*DISCLAIMER* TO ALL WHO WATCH GAME OF THRONES, THIS ARTICLE MAY POSSESS SPOILERS. WE DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PLOT POINTS BEING REVEALED TO YOU, AS TODAY SEASON 8 COMES OUT, AND YOU HONESTLY SHOULD HAVE WATCHED THE OTHER SEASONS BY NOW. SORRY, BUT WINTER IS HERE.
Let me begin by saying, if you are a sneakerhead and a dedicated Game of Thrones fan, you?ve come to the right place.
This year, after a nearly 2 yeas hiatus, season 8 (allegedly the final season) has avid fans, as well as hungry brands, ready to participate in all the madness.
Adidas, a few months ago stepped forward, after a few teasers, with one of the most unique campaign collaborations around GoT.
The campaign stemmed around the UltraBOOST 4.0, one of the brand?s most iconic shoes in the race to overtake the industry leaders, Nike.
The UltraBOOST shoes have been dawned by Adidas as, ?The greatest running shoe ever,? and has become even more widely adopted than the initial running customer base.
The first edition, UltraBOOST 1.0 also known as the ?OG? came out February 11th 2015, and was one of the first sneakers developed using the ARAMIS system, which is used by top companies like NASA, Audi, and Boeing to measure vibration, design, and ergonomics.
The original black/purple color way was debut in January 2015 in New York City
The ?OG,? color way was so positively received that in December of 2018, Adidas reissued it as well as a few more iconic color schemes.
Adidas Is Bringing Back the Original Ultra Boost
Since its debut in 2015, the Adidas Ultra Boost has grown to become one of the most popular silhouettes in the history?
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What made this reissue so important was that coupled with the already high brand awareness, GoT was to be premiered only four months later. So, when they announced their GoT packs, sneakerheads immediately started salivating and fans of the show marked their calendars for the drop.
With so many elements from the show to account for, Adidas focused heavily on symbolism and nuanced design aesthetic. Even at a single glance, the detail alone warrants at least a quick double take.
For those who own or appreciate shoe culture anything longer than a quick glance turns to admiration for the effort and intentionality within the beauty of each shoe.
Even Game of Thrones fans have been left completely star-struck with the ?true-to-story? value each shoe provides.
The House of Stark
Six ?houses? were brought to life, starting with the humble ?House Stark? Ultraboosts.
Cleverly colored with black suede and ashe-gray, most GoT fan would recognize the symbolizism in the dark architecture and smoke from the destruction of their city, Winterfell.
The fleece lining indicates the pursuit of constant warmth within the walls of the once great Winterfell, especially as winter approaches in the first few seasons.
Zooming into the tag on the back and you can read the iconic phrase from Ned Stark, ?Winter is Coming? (may he rest in peace, because none of us are still over it). Underneath the tongue of the shoe lies the famous Dire Wolf emblem that the House Stark and Northern regions of the realm proudly wear.
The House of Lannister
The next house feature is the notorious ?House Lannister?. Regally represented are the colors red and gold, often worn by the family in robes, garments, and crowns (as they have too many possession to count).
The color gold is used to represent the vast wealth this family has, and often, blatantly displays, while the color red represents royalty?and blood, which has been shed at their hands.
The tag on the back states, ?Hear Me Roar,? and ties in perfectly with the symbol of power with the Lion emblem underneath the tongue.
Needless to say, Adidas gave fans a shoe as ?intimidating? and ?elegant? as the Lannisters, and for that we give two thumbs up.
The House Targaryen
The ?House Targaryen? Ultra Boosts will go down as one of the more iconic color ways from the entire pack. For non-fans, this house is one of the more complex, as there are two, both displaying a high level of depth and development.
Adidas must get a lot of credit for trying their best to put into a succinct design this house because all fans know that it is virtually impossible to embody the full context on just one pair of shoes.
Regardless, Adidas attempt was as perfectly executed.
The first house dawns a sleek black-to-red shade from the back of the shoe to the front. Avid watchers will immediately recognize homage this pays to the dragon fire, as House Targaryen is closely associated with its intimate relationship to the mythical creatures.
Just like the other two shoes, the house sigil of the dragon is printed underneath the tongue, and the tag on the back reads ?Fire and Blood,? which is undoubtedly understood by all who have seen the show and know of the infamous ?Mad King?.
