'LEGEND' 990v4 - NB SAN FRANCISCO

Every so often a shoe will come around that has a very unique marketing campaign. Rarely do you see this with the New Balance brand, but this past weekend that would change with the commemorative 'Legend' 990 launch. 

To bring you up to speed on the 990: In 1982, the 990 was introduced and was the first athletics shoe that would be sold at a price point of $100 MSRP, which is equivalent to $258 today. The 990v2 was then introduced in 1998, then the 991 in 2001, 992 in 2006, 993 in 2008, 990v3 in 2012, and lastly the 990v4 in 2016. The 99X series of New Balance has to be the most iconic series of them all and by far my favorite.

Alright...onto the event

The staff over at NB San Francisco reached out to me on Friday (4/13) in terms of helping with promotion for the launch. I was overly eager to help with what I could, and to help the NB brand support my favorite model/series. Never did I think I would be contacted for something like this...the feeling is still surreal. After playing around with some fun promotional shots, it was time for the commentary (nervous as all hell). I did my best to be myself, but the nerves still got to me. Little did I know, that this would be sent to their marketing team for posting. I still get butterflies watching it. 

4/14/18: LAUNCH DAY

The rules were to head to the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, and that is where the 'box' would be located. The 'box' was a custom container to house the 990 commemorative artwork, history, and where you'd go to acquire your voucher to buy the shoes. Once you received your voucher with your requested size, a NB staff member would escort you to the store to purchase them. This system worked smoothly with the organized staffing from NB. 

I showed up to line at about 8:30am with my girlfriend Jaime, and there were already 25+ people in line. This was a good sign that they could sell out in a quick amount of time. I was hoping that the efforts given by the NB SF would be acknowledged by a quick 'sold out' status. 10am shortly came; The DJ fired up his turn-tables and the line began to move. One after another 'sneakerheads' and NB enthusiasts were receiving their vouchers and being directed over to the Flagship location (856 Market St.).Finally...my turn! I received my voucher, gave the staffing a formal 'pat on the back' for a job well done, and proceeded to purchase my pair from the store. They were everything I expected them to be and a great piece for my collection and soon to be, wearing rotation. 

Thank you again NB SF for allowing me to be a part of the promotion process behind my favorite model of my favorite brand. It was a vision brought into fruition. I look forward to working with you all again. 

I want to acknowledge my buddy Stewart Anderson for going out of his way to attend this event and take these great pics for me to share. You can follow his photography page here: @stewbob112