Columbia's Feet Freak salon offers hikers free foot rubs and pedicures in East London

Key Takeaways

• Columbia Sportswear has taken over a salon in East London and renamed it Feet Freak.

• Hikers are offered complimentary foot rubs and outdoor-inspired pedicures after a day on their feet.

• The activation celebrates the new Peakfreak hiking collection: the Peakfreak Titanium OutDry, Peakfreak III (£135) and the women's Peakfreak Hera.

• The salon is the finishing point for guided hikes around London, following Columbia's F££T FUND, which paid hikers £135 for photos of their feet.

Columbia Sportswear has spent the past few weeks asking hikers for pictures of their feet. Now it wants to look after them in person.

The brand's Feet Freak salon is an East London salon takeover where walkers can swap muddy boots for a free foot rub and an outdoor-inspired pedicure. It is the second act of Columbia's Peakfreak launch, and it moves a cheeky social media idea into a physical space where the brand's whole argument, that hiking boots should be judged by how your feet feel at the end of the day, can be felt rather than just seen.

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Feet Freak sits at the end of a hiking route, with Columbia running guided walks around the city that finish at the salon, taking participants straight from the trail to the treatment chair. Once there, hikers can enjoy complimentary foot rubs and pedicures with an outdoor theme, giving the feet that have just put in the miles a little attention of their own.

The activation celebrates the launch of Columbia’s Peakfreak collection, a new range of hiking footwear designed to keep feet comfortable over longer distances. It brings together the Peakfreak Titanium OutDry, the Peakfreak III and the Peakfreak Hera, which has been developed specifically for women, with the salon carrying that focus on comfort through to the end of the walk.

“Our feet do all the hard work on a hike, and they rarely get the credit,” said Christelle Bretaudeau, spokesperson for Columbia Sportswear. “The Peakfreak collection was made to keep them comfortable mile after mile, and Feet Freak is our way of celebrating how the range keeps feet happy even after a day on the trails.”

That appreciation for hikers’ feet also connects the salon to Columbia’s F££T FUND, which launched across EMEA in September and offered selected hikers £135 for photographs of their feet taken while out walking. The payment matched the retail price of the Peakfreak III, linking the idea back to the footwear itself, while hikers can follow both parts of the campaign through Columbia’s European Instagram account, @columbia_eu.

Why a foot spa works for a hiking boot launch

Footwear advertising often puts the boot against an impressive mountain backdrop, but Columbia has focused its launch on something hikers are likely to recognise just as easily, the relief of taking their boots off after a long walk. Blisters, aching arches and battered toenails might be among the least glamorous parts of getting outdoors, yet that familiarity gives the campaign something to work with, building the idea around a moment that rarely makes it into the advert.

The two phases carry that idea from social into a physical experience, with the F££T FUND inviting hikers to share photographs of their feet before Feet Freak gives them somewhere to put those same feet up. Turning the joke into a service people can enjoy creates a natural connection between Peakfreak and comfort, while the guided city hikes open the experience up to Londoners who fancy getting outdoors without needing to plan a full day on the trails.

There is also a playful nod to wellness culture in offering hikers a pedicure, bringing the familiar rituals of taking care of yourself into a category more often associated with grip, waterproofing and toughness. It builds on Columbia Sportswear’s campaign paying hikers for the battered feet behind their adventures, giving the feet that supplied the photographs a little attention of their own.

SOURCES

[1] Retail Times