The red-and-black Air Jordan 1 arrives in 1985, the adidas Stan Smith moves beyond the tennis court into wider culture, and the Converse Weapon returns in 1986, while the models, colours, athletes and musical references continue to change in the years that follow. One figure, however, remains present: a Foot Locker employee in the brand’s recognisable black-and-white striped uniform.
That constant is the foundation of It Always Will Be Foot Locker, a new brand platform through which the retailer looks back across more than five decades of sneaker culture and its own role in its development. The two-minute film does not attempt to tell that history through a single brand or one sporting discipline. Archival ads and footage meet newly filmed scenes, while the story moves from sport into music, television, film and everyday style.
The film features models that became cultural markers at different points in time, including the Nike Air Force 1 and grey New Balance models, alongside the previously mentioned Jordans, Stan Smith and Converse Weapon. The broader retrospective also includes Run-D.M.C. and Nelly, basketball players Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and LeBron James, as well as references to television and film. Rather than presenting one of those eras as the most important, the film connects them through the idea that sneaker culture has constantly evolved, while Foot Locker has sought to remain a place where its different parts come together.
That role is visually carried by the Striper. Employees in black-and-white uniforms appear across old commercials and newer scenes, connecting periods distinguished by different footwear, trends and the people shaping them. The film therefore builds the brand’s history not primarily around products belonging to Foot Locker, but around its position between sneaker brands, consumers and the communities that gave those products cultural meaning.
The film is narrated by Method Man, whose voice guides audiences through changing colours, trends, sports and cultural moments. Foot Locker developed the campaign with creative agency Someplace, while the film was directed by Kim Gehrig through production company SOMESUCH. Someplace was founded in 2022 by three former Wieden+Kennedy employees who had spent years working on the Nike account.
The new platform expands on the direction Foot Locker introduced earlier this year with Hoops Lives Here. That year-long platform, also developed with Someplace, focused on the brand’s connection to basketball. It Always Will Be Foot Locker moves beyond the court and extends the same idea of belonging into sneaker culture as a space where sport, fashion, music and pop culture meet.
The film marks the beginning of an integrated campaign spanning television, social media, digital channels, outdoor and stores. The new platform will also continue through Sole Stories, a short-form documentary series that Foot Locker is developing with Hartbeat. A total of 36 episodes are planned, focusing on creators, tastemakers and sneaker enthusiasts, as well as the models that have shaped their personal stories. The series will expand throughout the autumn across social, digital, influencer and in-store channels.
