Meet the future of style as seen by adidas. adidas has released an updated version of the Ozweego shoe it launched in 1996 at its Newsstand of the Future in New York. The pop-up imagines that it’s 2048 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the shoe that was born in the ‘90s.
The newsstand on Manhattan’s Lower East Side was created by Jam3, which has produced events for the brand since 2017.
From the outside, the newsstand looked just like a typical New York bodega. It had the typical hanging magazines, piles of snacks and a little window with a cashier peering out. But once inside adidas fans found that if they opened the bodega’s refrigerator, they entered another era where scenes of a future New York City were projected onto LED screens. In the middle of the room was a mysterious newspaper dispenser. When visitors enter the code, 2048, the box opens, revealing adidas magazines featuring the new Ozweego shoe. Inside 600 of the magazines were coupons for free Ozweego sneakers.
To draw people to the event, adidas partnered with sneaker publication, Hypebeast, to share the pop-up location, and promoted the event on its social channels. An @adidasnyc Instagram Story asked followers to scratch off numbers so that they could then text the company to win the location of the newsstand. The brand also enlisted a number of influencers to promote the activation a few hours ahead of its opening, and influencer twins, Clayton and Chris Griggs, were hired to be the cashiers from the different time periods, one twin dressing in 2019 attire and the other wearing a futuristic white jumpsuit.