The second ?House Targaryen? shoe is much more telling to the beauty of the people who inhabit it. Inspired by the pale skin and silky-white hair of the house?s Valyrian ancestry, this shoe stuns all who look with its silver and white detailing.
The tongue and heel state the same as the first Targaryen shoe, showing that despite the beauty, this house can still be fierce and powerful.
The Night?s Watch
Now, the second color way that has an opportunity to go be part of the iconic list is that of ?The Night?s Watch?. This shoe is extremely symbolic-heavy with intricate detail and initial insight.
The elegance and detail of the all-black shoe with the white tip is something that could fill an entire piece alone.
The night-black body represents the uniform of a Watchman, and the white tip represents the ice wall that guards civilization from the unknown, wild, rest of the world.
The insides of this shoe are also fleece due to the northern location of the Night?s Watch, and the back tag proudly proclaims the name ?Night?s Watch?.
Undeniably, the most creative part of this shoe can be attributed to the writing on the tongue, saying ?Night gathers, and now my watch begins?.
This is taken straight from the vows each guard must say before joining the Brotherhood of the Night. The shoe is also wrapped in leather, as are the Watchmen as they guard Westeros from winter and all it may bring.
The White Walker
Finally, the most stunning result of this collaboration has to be ?The White Walker,? UltraBOOST. Its beauty is piercing, especially when sitting amongst the rest of the shoes as the bright blue contrasts with deep blacks and reds.
The white walkers have already shown the fandom that they are a force to be reckoned with, and these sneakers make the same statement. The tag on the back has the chilling line, famous to the show saying, ?Winter is here.?
THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.
The shiny black encasement of the blue represents dragon glass, which is known as the only way to kill a white walker.
Let?s just say we are TOO excited to see what more this shoe is hiding from us, as the season 8 premiere is upon us.
This collaboration between Adidas x Game of Thrones was not only invigorating for both GoT viewers and sneakerheads alike, but also shows us the absolute genius behind both these brands.
As most are aware, Game of Thrones has been putting out episodes since 2010, giving us almost nine years of television mastery. It?s no coincidence that Adidas chose NOW to release these shoes, as fans are desperately latching on to anything associated with this show ahead of its conclusion. We don?t blame them (and may even have a pair of these shoes ourselves).
So why did Game of Thrones choose Adidas for this collaboration?
It is ultimately understood that adidas is CONSISTENT with fresh designs and ?outside-the-box? thinking coupled with an ability to balance simplicity yet have deep inner workings unknown to the naked eye.
UltraBOOST have become one of the most sought-out shoes on the market for Adidas, so by putting out a limited edition line, as well-done as this, sneakerheads around the globe are chomping at the bit to get themselves a pair.
The brilliance is that both brands get to cross-pollinate and reach a new audience segment. The global reach of both has led to a symbiotic relationship that leaves new viewers and fans with a deeper appreciation of the two cultures that have been blurred together.
Adidas and Game of Thrones didn?t just create a few shoes, they literally merged two very different spheres of life seamlessly.
By joining the shoe-lovers with the GoT fandom, they have popularized both brands in a mutualistic collaboration, one that stuns and gets people pumped.
They essentially advertised for each other, and not one is complaining about the results.
While Adidas collaborations with the GoT brand is not in itself original it is impactful.
A few other notorious brands have decided to play along with the Game of Thrones trend, such as Oreos and Mountain Dew.
Oreos took house sigils and imprinted them on the packaging, all while creating an ad that plays on the introduction to each episode of Game of Thrones.
Meanwhile, Mountain Dew put Aria?s unfinished ?list? on their cans, calling their ad ?A Can Has no Name,? symbolizing Aria?s time spent with The Faceless Men of Braavos.
The names appear on the can when it?s cold.
Quite Chilling.
This leaves us praying that other brands decide to take this course of action.
Nothing is more fascinating to the general public than seeing two unlikely forces join together to create a breathtaking product.
These ads get viewers excited, feeling like the product will complete the viewing experience as the new and final season awaits us. We couldn?t be more impressed.
We are now left wondering what other brands have left in store for us as Game of Thrones comes to an end. As if the anticipation isn?t enough while we wait for the show, major brands are killing the game out here with these collaborations, and all we want to say is:
?Winter is here, but Ads are coming.?
Any great ads, campaigns that have caught your attention span lately? Shoot them our way or comment. We?d love to know what you think.
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