1990s Antique Roadshow (sort of): Emerica “Klink” Ad

It would be mighty nice if more companies did ad archives – it saves valuable Tampa vert video clip-watching time sifting through boxes of old magazines and helps the chronologically challenged, such as myself. A good deal of skateboard culture, such as it is, can be wrung from the yellowing pages of TWS and Thrashers, as internet websites more capable than this one point out on a daily basis. And in these times of harsh economy, if you’re one of these vaguely remitted “brand managers” wouldn’t you be jumping at the chance to circulate already paid-for advertising among untold billions of glazed-over internet eyeballs?

Anyhow as an addendum to this recent series of memory lane barrel-scraping entries, I found myself clicking through Emerica’s pretty extensive ad archive the other day and eventually went on a hunt for what must’ve been my first pair of their shoes, the Klink, pictured above. Except in dark blue. I gravitated toward them in large part cuz of the strap on the back, a feature that was key to myself and others in the days that jeans were worn loose and long. It’s funny, I recall these shoes as pretty by-the-numbers basic mid-90s fare but revisiting the ad, the wavy stitching patterns kinda threw me for a loop. I suppose though this was around the time when DC was affecting a shift towards the “sportier” designs that would later lure Emerica’s thruster-air busting Kenny Hughes with the allure of Euro Supertours yet to come.

And if I had to guess, at the time I probably would’ve put some long odds on Chris Senn hanging on longest out of the team bros listed off in the lower left.

Tags: acorns, advertisements, building the brand, Emerica, European vacation, foraging, Kenny Hughes, klink, mini ramps