BlackChampagne -- no longer new; improvement also in question.: The World's Most Famous Shoes
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The World's Most Famous Shoes
By now I think everyone's seen the footage of the outraged Iraqi journalist hurling his shoes (with more accuracy than effect) at Bush last week. If not, watch this video; it shows Bush's surprisingly nimble ducking (he'd gotten very good at avoiding things over the past few years of refusing to take responsibility for any of his actions) after a hilarious parody of the legendary event. It's from the TNT, NBA pregame show, when Chris Webber surprised Sir Chuckles by hurling his shoes at him on live TV. I enjoy watching almost anything with Barkley, and this one had me elemayeoh, mostly as his shocked facial expressions.
The actual shoes that Iraqi journalist threw at Bush have apparently been destroyed (they should have auctioned them and used the money to cover about 2 seconds of the cost of the ongoing US occupation), but the company that manufactures them has been deluged with orders since the shoes were literally propelled into the worldwide spotlight.
The brown, thick-soled "Model 271" may soon be renamed "The Bush Shoe" or "Bye-Bye Bush," Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic., said in a telephone interview today.
"We've been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy," he said. "We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising."
...Baydan has received orders for 300,000 pairs of the shoes since the attack, more than four times the number his company sold each year since the model was introduced in 1999. The company plans to employ 100 more staff to meet demand, he said.
"Model 271" is exported to markets including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Egypt. Customers in Iraq ordered 120,000 pairs this week and some Iraqis offered to set up distribution companies for the shoe, Baydan said.
Baydan has received a request for 4,000 pairs from a company called Davidson, based in Maryland. He declined to provide further details.
I've never worn brown dress shoes, or felt any urge to throw my shoes at anyone, but I can see the attraction of these items. It would be a conversation piece, and for the vast majority of the people on earth who hate George Bush, a fun reminder of the fact that at least once in his pampered life he got his bubble punctured and received an actual, if brief and harmless, look at how most people feel about him.
