Kuru Says: When Zombies Attack, Good Shoes Matter

Orthopedic footwear for outrunning (or stomping on) the undead

Mom: “I found a pair of Kurus on a half-eaten corpse.”

Dad: “And they fit!”

Orthopedic shoe brand Kuru’s and agency Little Big Engine play the end of civilization for laughs in our second zombie apocalypse spoof this week.

Xfinity’s take on the genre boasted blockbuster production values and cinematic scope.

Kuru’s campaign … has zombies, that’s for sure. And they’re clearly low-budget, with barely any makeup. The whole thing looks like it was shot in and around some random crappy house.

But all of that works in the advert’s favor. This feels like a campy indie short, packing considerable punch and an especially sharp script.

The best bits involve a couple’s ghoulish son chained to a wall while growling like a freak.

Mom: You know how teenagers are. They eat anything.

Dad: Or anyone.

When the kid snarls and rages, pops wags a finger and warns, “OK, young man. You’re pushing it!”

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“We needed to help shift the perceptions of an entire category while building awareness, engagement and preference for Kuru,” says Patrick Maravilla, ECD at Little Big Engine. “We created an execution that grabs attention, entertains, demonstrates the problem, introduces the product and dramatizes the relief it provides.

Indeed, the brand proposition—that these kicks provide comfort and relief in rough situations—slices through the horror hokum. Like fiendish teeth tearing into tender flesh, or some such.

Breaking across TV and social, the work also aims to combat ageism, noting that orthopedic shoes can provide cross-generational utility with a range of styles, Maravilla says.

“We challenged the conventions of a boring and unpopular category by meeting consumers where they are, being honest about what living with foot pain can be like and introducing a solution to one of life’s many difficulties.”

CREDITS

Client: Kuru Footwear
Campaign Title: “At Least My Feet Don’t Hurt”
Head of Brand: Blake Brown
CMO: Damian Dayton
Video Content Creator: Tyler Brown
Agency: Little Big Engine
Executive Creative Directors: Brandt Lewis/ Patrick Maravilla
Partner, Head of Accounts: Ben Myers
Production Company: Little Big Engine
Executive Producer: Duff Rich
Director of Photography: Mun Powell
Postproduction: Cosmic Pictures
Editorial Company: Little Big Engine
Editor: Dan Aronin
Music/Sound Design: Jam Music Collective
Music Producers: Sam Clawson and Kyra Brewer