As many of you know, JUMP was sprung from the cradle of civilzation…of shoes, Taiwan. A veritable Mesopotamia of shoes in the 70s, it was in Taiwan where Hongson grew to become one of the world’s most formidable maker of shoes. From that heritage of shoemaking gave rise to a powerhouse group of brands, amongst them JUMP standing the test of time for 30 years. Anyone who grew up in Taiwan has probably worn a pair of JUMPs at one point in their lives or donned a JUMP raincoat with the three stripes astride a motor scooter nearly ten years before Adidas knocked the logo.
Decades later in New York, through the efforts of a new generation of footwear acolytes, comes JUMP Deluxe, the luxury evolution of the brand catering to a new generation of footwear connoisseurs. Building upon the original vision of JUMP’s forefathers, we’ve now elevated the brand to new heights on a global level. So it is with tremendous pride that on the dawn of it’s 35 year anniversary, JUMP makes a triumphant return to Taiwan, from whence its 30 year heritage had come.
I copped this pair of Travel Fox in Taiwan. This design hasn’t changed since the 80s but I think it’s still pretty dope. Should we remake them for JUMP DELUXE??
When news that Johan Ku, a Taiwanese guy, had won GenArt’s Avant Garde grand prize, Taiwan erupted in celebration proclaiming him the honor of Taiwanese fashion. To congratulate him, Harry sent him a pair of our Zanatos (which I wear myself) as a gift. Here he wears the shoes in his United Daily News interview. It’s exciting to see Jump Deluxe gaining global acceptance. To think it all began with a couple samples of patent sneakers.
Indeed, that was the question. We’d just put all the finishing touches on the ad campaign and I was overwhelmed. For me, it was everything I had ever wanted it to be. As I’d said before, it was like wanting a toy for weeks and then finally getting that new Lazer Tag gun and realizing it wasn’t all that special – only this was the exact opposite. It exceeded all my expectations and I was ecstatic. Amongst the finishing touches were scrolls each bearing the name of our brand in Chinese and a description of the shot. This element would prove to be quite a point of controversy.
While the objective of the ads were to create images that would provide Jump with the proper positioning as a premium brand, there was in fact an underlying agenda. Long bearing a stigma of cheapness and defectiveness, Chinese products had suffered plenty of negative publicity, some deserved, some not. Although we produce quality goods and use only the best factories in China, it was always a point of contention whether we ought to associate ourselves with China or not.
So we decided to “BE DARING.” We set out to incite a sort of cultural movement (not to be confused with a cultural revolution!) that would offer the world a different perspective of the Far East – that it had not only become a forum for the international but that it was beginning to carve its own cultural niche in the global arena. It was a campaign that would, in essence, tell the epic story of a brand who sprang from selling $20 jogging shoes in Taiwan, then to develop a fashion persona and cross over to China, Japan and Korea. From Asia it would reach the shores of South America and Europe where its fashion would take an interesting new direction with the help of an innovative Spanish design team. Now, having arrived in the US the brand has been elevated into the arena of luxury fashion but at a reasonable pricepoint. It is through our unique business model and relationships overseas that we are able to offer such quality and directionality at an entry level luxury pricepoint.
Through Jump’s logos, is the story of the evolution.
And now we introduce the latest iteration.
So when I presented the completed campaign to the rest of the global team the reactions were mixed. No one denied the art direction was compelling and the execution was spot on. The mixed feelings were over the usage of the scrolls. There were concerns that it would limit us and pigeonhole us as a brand for only Asians. Others cited that it might hurt us to be connected to China whose reputation as a manufacturing giant could be in some respects a dubious one.
What I offered was that this campaign wasn’t meant to do that at all. It was meant to appeal to those progressive enough to see it for what it is and not some kind of Chinese propaganda. It’s purpose is meant to bring the consumer into this other world and include them in it. After a flurry of discussion on the matter, Harry made the decision that the scrolls would remain. It was decided that we would be genuine to our roots as a Chinese brand and “BE DARING” enough to pronounce this to the world. We decided that in all of the 5000 years of Chinese history, being the first high fashion brand to become truly global, was an honor we ought to be proud of and share with everyone. Moreover, we wanted to dispel the stigma of China and show just the kind of creativity that can come from a brand such as ours.
So without any more teasers and an overly verbose foreword, here is Sung Kang in Sneaker Deluxe.
It was in Milan, during a conversation with a French gentleman named Frederic that the concept for our Fall 08 ad campaign was born. He was interviewing Harry, Cani, Larry and me to get at the core of the Jump brand and to help us identify what our message ought to be. In the past, we had used the tag, “…for the people” which parlayed into the Chinese characters, 人類 (humankind), which can be found on many of our shoes. We wanted to understand how best to explain why we used these words and what it would mean to people.
