The sneakers industry earns more than 70 billion dollars of revenue each year. Yet, the originators of sneaker culture see less than 5% of that revenue. So for Black History Month, eBay, the OG sneaker marketplace, retraced the steps of Black sneaker history and launched, “The Footprint” to give credit where it was long overdue.
The Footprint is a social-native docu series weaving through four eras of Black influence that gave the sneaker game its footing and featured iconic pioneers of Black influence on the sneaker game.
The first installment of The Footprint, Chapter 1: Building Blocks, featured fashion royalty and streetwear legend, Dapper Dan, known for his provocative New York-inspired designs. Dapper Dan brought us back to the early 70s when sneaker culture's foundation was built on the streets of Black neighborhoods in New York as part of the emerging aesthetic of hip-hop.
In Chapter 2: The Breakthrough, footwear design pioneer Dwayne Edwards retraced how sneakers first gained mainstream appeal as a staple of 80s and 90s hip-hop fashion with the rise of professional basketball as a national pastime.
The game got taken to the next level in Chapter 3: The Takeover, when tastemaker and sneaker maven Aleali May shared how social media gave the culture new life with collabs, colorways, and a global community.
In our finale, Chapter 4: Tomorrow, sneaker designer Frank Cooke sees sneakers’ future being designed today with Black innovators leading the charge. The introduction of new techniques, materials, and designs are all reshaping the possibilities of what a sneaker can be.
To expand the narrative beyond the docu-series, we created an array of social carousels that highlighted the most famous sneakers from each era that shaped the culture as we know it today. This included kicks like Puma Clyde’s, New Balance 740 Worthy, Air Jordan 1 ‘Satin Shadow’ and many more. These in-feed exhibits connected the stories from the icons to artifacts on sale on eBay.
Our social series drove to a sneaker auction that raised $30,000 for Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design seeding the next generation of Black sneaker trendsetters.
The docu series caught fire. A content strategy of 100 unique assets across Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter generated 13.3MM+ Video Views and 9MM+ Reach. The series caught the eye of dozens of Streetwear and fashion legends like June Ambrose and Va$htie, who’s shares and mentions contributed to 5.6M earned views, 49% share of voice and 99% positive sentiment. But most importantly, our entire community came together to give credit where it was long overdue by honoring the sole of Black Sneaker History.
