Between rainy spells, many runners circle the Imperial Palace. Runpit, the locker and shower facility at Palaceside Building in Takebashi, is busy; runners' apparel and shoes impress with fashion sense.
A global sports brand beloved by runners faced cancellation of new shoes after a social media storm.
Fashionsnap.com reports: posting August release images on official Facebook drew comments likening chained designs to slavery and calling them ugly — a "flame" backlash — and sales were canceled.
I like this brand too; it has made news often lately. Last May a female employee's Twitter insulted a contracted player; the company apologized. In August a promo video of a man in the shoes sprinting past gravure idol Yurika Kurosawa, lifting her skirt, drew 300,000+ YouTube views in two weeks.
Including this incident, it is a story of the internet age — instant spread, huge reactions, great publicity, but risk of lasting damage. Sometimes handling afterward wins praise...
Canceling within days of the June 14 post drew some praise. In the past, newspaper ads might have caused cancellation after mass production — huge losses. This time backlash came before full production, limiting damage — such commentary appeared online. Using the net wisely matters.