Virtual Adidas Store Sells Second Life Shoes
One of the questions about real-world brands coming into Second Life has been whether they would arrive with products that fit the world, or whether they’d simply show up with some money, hang out a shingle and leave it at that, hoping to garner whatever marketing pop might accrue. Most projects thus far have proved a pleasant surprise, and the latest is no exception. The Adidas outlet built by Rivers Run Red in the virtual world of Second Life has opened with an introductory product, the a3 Microride. Like the real-life shoe, the Second Life counterpart provides “the ultimate blend of bounce and flexibility with minimum weight.” In fact, it’s a great virtual-world product, acting like a kind of pogo stick for your feet, and with the option to keep bouncing you around as long as you’re walking over open ground.
The shoes are a good, fun translation of a real-world product into the virtual realm, and at L$50 (about US$0.20), they’re affordable by pretty much everyone. Pick yours up at adidas (104, 182, 53). [<--SL link] (Also read Rik Riel’s take on the store.)
One thing that’s interesting here is that the initiative pre-supposes SL will be a good viral marketing tool, which has yet to be really demonstrated. But it’s encouraging, in a broader metaversal view, to see that the Adidas project is looking for more than the print headlines that come from merely setting up shop in a virtual world. The idea here seems to be to get a3 Microrides out all over the Grid. While this may be distasteful to some, especially those who want to preserve SL culture as hermetically sealed off from the physical world, what I find encouraging about it is that Adidas is taking SL members seriously as a demographic. Their view seems to be that it’s to their advantage to have lots of avatars running around in their bouncy shoes. This gives a bit more weight to the avatar — and by extension to the person behind it — than most previous marketing initiatives have done.
So do we look for a spike in sales of the real a3 Microrides? It will be interesting to see whether the virtual shoes are a one-off for Adidas or part of a continuing effort. In any case, you kind of have to like the respect Adidas is showing the virtual world with the a3’s. Bounce on.
Feeds
I remember my first week in Second Life, Barnesworth Anubis gave me a copy of some spring shoes, I think it was Pete Fats that made them. So it is a bit of a “been there, done that feeling” — it was somebody else’s first, and somebody not famous outside of the SL pond, I guess, but still…Of course, the Adidas will have some cool texture around them, and I’m wondering — who did they get to make these? An existing SL designer? (The way Nissan got Frans Charming).
I don’t see why you have to condescendingly talk about ‘those who want to keep SL culture hermetically sealed from the physical world’. That’s just plain silly. SL has numerous imports from the physical world and there is no such hermetically sealing anywhere, even on the most cultic of Gorean sims.
In RL, however, I don’t just go around glutting out on brands. I don’t fill my life with pictures of Adidas and put on Adidas and talk about them and IM my friends about them. Hell, they’re just sneakers, that’s all, and overpriced at that. Why would I behave differently just because I’m in a virtual world, all of a sudden I’m going to want to have a brand “play with me”?
I see these folks have also joined the glass-and-metal school of realoid virtual architecture trend started by American Apparel and continued with Telus and others. They might want to rethink that.
What’s good is that they’ve got a product that sells for a normal price by world standards. Now: here’s what I can’t WAIT for! The first Adidas sold at a yard sale for less or more (not copyable, but resale of originals). Or…what about knockoffs? Are we going to see the Adidas people getting on forums and screaming about rip-offs and theft?
Adidas comes to Second Life: the a3 Microride…
Moo Money sent a link to the new Adidas store in Second Life (SLURL). It’s pretty spare at this point — just a marketing build to highlight their new a3 Microride shoe, which apparently makes you jump really really high….
Hmm, when I was at the store I couldn’t find any for sale. I assumed that they were just for display. I’ll check them out tomorrow and see how it improves my leaping.
Thanks for the link!
One Small Step for Adidas…
Via 3pointD comes news that the virtual Adidas store is up and selling inside Second Life (Link). I just popped in to take a peek, and as I’ve come to expect from Rivers Run Red, the store is… white. But there is some grey too. In a few …
Jump Higher (and Reach the Virtual Reality)…
The encounter of reality with the virtual has led to a very interesting and creative implementation of consumer brand offering in a virtual world:Adidas is now selling its a3 Microride shoes for L$50 to Second Lifers. “Like the real-life shoe, the Se…
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[…] At the Adidas store, I bought a pair of custom shoes for about L$55 (less than US$1). The process involved buying a pair of “blank” shoes for L$50 and selecting my custom shoe colors at a coloring station for another L$5. After buying my shoes, I took a break and sat down in a virtual theater to watch the new X-Men movie. I did not stay to watch the movie, since the quality was less than ideal. […]
[…] At the Adidasstore, I bought a pair ofcustom shoes for about L$55 (less than US$1). The process involvedbuying a pair of “blank” shoes for L$50 and selecting my customshoe colors at a coloring station for another L$5. After buying myshoes, I took a break and sat down in a virtual theater to watch thenew X-Men movie. I did not stay to watch the movie, since thequality was less than ideal. […]
[…] Yo me he dedicado a conocer las posibilidades de marketing del segundo mundo. Visité las tiendas de Reebok y Adidas, y comprobé que, como en el primer mundo, no regalan ni pegatinas. Y las prendas, bastante caras para estar cosidas con unos y ceros. ¿Habrán vendido muchas? Sin embargo, en lugares más modestos pero no menos visitados, como en Second Life Spain, sí regalan camisetas corporativas. […]
[…] On the surface, though, Adidas and their virtual world agency Rivers Run Red did everything right. They built a great island, and as this post from 3pointD points out, Adidas tried to bring something new to SL with their a3s. For Adidas it wasn’t just about “the print headlines that come from merely setting up shop in a virtual world”, what they tried to do was bring SL a really cool accessory for your avatar. And in that endeavor they succeeded. But there hopes of viral marketing…getting the a3s out all over the Grid, does not seem to have succeeded as well as hoped for. […]
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