New campaign with actor Steve McQueen's family encourages passing down Red Wing boots to heirs

Legendary movie star Steve McQueen loved the fast track, and always wore the same pair of Red Wing boots.

Minnesota's Red Wing Shoes partnered with his family, in particular granddaughter Molly McQueen, on a new campaign that celebrates the King of Cool by promoting the ideas of legacy clothing and sustainability.

The newest "Will your Wings" campaign featuring McQueen starts this week and encourages customers to pass down their beloved Red Wing boots to heirs.

The campaign is "our representation of steering clear of fast fashion," said Red Wing creative director Aaron Seymour-Anderson. "This is intentionally a campaign that is pushing against fast fashion. Our boots last so long that you can hand them down to someone else."

To kick off the idea, the Red Wing, Minn.-based manufacturer is partnering on a limited edition of the "Classic Moc" Red Wing boots worn by McQueen in the 1960s and 1970s, including on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The updated leather boots feature a McQueen signature and "278," his racing number. While the new and somewhat contrarian marketing campaign highlights a well-known player in America's $95 billion footwear marketplace, the company does not expect it to win any sales awards.

That's because only about 500 pairs of the $420 McQueen Classic Mocs will be made. They will be sold online and in 20 of Red Wing's 575 stores.

To emphasize the legacy angle, store clerks will stitch fabric "legacy gifting tags" inside the tongue of each boot. Customers can then write their own name on the tag, along with the name of the person to whom they'll will the boots.

McQueen, who died in 1980 at the age of 50, "is the ultimate icon of timeless style and things that last. So we partnered with his family estate, and ultimately his granddaughter, to re-design the boots that Steve wore in a more contemporary context," Seymour-Anderson said. "It's all part of a larger strategy."

Mary Van Note and Beth Perro-Jarvis, former Fallon ad executives and founders of the Minneapolis-based brand strategy and research firm Ginger Consulting, said Red Wing's marketing approach takes a page from the "sneaker drops" that other shoe companies do. They will release only 20 or so pairs of an exclusive design to one or two obscure retail shops.

That creates a big buzz, heightens demand and increases the chance a buyer will drop big money for what they see as a luxury item.

"This is exactly that same kind of thing. It's a way to build brand cachet. Scarcity is very alluring," Perro-Jarvis said.

It also helps that McQueen's granddaughter is launching the product because she is young and in the ad showcases the craftsmanship of the McQueen Classic Mocs.

Van Note imagines the line will appeal to the consumer "interested in sustainability and that maker aesthetic."

"We see these people in the North Loop. They are people who are into making things and are small-business-oriented," she said. "They don't want shoes made in China and off an assembly line. They want something that is made by hand. Something they can pass down."

If successful, the campaign should keep footwear out of landfills a little longer. Through YouTube, social media and its stores, the 2,200-employee Red Wing Shoes is emphasizing its shoe repair services. Its cobblers resole and recondition 40,000 pairs of Red Wing boots each year.

If customers repair and then pass on their beloved boots, customers can keep the "timeless boots on feet for years, even decades, to come," Seymour-Anderson said. "So far, we have 40,000 pairs of boots on average that go through our repair shop every year that we're keeping out of the landfill. That's exactly our point."

Molly McQueen liked the idea so much that she lent personal photos of her grandfather and her own story to the sustainability effort. The company created a web page pairing her video and the photos with filmed interviews of customers who also talked about the importance of receiving or passing down boots to next generations.

"My grandfather had the unique ability to make everything he did look effortlessly cool. He was self-assured and confident, which is why people are still drawn to him today. The Will Your Wings campaign isn't just about passing down a pair of boots — it's about passing down a legacy," Molly McQueen said. "It's about handing over something meaningful and built to last."

Some apparel pros see the campaign as a rebellion from the funky "fast fashion" trend popularized by retail giants such as H&M, Forever 21, Temu and Shein.

The 119-year-old Red Wing Shoes has long prided itself on making footwear that isn't pretty but is known for its ability to take abuse, and guard the feet of miners, hikers and factory workers — not to mention the toes of action stars like McQueen or avant-garde journalists like Hunter S. Thompson.

The company created a social media sensation in 2021 when it launched 13 global ads promoting its intentional "Out of Fashion" vibe.

The ads were filmed in Taiwan, England, Philadelphia and other spots around the world, using real customers who contributed to their communities in unusual ways: Black equestrians in Philadelphia, English beekeepers, and two octogenarian dry cleaners in Taiwan who cheekily wore the apparel of deadbeat customers who left behind clothing without paying the bill.

Those ads featured voiceovers of a letter written by the late journalist Thompson.

Now the company is back with its latest anti-fashion nod. The McQueen Classic Moc will be available in some stores starting Nov. 16 and online starting Nov. 21.

Retail and branding experts think the bootmaker may be onto something familiar.

"Red Wing's campaign reminds me of Crocs' similarly contrarian marketing moves over the years," said independent retail strategist Carol Spieckerman. "Crocs decided to own the ugly, much to the delight of fans and newbies alike, and concocted several campaigns that took the elephant out of the room. There are Patagonia-like sustainability flourishes too as the brand famously encourages its customers to buy less of its products. All in all, it's a winning combination that emphasizes the practicality and durability of Red Wing shoes."