Vibram Shoes Ties Sole To Soul in New Brand Campaign

The Vibram brand that’s best known by hikers and mountain climbers wants everyone to look for their soles in all kinds of shoes. In a new campaign from Slugger Creative, Vibram goes brand, not product, and shows a new cast of people who wear very different shoes – a mountain climber, an industrial worker, and an office worker – with narration that ties the sole to the soul, the essence of who I am. The new campaign breaks from tradition for the manufacturer and category, which typically showcases the features and attributes of materials and tread patterns. 

In the 30 second spot, the mountain climber faces a peak as the narrator intones and screen reads, 'This is my playground.' Then the field worker surveys a wind farm as the narrator says, “this is my corner office.” A young-professional walks a New York City intersection with “this is my Launchpad” on audio and screen. We see them in action as the line “this is my sole” repeats, then we get the new campaign line, “Vibram: confidence in every step.”

A suite of 15second, banner ads and billboards feature the characters individually, with “THIS IS MY SOLE” centred in the frame. True to Slugger’s ethos, the ads show more than tell. 

“Component brands can be the difference maker living inside their partner products, the seal of approval,” said Slugger CEO/CCO Andrew Ladden. “While most people will look at a sole before they buy a shoe, whether they’re online or in store, they don’t really know what they’re looking for. We want them to use that moment to look for that yellow logo on all their favourite brands as evidence that they can be confident as they head out there - wherever ‘there’ may be.”

Interestingly, campaign development started out with a practical concept about the benefits of soles. Then last summer, Vibram executives went to major retail outlets, observed customer interactions, and noticed that, likely due to pandemic staffing issues, there was a big knowledge gap on the sales floor about the brand. All the staff turnover showed them that they couldn’t guarantee the instore support they had previously relied on. So, they decided to bet big on the brand. 

“We see an opportunity to matter in more ways to more people than we could with product attributes,” said Fabrizio Gamberini, president and global chief brand officer for Vibram. “So, we’re proclaiming our true essence to people directly in this campaign. We give you a better grip on the ground whatever you’re doing and wearing, so you should be looking for our soles always.”

In addition to 30 and 15 second videos, ‘confidence in every step’ will run as digital display, print and out-of-home ads with runs in New York, Los Angeles, and at ski resort areas across Europe. One downtown Los Angeles strip features four successive billboards that show different versions.

The campaign extends the creative theme Slugger began last year showing people with the confidence to break barriers by literally climbing or hiking out of the frame of their social media feed.