The 35th anniversary of Adidas Superstar trainers have been celebrated by exciting new designs of social media trainers. Popular sites Facebook and Twitter have received homage from designer Gerry McKay with their logos and characteristic color schemes featuring on the trainers.

For those who are familiar with Facebook or Twitter and have their own accounts in one of the two sites the resemblance is uncanny. The Adidas Facebook shoe includes the logo, the color theme, the font and even two separate slogans printed inside the shoe that read: “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you” and “Making the world open and connected”. The Twitter shoe is a little more subtle in its design with a light blue color scheme that is not as bright. Rather than using the familiar text logo the Twitter bird is featured on the back to provide a much more visual element.

The designs are certainly unique but would the trainers be financially viable if they were ever manufactured? This is something that would need to be further researched by industry insiders but at this early stage they are not predicted to be created. Facebook and Twitter are a great way of keeping in touch with your friends but would you really want the brand in your life 24/7? They’re more likely to be a one-off novelty purchase for a birthday or Christmas that will soon be discarded.

In this period of austerity consumers are basing their footwear decisions on function rather than style. This is evident in the selling power of trainers like the Reebok Easytone or the Adidas Predators that serve a specific function such as toning the muscles or enhancing grip during exercise. An exciting and unique design just won’t cut it in the battle for sales.

People are beginning to move away from brands altogether as they opt for cheaper alternatives, so adding yet another brand to an existing brand would indicate a higher price and out many consumers off, even if they initially liked the product.

To see more of the concepts see here for the Facebook Shoe and here for the Twitter Shoe.