going to the prom with a pair of Jordan 11 Concord on their feet. Actually in 2010, a good client and friend of mine ordered 15 pairs of the Anniversary 11 from my online shop for his wedding party. This movement has died out with time and I think Nike is trying to revive it. Releasing The Air Jordan 11 Prom night was not an accident. One has to recognize and respect Nike’s marketing genius . It was a strategic move that will engender some major dividends. And the main payoff in this case is the relevance and buzz that these Prom night 11’s will create. You’ll probably see tons of teenagers taking pictures of the shoes and posting them all over social media outlets . And guess who will be benefiting from all the free publicity? Nike of course.Other brands better catch up.
My only problem with Nike as it pertains to the Air Jordan 11 Prom night is this; if the shoes were made for Prom Night then the shoes ought to bear a lot of details that are consistent with the theme. The brand wants to enter these kids’s lives so they need to give them more reasons to earnestly desire the kicks. Nike could’ve added a tuxedo, a bow tie or more elements of Prom Night on the heel tab, tongue or insole to highlight the event. It’s up to the kids to demand that from Nike. This is their graduating year, it’s very significant and it commands more acknowledgment.
THE SHOES:
They remind me of the Air Jordan 11 Gamma Blue. They are completely black and feature a mixture of nubuck and patent leather materials. They are supposedly limited to only 50,000 pairs according to several sneaker blogs. We’ll wait for Nike to confirm that.
