To introduce “The Final Touch,” we worked with Blue to visualize what his creative process looked like in his mind, animating his iconic characters and art style for the first time ever. After being zapped by 10,000 creative volts, Animated Blue traversed a fantastical cloudscape to collect elements from his art to craft his first-of-its-kind sneaker stand. We teased the video in social, with the full video following on @ebaysneakers the day after airing at his launch party.
Blue The Great went through a few rounds of sketches, stress-testing his creative vision with what Atomic Props could replicate 100 times over. We landed on a mummified hand hoisting an art palette above clouds sprinkled with nods to Blue’s signature art. The bespoke stand can hold up to a pair of size 16 sneakers. Cast from urethane resin before being individually hand-sanded and painted, clear-coat sealed, and topped with a die cut acrylic paint palette, “The Final Touch” is individually numbered and could only be obtained by following @ebaysneakers.
In art and fashion, exclusivity is everything. Since Blue The Great is known for his monthly invite-only soirees called "Primary," we took that a step further, unveiling "The Final Touch" to friends, family, and select members of the sneaker media, and then used @ebaysneakers to share content in real time to fans near and far.
The centerpiece was Blue x eBay's sneaker stand resting atop a winding set of sneaker pedestals, with Blue's art projection-mapped to a blank AJ1 atop it all. Blue performed a DJ set as animations from the Unveil Film graced every wall in the gallery, and dual photo booth step & repeats welcomed guests – one for them, and one for their kicks.
To spread the word about the collab, we partnered with a handful of popular TikTok creators, including Ralph Romeo (61.8K), Kayce Kirihara (232.3K), and Nazjaa (475.6K). They green-screened against “The Final Touch” while challenging their audiences with sneakerhead trivia. Anyone who commented correctly was entered for a chance to win “The Final Touch” and the sneaker grail shrouded atop it.
Giving back to the community can be as easy as placing a bid. So we auctioned off these five 1-of-1 primary sneaker stands to raise money for the art department at Cedar Hills High School, and filmed a mini-doc of Blue’s return to his old stomping grounds.
Blue The Great is a photographer, sculptor, producer, DJ and artist whose career began with customizing friends’ sneakers in High School. Since then, Blue’s multimedia works, trademark “Mummy-wrap” style, and colorful paintings grace the walls of art galleries, celebrities homes, and tasteful collectors around the world.
CLIENT
eBay
AGENCY
The Many
ANIMATION
Oddfellows
PRODUCTION
The Many Studios