Vibram®
Context
Vibram has been putting rubber between people and the ground since 1937. Its yellow octagon sits on the soles of the world’s best boots, and it’s one of the most trusted names in footwear. Vibram also builds its own footwear, which means telling its own story directly to consumers. Across two campaigns, Vibram needed photography that could launch new products and sharpen how two very different shoes fit into people’s lives: the Winter Furoshiki, a shearling-lined wrap shoe built for cold-weather days, and the FiveFingers, the barefoot shoe that redefined how a shoe could feel.
Approach
While working at Denver agency Spin, I served as Art Director on both shoots. I developed the creative vision with Vibram, directed on set, and managed photo selects through final delivery. Each campaign had its own challenge, so each got its own approach. But both were built on the same principle: show the product being lived in, in real places, by real people, so the photography did the selling. The result is a body of work that put two distinct Vibram products in context, from downtown Denver to the top of Berthoud Pass.
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Outdoor & Footwear · Advertising
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Show the product being lived in.
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Creative concepts, art direction, photography, video, production, campaign imagery
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Global footwear brand · 2 product campaigns
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Art Director: Travis Bartlett
Agency: Spin
Photography (Winter Furoshiki): Ali V
Photography (FiveFingers): The Public Works
Client: Vibram®
FiveFingers: The Original Barefoot Toe Shoes
Feel everything.
FiveFingers is a shoe people have opinions about, so the photography had to make the case for it. The shoot put the product in motion and in context, letting the experience of moving barefoot come through in every frame. Alongside the stills, I captured and edited a behind-the-scenes film that gave the campaign a second life on social. Photography by The Public Works.
Includes: Creative concept, art direction, photo shoot, behind-the-scenes video capture and edit, campaign imagery
Furoshiki Shoes
Made for winter. Not a winter boot.
The Winter Furoshiki launched into the holiday season with a tricky brief. It’s warm, with a shearling lining, but it isn’t meant to replace your winter boots. One color, black, in two styles, for men and women. The answer was to show where it belongs: the moments between the city and the mountains. We shot across downtown Denver, Second Home in Cherry Creek and Berthoud Pass, following the shoe from city streets to snowy trailheads. That positioned it as the everyday winter shoe for people who live in both worlds. Photography by Ali V.
Includes: Creative concept, art direction, location scouting, photo shoot, selects and final delivery, holiday campaign imagery
