Nike - Cactus Trails Trading Company

How do you promote a hyper-limited edition Nike x Travis Scott show drop to a captive audience during peak Covid? And pull it off in one month? See how we attracted 1 million visitors in first week it was live.

Creating a fake store to launch a real shoe.

The Challenge

Democratize access to a hyper limited-edition Nike x Travis Scott shoe drop, from a niche grails market to his wider fanbase. Create multiple doorways into product purchase, from sellers to resellers. Tap into a captive at-home audience during peak Covid. And pull it all off in 1 month.

Our Approach

Create a digital escape that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, sending Travis Scott fans down a web of wormholes inspired by the Nike collab.

Results

Turns out, the people were thirsty for a little absurdity because in its first two weeks, the site raked in over 800,000 unique visitors and smashed through the one million visit mark in week one alone.

An image of the Cactus Trails Desert Escape Kit which features the Air Max 270 React Shoe, "Pre-worn" socks, and desert sand to insert into your shoe.

Background

Travis Scott partnered with Nike to create ‘Cactus Trails,’ a very very limited collection of sneakers and apparel inspired by Scott’s desert upbringing and well-worn, 90s aesthetic.

To hype fans for the drop, we invented the Cactus Trails Trading Company, an early internet-inspired online exchange ran by WWE legend Cactus Jack, aka Mick Foley.  Here, fans could experience the great outdoors and “let it go, trail off, stay lit...at home!” through various digital and physical products inspired by the drop.

Nike x Travis Scott Air Max 270 "Cactus Trails" catalog page featuring fake cactus jack merchandise.
Nike x Travis Scott Air Max 270 "Cactus Trails" catalog page. Trail Guide named "Jack" Costume; included shirt, sweatshirt, and pants.
Nike x Travis Scott Air Max 270 "Cactus Trails" catalog page.

If you called 1-877-4CTSJCK you’d hear Cactus Jack on the other end singing you a song (that we wrote).

Nike x Travis Scott Air Max 270 "Cactus Trails" catalog page.
The trading company became a breeding ground for AR experiments. What’s the least high-tech thing you can make high tech? The answer: a rock. We created some of the first moving 3D AR objects, ever created.

(Other free products such as the Augmented Reality Mick Foley and the Augmented Reality Hoop Vacuum sold like hotcakes!)

Our Services

Strategy
  • Social Strategy Concept
  • Content Strategy
Creative
  • Concept
  • Content Strategy Design
Engineering
  • UX/UI
  • Site Development
  • 3D Modeling
No fake company would be complete without a glowing fake review. We asked infamous sneaker reviewer Brad Hall (real name: Ben Kobold) to review the site, demo the AR objects, and post a tutorial on how to spray paint your own AM270 Cactus Trails.

The Results

1 month
initial concept to live site
2 weeks
total duration of live site
800,000+
unique visits on launch
1,000,000+
unique visits first week

Keep it interesting. Let's chat.

v50 raccoon
v50 heart