Title	THE FIRST SHOE MADE FROM RECYCLED GUM
Brand	AMSTERDAM METROPOLITAN AREA / I AMSTERDAM
Product/Service	GUMSHOE
Category	F02. Low Budget / High Impact Campaign
Entrant	PUBLICIS Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation	PUBLICIS Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Name	Company	Position
Jonathan van Loon	Publicis Amsterdam	Art Director
Daniel Ashkol	Publicis Amsterdam	Copywriter
Mischa Schreuder	Publicis Amsterdam	Creative Director
Ramon Stalenhoef	Publicis Amsterdam	Creative Director
Dave Fransen	Publicis Amsterdam	Designer / Photographer
Manon van Otegem	Publicis Amsterdam	Account Director
Garezi Septara & Shaquille Gunther	Explicit Wear	Shoe designers
Pieter Wolter	Good Sounds	Music & Sound Supervisor
Jurriaan Balhuizen	Good Sounds	Composer
Pauline van Die	MSL Group	Account Director
Bob Bruinenberg	MSL Group	PR & Creative Advisor

Provide budget details

Provide budget details Overall budget Euro 5000 Breakdown of costs Euro 2500 for sneaker samples, Euro 2500 for movie (out of pocket costs). Agency hours not included, as it was pro bono.

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

To create awareness about the gum litter problem in Amsterdam we wanted to create something people would love. With a total budget of €5.000 we produced a snappy “How it’s made” video and 500 pairs of Gumshoes. It became an instant hit. In this way we got people’s attention. The Gumshoes were sold out in a blink of an eye. And everybody wanted their pair. They could. By now donating their chewed gum. In this way the streets of Amsterdam stayed clean. And were now covered with Gumshoes instead of gum.

Background

One of the main brand values of Amsterdam is to keep the city beautiful and clean. So locals and visitors of Amsterdam can experience the city at its best. Together with cigarette butts, gum litter is one of the most urgent environmental issues the city is having. Not just Amsterdam, but other major cities as well. We wanted to create awareness about this gum litter problem. Besides the fact it improves daily life and is better for the environment, it will also add value to the city’s image on an international scale. For example, Amsterdam’s tourism or international events. Eventually this adds up to the city’s image and will hopefully result in a virtuous circle on a global level.

Describe the creative idea

We discovered gum is made from a synthetic rubber. What makes it a suitable material to manufacture new products. So, we collected gum from all over Amsterdam and turned this useless waste into something useful. We created a product people actually want from something no one cares about: The first sneaker ever made from chewing gum. Bubble gum pink, with the map of Amsterdam imprinted in the sole.

Describe the strategy

We asked ourselves: How do you reach Dutch youngsters (15-30) who are not responsive to a traditional billboard campaign or a cliché TV ad? The answer was to create something they already love: sneakers. Instead of pointing our finger we served them with a sustainable product that they can wear and even show off to their friends. This way our target audience was reached in a much more effective way and will make them think twice when they have to get rid of their chewing gum. In addition to increasing awareness, this will also create sympathy and genuine motivation to solve the chewing gum problem together. By combining their interest with the problem and presenting a visually pleasing and very shareable item, we let the mouth-to-mouth communication, PR and social media do the rest.

Describe the execution

The first step was to seed Gumshoe on a local level: Amsterdam-based media. We gave Metro Amsterdam the scoop and quickly other local media covered the news. Local politicians and stakeholders soon followed. The second step was to leverage this local news and contact national media. We’ve contacted the biggest newspapers and broadcasters, and distributed a press release to become more visible on a national scale. This generated an enormous buzz on social media and online, which gave us a platform to seed on a global level. With success. From the Netherlands to Brazil and from China to the US people heard about Gumshoe. Renowned websites even shared case movies made from the existing footage. Within the first days our website got flooded with pre-orders.

List the results

Within a week the website got flooded with pre-orders and we reached over 600.000.000 unique persons with our message. From Germany to Ukraine and from China to the US people heard about Gumshoe. The Gumshoes were sold within a week. Sportlife, the largest chewing gum producer in the Netherlands, will partner with us and finance upcoming campaigns against gum litter and we have just signed with Asics to produce Gumshoes around the world. Starting with New York, London and Tokyo. With this initiative, we didn’t just try to solve the problem, but also make people think about the fact how to treat their city and environment with respect.