VANS – The Original Since '66

In the mid 90's, action sports was booming, music and arts was beginning to become a more celebrated part of the culture. It was prime territory for VANS. In '97, Vans began investing deeper in developing itself as a serious entity. They invested heavily into events, they created the world's leading action sports series with the purchase of the Triple Crown of Surfing; and eventually added events in skateboarding, BMX, surfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, freestyle motocross and supercross. Vans began opening up their famous skateparks. VANS equipment began showing up on Olympic athletes...it was a transformative and key period. Through this entire era, McElroy/FCB was considered the AOR (Agency of Record) for VANS. It was during this period that myself and a handful or Art Directors at McElroy handled all marketing creative for VANS. Touching on everything from snow, skate, surf, warped tour, music, and mainstream. We developed campaigns utilizing print, television, radio, packaging, general branding and grassroots/event marketing. I had the opportunity to work with amazing photographers and videographers, met incredible, passionate and talented athletes, some of which I continue to be close friends with today. Our efforts helped grow the VANS business from $88M to $250M and further built equity in and a resurgence of VANS. In 2000, Vans was recognized by Forbes as one of "America's best small companies", and since VF's acquisition in 2004, the Vans brand has transformed into a $3 billion global lifestyle brand.