I considered filing this under the Brand Sanctuary™ wave because Adidas is the kind of brand that people are very loyal to -myself being one of them. However, the Human Truth™ is: “I count on your brand not to let me down.”™ Unfortunately, that statement doesn’t ring true when I look at this latest collaboration between quirky designer Jeremy Scott.
Hey, I’m down for kooky – don’t get me wrong, but these are just whackadoodle. It led me to think: “Who would wear these??” (Especially the “cowboy boots”)
That’s when I decided these belong in the Power Plays™ wave. This is a wave for people that love to stand out. This can be done in many ways but, in this case, it’s about letting your “freak flag fly”.
I’m mean can you imagine wearing the sandal/sneaker mash-up without expecting people to comment on them? (read: “make fun of you”)
Perhaps you love being “that girl/guy” and that’s precisely the attention you’re seeking. Maybe you want people to tug on the leopard tail attached to your leopard skin sneakers. I have to admit to owning a pair that are very similar to the bright yellow ones. 
When I bought them, I went straight the Adidas section of the store because that is “my brand”. I was going to a huge block party concert -and yes, I wanted to stand out! So I was happy for there to be an “extreme” option for me. Many people at the show stopped me to ask about them, or simply give me a thumbs up as I walked past… someone even wanted to get a photo of me for their fashion blog.
Power Plays™ is about making a statement -whatever that means to you. Wearing the cowboy boot sneakers would earn me a back hand from my Texan friends, so that’s not the kind of statement I’ll be making any time soon. However, this is a fun wave to play with when coming up with ways to make your product, service or customers stand out from the crowd.
