Hasta La Creative!

Nike is the George S. Patton, if you will, of athletic footwear. It kicks ass in the marketplace, and as we discovered earlier today, it has a murderous urban assault vehicle in its promotional arsenal. Then there’s new-agey New Balance. Where does it rank in the sneaker wars? I don’t know, and really, who cares? It’s nowhere near No. 1. And its latest marketing effort doesn’t pack enough firepower to make a dent in Nike’s armor. (Man, that’s good writing!) On Friday, as part of its Beijing Olympics tie-in, NB introduces sneakers inspired by the traditional masks of Sichuan opera. Which is your favorite: forceful Jing or cunning Chou? It doesn’t matter. A Chinese aria is no match for the Nike war machine. (By the way, Converse’s “My Drive Thru” song was also adapted from Sichuan opera. Not everyone knows that. Google it if you don’t believe me. Ha, made you Google!)

—Posted by David Gianatasio