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With almost 900 shoe brands in the US - and a lot more across the globe - it’s safe to say that footwear sales is one of the most competitive categories on the planet. Consequently, shoe brands need to pull out all the stops to keep from drowning in a sea of competition. Fortunately, not only has a powerful unique differentiation, but they also now have an agency helping them get noticed -  - and a hilarious new character at the centre of their most recent brand performance initiative.

KURU’s mission is to free the world from foot pain, and they believe health starts with the heel. Their patented technology gives them bragging rights to claim theirs are the Healthiest Shoes on Earth so you can Heel Better thanks to KURU's revolutionary heel-hugging KURUSOLE technology.

“KURU’s patented heel design puts them in a category of their own,” agency executive creative director and founder Patrick Maravilla pointed out. “They’re fashionable athletic foot-pain relief.”

Founded in 2008, KURU is frequently noted as one of the best and fastest growing online shops as well as a pioneer in eliminating foot pain.

“We needed to get a younger generation suffering from active foot pain to know about KURU and like the content enough to learn more. This led to creating the KURU GURU, a woman so blown away by the pain relief of KURU, she wants the world to know about them. Creating the KURU GURU has been one of those rare opportunities in advertising in which you get to create a brand character that’s fun, honest and irreverent. Can’t wait to see what people think of her,” said Preston Van Dyke, KURU CMO.

This is the first major initiative for the agency, and they have been charged with building KURU to dramatically break through in culture beyond user-generated content and social ads. The campaign launches throughout the US in mid-February and will run indefinitely. Creative includes five OOH and a :60 introduction of KURU GURU with :60, :30, and :15 spots to follow. It will appear in online ads, CTV, YouTube, Hulu, website integration and texts.

Maravilla realises that online shoe brands are everywhere, noting, “We needed to break through to help people see KURU isn’t just a shoe brand but a patented pain relief that looks great and feels amazing.”

KURU CEO Bret Resmussen is proud of the campaign. “Working with Little Big Engine on this campaign has been an incredible experience. We set out to create something memorable - an ad that doesn’t just showcase KURU shoes but sparks a conversation about a superior way to foot health and sells shoes! We can’t wait for people to see it.”