The Scottish footwear and outdoors gear brand Hunter is over 160 years old, but now it steps into the future with its new PLAY boot campaign. Starring Alhan Gençay and Mia Monaghan (9p and MIAXMON, respectively), the campaign sees the two gaming vanguards enter a digitally-enhanced reality of real-life — not quite the metaverse, but still somewhere between online and IRL.

Hunter’s campaign celebrates the PLAY Boot and PLAY Neo Boot, which are designed with functionality, productivity, and protection in mind. Despite this, they can also been worn within a utilitarian lens, which lends itself well to the IRL-meets-online campaign. Here, 9p and MIAXMON discover a new way to play in a nostalgia-filled world. A “Choose Your Player” screen brings up both of the gaming stars in various guises, ranging from birdwatcher to hiker as they stand and sway in a manner akin to games such as Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat.

However, retro 8-bit graphics are likened to Mario Kart, and once your character has been selected, a POV “When Gamers Go Outside” video sees the gamers land in a hiking challenge, collecting everyday items to complete the game.

Of course, the PLAY boots take center stage in the campaign, switching color depending on the character’s outfit. Hunter presents the PLAY boot in a fetching shade of “Bracken Green,” as well as its signature “Logo Red,” classics such as “Arctic Moss Green,” and a contemporary “Zinc Grey,” across both “Short” and “Tall” silhouettes for men and women.

Speaking on the campaign, Monaghan said: “I think gaming has really expanded in the last five years to include a much wider audience. It’s definitely now fully embedded inside of mainstream culture which is really cool to see. I think the pandemic definitely introduced a whole new crowd of people into video games. It’s one of the most exciting industries to be in right now for sure.”

Take a look at the campaign above, and find out more about the collection on Hunter’s website.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alhan Gençay (@9p)

In case you missed it, check out the latest issue of Sole Mates.
Source: Read Full Article