Footwear hiphop: Run DMC have Adidas, now De La Soul have Nike

[mark stone]

Hip hop co-branding seems to be working in cycles. Run DMC sung 'My Adidas' in 1985. They signed a a $1.6m deal to work their hip hop with Adidas. Now De La Soul (contemporaries of Run DMC) are hailing My Nike+ in 2009.

I haven't heard it but even if it's a hip hop mix of other peoples tunes, that is still the essence of hip hop and De La Soul are masters of borrowing and remixing. Therefore it's not originality to complement the Nike/Apple brand partnership but more working the aerobic work out mix tape market. Just the ideal mix of constant beats for your run (DMC). Are You In? Nike + Original Run is the group's first 'original' material released in three years.

It complements the co-branding innovation that Nike made when it made a product to help runners with the aid of intelligent running shoes. A further way of revenue stream is these mixes 'optimised' for running pace and running encouragement.

I wonder if Run DMC will feature on the mix? They are Adidas brand ambassadors after all. It's tricky. Trick, tricky, tricky. You can buy it here on iTunes.