Ads - Part 73

Volley Shoes

Volley is an Australian shoe company.  In 2016 they launched a "grassroots" ad campaign featuring young men and women clad in underwear or naked, wearing Volley sneakers.  Above, on a tennis court.

On the tennis court again, but with couples hugging.  Note that the couple on the right is gay, and the one on the left is lesbian.  The "grassroots" ads enthusiastically depicted gay as well as straight couples.

Another view of the gay couple hugging.

And this photo shows them kissing, though they're not naked.

The Volley "grassroots" ad campaign also partnered with Ansell condoms to promote safe sex.  Here we see a condom on a tennis racquet handle.

More was visible on the Volley website, like this video of underwear-clad and naked young men and women, gay and straight, running around and having fun while wearing Volley sneakers.

Predictably, the religious right, including the Australian Christian Lobby, was outraged by the ads featuring nudity and gay tolerance, and they railed against the ads.  The resulting publicity was great for Volley, whose profits that year went up more than 100%.

In late 2017, believe it or not, Volley launched a line of sneakers called "Fuck Off."  Here's a commercial for the sneakers.

The shoes actually said "Fuck Off."

Clearly Volley is going after a demographic that is not the religious right.