It had to do with how the brand was founded in Taiwan. American sneakers from Nike and Adidas were pouring into the market but were for the most part, too expensive for the better part of the Taiwanese public. So Jump emerged as the brand that could offer the American performance and fashion at a price “the people” could afford. Over the years, the brand had evolved to design and produce product that promoted harmony across different peoples and cultures around the world. For a brand that began as the partnership between brothers in a family, working things out peacefully and harmoniously became a cornerstone of Harry’s business style. There is no zero sum game with Harry; all parties can win together. I suppose this contributes to why everyone I meet who knows Harry has something good to say about him.
The conversation continued as I began asking, are our shoes really “…for the people”? Our styling had become very directional, taking inspiration from all over the world but was it really for everyone? It was then at this juncture that the interviewer became the interviewee as I noticed Frederic was wearing a pair of our shoes, a pair that was rather fashion forward at that. We talked about how it made him feel, a middle-aged man wearing shoes designed obviously for someone in their twenties. He took a moment to think about it then told me rather resolutely that it made him nostalgic of his younger days, of the days he was a young musician in Paris. In essence, he was daring enough to try Jump’s fashion but in the end found that it had become his own! What a beautiful message.
The truth is that while our premium styling is very forward luxury fashion, our pricepoints are more entry level between $100-250. So we decided that we would ask our customers to “be daring”, to try something that they might not normally try and to make it their own. At our pricepoints, you can actually afford to be a little daring.
So it was here that I could finally put all the pieces together. I had Sung, a highly talented actor who, in his own right, was already being daring in taking on very aggressive, iconoclastic roles. I had Blanq in Taiwan whose body of work was already in an uncharted territory, merging a western modernity with traditional Chinese aeshetics in a way I’d never seen done so thoughtfully before. I had Arowana Films, indie filmmakers who could craft all this into something alive and vital. I had our categories – Indie Exec, Tuxedo Man, etc. And now I had the message that would make it all work. We would employ Sung’s talents as an actor to show how by wearing our shoes, you could dare to be anything you want from a brash young executive to an urban biker cowboy or to an elite military officer. And we would do this in a series of short films and in our print ad campaign.
For me, it was all a daring proposition. It was in fact, what the figurative more transcendental meaning of JUMP was. To be daring enough to go from one set of circumstances, environment and situation into a better one. Now, we’d spent months anticipating the making of it and piece by piece, the parts began to be form into the whole and now, finally, the final products are starting to all come together. It’s become so much more than shoes. It’s become creating art that extends beyond advertising and marketing. It’s become a cultural expression to be shared with a global community. It’s become the embodiment of being daring and I can’t wait to unleash it to the world and to share it with all of you. So for now, be patient =).
The expectations were high and I was, admittedly, a bit nervous on how it’d all turn out. We’d planned it for months and our concepts were solid but, of course, there were a few variables. One being that I’d never done anything like this before; the last shoot I was involved in was at a much smaller scale and a lot less complex. There would be a host of creative minds involved: me (Jump marketing director), Jeff (Blanq founder and director), Shu (photographer), Sung (actor/model), Boris and Jason (hair stylists), makeup, etc. Working in fashion, I’ve found where things are highly subjective, there’s a lot of room for disagreement and discord. Somehow though, this team was completely different; it’s not to say that we agreed on everything but somehow all our minds were synced in such a way that we were able to figure out solutions very easily and agree upon what struck us as the right treatment.
Here’s Sung getting dolled up.
Julie too.
Here’s a look at Tuxedo Man meets Modern English.
Here’s some of the crew taking a break. That’s Boris, Shu and Jason. Long hair was big.
After two days, ten hours each, the shoot was done. There was definitely a real synergy, no egos getting in the way and we were really able to just create! Jeff had already figured out how to translate our concepts into print and styled it. Fresh from shooting Ninja Assassin, Sung was able to bring an active element that worked beautifully with what we were doing. In addition, his work ethic was amazing. Shot after shot, he simply delivered whatever we asked him to do, “Turn your head this way and make sure your foot is angled that way so you can see the shoe.” Et voile, he’d get it in the next shot and do 8 different ones that all kept those elements but had different nuances to them. And then there was Shu who was able to capture each and every aspect of it with his camera. He is the number one photographer in Taiwan and even he remarked that he’d never worked with anyone like Sung before. There was no way he could’ve achieved those results from just a model.
And we gave it a Jump!
Needless to say, the shoot went beautifully and the campaign will launch soon. I’m just starting to get some of the finished ads sent from Taiwan and they look phenomenal! Watch out for the first ad in Marie Claire’s September issue.
We celebrated with a very unique dinner at a Mongolian restaurant.
The minute you get off the plane in Taiwan, you’re barraged with a battery of sensory stimuli. The type of heat is immediately unfamiliar – a sort of acrid humidity. You begin to eat and it’s Chinese, but there’s something very different about it, something more visceral, more vigorous about it. I’d traveled to Taiwan on numerous occasions so these things were nothing new but this trip was, by far, the most productive and rewarding trip I’d ever taken there.
As I’d mentioned in a prior post, we’d traveled half way around the world for the purpose of creating an ad campaign but I wanted to make sure Sung and Julie, my assistant/part time model got a taste of Taiwan. We booked a tour of Yang Ming mountain famous for it’s natural production of sulphur.
