Sophia Michaels
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Doorbell cameras let you see who’s at the door, check on packages and they’ve even helped to save lives, but can a doorbell camera help to sell shoes? That’s the hope behind a head-scratcher of a campaign from Cardi B and Reebok.
Released Thursday, a new promotional clip features the rapper strutting down the sidewalk, runway-style, to deliver Reebok’s new Zig Kinetica sneaker to an unidentified homeowner. The footwear fashion show is all “captured” on the homeowner’s doorbell camera, with half a dozen models sporting Cardi B masks as they prance and twerk their way to the door. Cardi arrives towards the end, rocking a workout bra and leggings (made by Reebok of course) and showing off some Hustlers-esque dance moves while holding the new shoe. (It’s worth noting that Cardi actually tosses the shoe away, so it never arrives on the recipient’s doorstep).
Reebok said it released the doorbell runway show to coincide with fashion month, though the connection between home surveillance equipment and workout shoes is less clear. In a statement, the athletic brand patted itself on the back for being “the first fashion brand to tap into these unexpected social networks,” adding that people can “expect more doorbell cam runway shows over the coming weeks.” Is ding-dong the new TikTok?
The whole campaign arrives with the #ZigTheRunway hashtag, and Cardi dutifully provided a quote that tries to tie the whole collaboration together.
“Zig the Runway is about being unexpected and unapologetic about your style,” Cardi explained in a statement. “I always do me and keep people guessing and that’s what we’re showing off in this video. [The] Reebok Zig Kinetica isn’t like any other shoe that’s come before it and this fashion show is like nothing that has come before it. We’re breaking the mold and blazing our own trail — that’s what Reebok is about.”
The new shoe is an updated take on Reebok’s “ZigPulse” silhouette, first released in 2010. The brand said the new sneaker “fuses innovative sport tech with sleek style to create a highly functional shoe that seamlessly transitions from gym to street.” The workout shoe gets its name from a zigzag-shaped sole that “channels and returns kinetic energy” to provide more bounce and comfort with every step you take (think: a more cushiony, lightweight sneaker).
Along with Cardi B, Reebok tapped LA Clippers star Montrezl Harrell and Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp to film their own doorbell runway shows. Schnapp’s version shows the actor and friends pulling up to the door on Stranger Things-style BMX bikes to — literally — drop off a shoe.
“Incredible, hilarious and bizarre content from doorbell cams are being shared and re-shared everyday,” Matt Blonder, VP, Marketing & Digital Brand Commerce at Reebok, said. “We saw an opportunity in that to showcase Zig Kinetica in a completely new, unexpected way.”
Cardi’s runway show might not actually be the strangest clip in the Zig Kinetica campaign. Reebok also tapped MMA fighter Conor McGregor to star in a bizarre commercial for the shoe, where he turns into an action figure who must defeat a Play-Doh-style monster and a crew of creepy cronies. Just… watch it.
The Zig Kinetica retails for $120 and is available now on Reebok.com.
Featured via: Rollingstone
