The 174-year-old American legacy brand launches ‘Not Your Dad’s Shoe Company’ designed to inspire customers and transform current perception
NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, American premium lifestyle brand, Johnston & Murphy reveals its new image campaign titled, ‘Not Your Dad’s Shoe Company.’ Designed to reshape how customers think of the 174-year-old brand, the bold new campaign highlights the company’s deep heritage while inspiring audiences to perceive Johnston & Murphy as more than a dress shoe company. The ‘Not Your Dad’s Shoe Company’ campaign is part of a strategic repositioning that leverages the brand’s rich legacy while modernizing to remain relevant and breakthrough in today’s landscape. Johnston & Murphy tapped creative agency, Wolfgang, to put a fresh lens on the brand that will resonate with an audience that values quality craftsmanship, classic style and enduring value.
“Through recent consumer research we discovered a unique opportunity to shift perceptions about our brand,” said Johnston & Murphy SVP of Marketing and Ecommerce Jason Dasal. “We have made great strides in expanding our product offering into apparel and accessories, developing innovative comfort technology and creating a product line that is relevant for today’s customer. With this campaign, we aim to solidify our position in the industry and inspire customers to see us from a fresh perspective.”
‘Not Your Dad’s Shoe Company’ emerges as a strategic pivot to broaden Johnston & Murphy’s appeal, aiming to refresh and expand its consumer base while maintaining its core clientele. With a confident and playful approach to the direction, the campaign features generation-spanning talent, representative of the brand’s own customer base, in old world settings, creating a juxtaposition between old and new. The campaign features a new tagline ‘Made for the Moment Since 1850’ which harkens back to the American familial connection that many customers have to the brand while establishing a forward-thinking narrative for the important and celebratory moments in life. This thread will carry through in future campaigns.
“We have experienced unprecedented sales growth over the past several years and we know how important it is to invest in an outward expression of our brand that connects with the consumer in a meaningful way,” said Danny Ewoldsen, President of Johnston & Murphy. “Our intention for this campaign is to enlighten a broader audience on the ongoing evolution of our brand through a respectful but lighthearted approach to our heritage.”
The campaign introduces Johnston & Murphy’s Spring 2024 collection featuring styles from the growing casual athletic and apparel lines. At the heart of the campaign are silhouettes that feature innovative and proprietary technology that enhance the comfort and performance of the footwear while keeping the classic and versatile styles that Johnston & Murphy is known for including the Amherst 2.0 Knit Plain Toe, Kinnon Perfed Jogger, Miles Knit Lace-Up, and Daxton U-Throat. The hero of Spring 2024 is the Amherst 2.0 which is a new iteration from the bestselling Amherst family engineered with a lightweight and flexible design with a TRUFOAM® sole and temperature-regulating Smart Degree Technology®.
“Johnston & Murphy has been crafting high quality footwear for almost two centuries. Abraham Lincoln wore their shoes, so did your great, great grandfather, your great grandfather, your grandfather and your dad,” said Colin Jeffery, Co-Founder and CCO of Wolfgang. “But, with a modern, innovative and versatile new product lineup Johnston & Murphy is definitely not your dad’s shoe company, in fact it’s not even just a shoe company anymore. We’re excited to make everyone aware of the great strides the company has made in recent years and share this next chapter with the world.”
This latest campaign launches at a time when the company is achieving notable sales growth across all product categories, a position that has been recognized by its parent company, Genesco Inc., through its continued investment in the brand. The ‘Not Your Dad’s Shoe Company’ campaign will be seen across Johnston & Murphy’s 153 retail and factory doors, including 24 airport locations. The media rollout will include broadcast on ESPN and CNBC, along with digital placements on Meta, YouTube and TikTok. The first chapter of the campaign can be seen now on johnstonmurphy.com and via the brand’s social channels.
ABOUT JOHNSTON & MURPHY
A division of Nashville-based Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO), Johnston & Murphy is an iconic American brand with a rich heritage that inspires its design aesthetic. Johnston & Murphy offers modern interpretations of classic styles to men and women who appreciate beautiful and functional products made with premium materials, great craftsmanship and enduring quality. Founded in 1850 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Johnston & Murphy products are available in more than 2,000 global retail and wholesale locations and at johnstonmurphy.com
ABOUT WOLFGANG
Wolfgang is a full-service creative agency and content studio with offices in Los Angeles, Detroit and New York. Wolfgang has created a wide range of award-winning work, partnering with clients including adidas, Halo Top, Uniqlo, Teremana Tequila, Georgia Pacific, Gillette, Interscope Records, Panda Express, SCUF Gaming, NBCUniversal, among others. Production and content creation play important roles at Wolfgang. With a pack of world-class producers, directors, photographers, editors, animators, sound engineers, and content creators, Wolfgang aims to streamline the creative process, delivering exceptional content, efficiently and without compromise.
Within Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), Wolfgang is a part of the Doner Partners Network, a collection of best-in-class agencies whose goal is to make brands matter more to culture, to the world and to the bottom line.
Media Contacts:
Marisa Drew, Battalion PR mdrew@battalionpr.com
Jason Dasal, Johnston & Murphy 615.367.7427
Mike Geiger, Wolfgang 310.853.8347
SOURCE Johnston & Murphy