Street Smarts: Superfad Directs Protege Shoe Launch for Kmart and Draftfcb

KMART recently premiered a commercial that launches its exclusive arrangement with Protege, a brand new shoe brand created with NBA star Al Harrington. The spot was directed by Justin Leibow of Superfad for Agency Draftfcb and features Harrington presenting the philosophical ingredients that make up his new, high performance basketball line at an accessible price point.

Protege was designed so that basketball players of all ages and income levels can have high quality, top of the line shoes just like the pros wear. Retailing for $34.99, the shoes rival those at 3-4 times the price and are personally wore on-court by Harrington and other major players.

To approach the commercial launch of this unique line for retailer Kmart, Superfad started with the premise that the shoes are an authentic expression of their origin. Accordingly, the spot combines live action sequences of Harrington both on court with him presenting photo-real animated elements that deftly coming together to create the Protege. The Protege begins as reflection of Harrington's upbringing, drawing upon hundreds of details frame-by-frame, moment-by-moment, culminating in the shoe that can take your game wherever you want to go.

"It was important that even in surreal moments everything feels authentic and organic to reflect the bold offerings of Protege via KMART," says Superfad Director/Creative Director Justin Leibow. "Up until this point, this level of shoe was beyond the means of millions of kids who love basketball and just want to play. So it was inspiring to be involved with the agency on a brand that is based on a positive ideology."

---

---