Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly has a purpose in Birkenstock’s new marketing campaign. A three-part documentary series for the brand highlights the importance of foot health and how shoes, particularly unattractive ones, play a role in maintaining it.
The series, produced by T Brand Studios (the content arm of The New York Times), is the German brand’s first global marketing campaign and follows the ethos master shoemaker Konrad Birkenstock expressed in lectures throughout Germany and Europe in the 1920s. Those teachings were absorbed by his son Carl Birkenstock and his grandson Karl, leading to the development of the iconically ugly sandals.
The first episode in the series debuted last week and delved into the role feet played in the role of human evolution. Using shots of runners and dancers alongside medical diagrams and animations, the video highlights how humans’ feet are their only inherent form of transport.
The second episode of the series, debuting on August 11, will explain Birkenstock’s orthopedic heritage and how the company is shaping the future of foot health. The third episode, coming in September, will explore how functional design, quality and responsibility are important to foot health.
“The evolution of mankind is deeply grounded on the development of our feet. Without an upright walk the human species would not have survived,” said Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert, in a statement. “Most people are born with healthy feet and develop painful foot issues because the shoes we’re wearing are often too small, too narrow or have heels that are too high. We want to draw attention to this and enable consumers to make better-informed decisions – no matter which brand of footwear they choose.”
The videos will run on nytimes.com, Birkenstock.com, and other brand-owned channels. They will be supported by a media activation over the series’s entire run through a launch takeover of The New York Times in print and online.