Our tour guide was quite an interesting character. He introduced himself with 4 names. He said, “In Taiwanese, my name is Mr. Ni. So you may call me that. However, in Cantonese, where I come from, it is Mr. Nguy. In another area, people call me Mr. Li. And then, there’s my least favorite name; in Fukanese, my name is Mr. Gay. Please don’t call me Mr. Gay.” That cracked us up. He certainly was the highlight of the tour, chock full of completely useless and sometimes plain odd information.
I tried to turn Sung onto one of my favorite snacks, High Class Dried Bean Curd. He didn’t like it.
There’s Mr. Gay leading us to the temple that wasn’t actually a temple. Here’s a joke of his, “What am I when I am in the middle of the water? No the answer is not crazy. Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh.”
We noticed an abundance of stray dogs in Taiwan. Even the dogs with collars roamed the streets. We were told it was common practice for owners to let their dogs run wild during the day while they worked and have them return in the evenings after they’d found all their girlfriends. Sung and I noted that it was nice to be a dog in Taiwan.
Here’s the hot spring reservoir. It gets pumped into this facility.
Here, Sung, Julie and I purified our bodies in the waters of the sulphuric hot springs. I figured it would be good to make their skins look good for the shoot the next day.
They had both private baths and public baths. I dare not take pictures of the public ones and the one I went into (it’s split between men and women), I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see it anyway.
That evening we met up with my long time friend Alex at a restaurant we had just eaten at at 5 am that morning. Neither of us remembered it. We introduced Sung to Alex’s mom, Yang Yen, a famous Taiwanese singer.
It was quite an explosive celebrity moment. There was one table who couldn’t take their eyes off of our table. First they were checking out Julie, because she’s blond and blue eyed (rare in Taiwan). Then they saw Yang Yen and were like “huh”? Then they saw Sung and were like “HUH”? Like this scene from the MadTV spoofs.
That was funny.
We also got to meet Louisa, a radio personality for Taiwan’s international radio station ICRT. She would interview Sung later. Will post the clip when available.
After dinner, we went to Shih Ling Night Market – the biggest of it’s kind in Taiwan.
Sung was pretty daring in trying the various kinds of strange Taiwanese eateries.
Julie got some good footage of our travels.
We had fun playing with glasses.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of our Taiwan experience: the photo shoot.
It was some time last fall when I’d decided to reach out to Sung Kang, a rising actor in Hollywood, most famous for his role as Han in Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift and in Better Luck Tomorrow. It was his iconoclastic approach to portraying Asian Americans as creative, funny and desirable that led me to take a big interest in him. So when he replied to me saying that he’d seen the shoes and loved to get involved with Jump at any level, I knew we were onto something great.
We flew out to LA and had wanted to treat him to lunch at some swanky Japanese restaurant but it ended up him inviting us to his own restaurant, Saketini, in Brentwood. It was pretty immediate that we knew we were speaking with the right person to represent the brand. We shared with him our history: our beginnings in Asia, how the brand has since traveled to over 30 countries and our vision for the US market. We discussed our brand philosophy driven by family values and how we wanted to transcend the realm of mere shoes but to extend the brand to other aspects of culture and global consciousness. We left lunch feeling not only extremely satisfied and full (his food, by the way, is exquisite) but also feeling great about the partnership. It felt like he had already become one of the Jump family. We had some great ideas on the table and from there we knew it would only burgeon into something bigger.
Man, did he feed us. We must’ve gone through like 10 courses.
After our return to New York, we began brainstorming. I soon discovered that contrary to what you might think of most actors, Sung could do a lot more than just act. I suppose the fact that he owned a restaurant and built his own original menu was already a testament to that. He’d become our Hollywood ambassador, wearing our shoes in all his films including Fast and Furious 4 directed by Justin Lin, the prequel to Tokyo Drift that tells the story of Han and Dom, played by Vin Diesel also starring Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster. In Berlin, he introduced the Wachowski Brothers (Matrix) and Rain to Jump while shooting Ninja Assassin.
But one of the things that impressed me the most was that he owned a high degree of innate creativity and self-awareness of his talents and was able to tap into it to help us formulate some really great ideas; things we would’ve never come up with!
Internally, we had developed a dossier to help us categorize our wide breadth of product. We decided that in order to make this palatable and understandable both internally and for our customers, we should categorize it. We decided that the best way to do it was to create a character or a persona for each category, then write a story about each one. Here’s what one very creative weekend yielded us.
We had a great time writing these. We wanted to make each of these characters cool but hilarious at the same time. Who would you identify with?
With these characters and Sung’s talents as an actor, we now had the tools to create some really cool stuff. But what? We began throwing ideas back and forth and came up with two really good ones. The first would be a series of short films produced by Arowana Films starring Sung playing each of the characters we’d come up with. The next would involve traveling half way around the world to Taiwan to work with my old friend Jeff Wang, owner of the creative agency, Blanq to create a collection pieces that would serve as our premier brand campaign. The stage was set for a host of exciting developments. Stay tuned.
