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15 Greatest Footwear Commercials of All Time

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#10 L.A. Gear Billie: Michael Jackson Electrically Charges Dark Alley 1990

Michael Jackson was by far one of the greatest entertainers of all time –if not thee greatest- and so when he signed to L.A. Gear in 1989 it was a big deal. By the time 1990 swung around there was anticipation for what may come from the partnership and what we experienced on the advertising end was classic Michael in a setting similar to his video for “The Way You Make Me Feel”. A dark street alley, MJ busting out signature moves most of us could never replicate and a little girl clapping at the end. It was MJ & his signature sneaker and it was epic. Or was it? While the commercial was great the shoes were another story. Of course a lot of obscure sneaker collectors like myself can appreciate them in 2017 but at the time they were out of place. They didn’t fit in with the crowd that wanted to wear athletic shoes like Jordan’s, Reebok Pumps, Tech Challenge’s and Bo’s and they never resonated with individuals that wanted a tough looking boot and ultimately not many people bought them -also, aside from the one commercial and a few print ad’s there wasn’t much in the way of marketing for them-. Unfortunately, this duo would be the beginning of the end for L.A. Gear with the partnership landing in court and both parties filing lawsuits against one another. Legal matters aside, L.A. Gear & MJ left the sneaker community with one of the greatest commercials of all time.

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