How do you market a shoe with Kawhi Leonard?
The guy is an absolute stud on the court with his wingspan, his range and relentless defense.
Off of it? He doesn’t tweet (and he follows six accounts, including the Spurs still and Jordan Brand!), doesn’t post on Instagram, seems to relish in not smiling and is ridiculed when his weird laugh comes out during a press conference.
The answer is the route New Balance took straight out of the Charles Barkley School of Commercials: You sell Leonard’s talent, not his personality (or seemingly lack thereof). Check out the new ad that dropped on Thursday:
It’s great, right? It’s a good way to change the conversation around the memes that popped up when Leonard signed with the shoe brand. It reminded me of Barkley’s famous “I am not a role model” ad Nike put together in the 1990s:
Well played, New Balance. The next step: Seeing how fans react to the new Kawhi shoes themselves.
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