Skip to main content

Great moments in urban branding: Run DMC


We never wear the pants they call the Calvin Klein's/Cause Calvin Klein's no friend of mine/Don't want nobody's name on my behind/Lee on my legs, sneakers on my feet/D by my side and Jay with the beat!! Run DMC, Rock Box

***
This was easily the first rap protest against the dreaded skinny jeans!! People forget that rap was coming out of the Disco era. It was a rebellion against that pop'ish lifestyle. All the Dicso dudes wore super tight jeans. Rev Run and Deacon DMC were not having it. Now that I think about it, this was the first time I remember a jeans company getting a shout out from rappers. Lee jeans won big on that one. I wonder why they never tried to get in good like Adidas? I'm pretty sure this came out a few years before "My Adidas"...Lee could have taken full advantage. Maybe the "advantage" was free branding in a demographic they never advertised in...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Carla Fendi Dies in Rome

One of the true queens of fashion has passed. VOGUE: O ne of the five formidable Fendi sisters (Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda), who inherited  their family's fashion house  - has died in Rome, aged 79. FULL STORY  Many people forget that the Fendi brand permeated Hip-Hop heavily in its formative years. Rap  icons EPMD had a dancer named FENDI.... A lot of people forget that in the early rap days, a lot of rappers were teamed with dancers, and DJ's as crews to help get the party going. Fendi was a Hip-Hop dance pioneer. He was not a bboy. I am not a dance historian but his moves seemed to be a blend of strutting, locking and a little vogue dancing. Here is a slightly grainy clip FENDI DANCING

Radio Shack wins with one line from Biz Markie

Radio Shack Ad feat. Biz Markie My friend Nasseam reminded me how cool this video was. Its a very simple clean (meaning not a lot of dramatic elements to the ad) by Radio Shack. The wisdom of this ad is that it used a one line sentence from an old school rap lyric to promote cameras. This was real genius. Its a funny, ad, they even used the rapper (Biz Markie) in it. If you don't know or remember the line, its from Just A Friend (it came out in 1989) and it pops up in the last verse. Two thumbs up for creativity and clear messaging on this one. I think its cool that the ad team understood what a huge hit the song was, how funny Biz is and how an old school rap song could be embraced by todays consumer. Just a Friend Song by Biz Markie -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

E-40 Hits the Big Time in new TV Ad

E-40 has always been a giant in my heart. I'm from The Bay Area. But it has taken time for people to acclimate to his level. Now he is seen as a futuristic mogul OUTSIDE of Hip-Hop. In his latest genius move, Drive Time Credit Company uses his classic Choices and re-raps the lyrics. This one caught me off guard and I was happy surprised. Original E-40 Song Choices