Apple and Nike: It's Gotta Be The Shoes
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 8:46AM 
Photo: Jeff ElliottI recently had a chance to walk down Apple retail memory lane, as I recalled one of the stranger promotional tie-ins for Apple. As Nike was promoting their Nike ID customizable shoes (in 2004, with the mini launch date on the side) they came up with an interesting/odd idea: All members of Apple's retail staff were given a pair of black Nikes, with a swoosh in their choice of color, which just happened to match the colors of the iPod mini at that time.
The strange thing was, there was never any marketing by either company to really explain or highlight the promotion. Bear in mind this was a somewhat heady time for Nike, so maybe they just did it, knowing that Apple employees were perceived to be hip, and thought it would spur sales. Show of hands: who has ever picked a pair of shoes based on what a Mac genius was wearing.
At any rate, it was a welcome gift to retail employees used to several hours a day on their feet, and going through a lot of shoes in the process. If you had these shoes, let us know in the comments.