Long Island stand up! To acknowledge this coming weekend's Fourth of July holiday, and celebrate the mass exodus of New Yorkers to the beach, Nike created the the AIr Force 1 Premium "Jones Beach" Birch/Sail-Stone-Soft Blu SMU (Special Make Up). The sneaker goes on sale this coming Friday for $120 at Extra Butter NY, and looks dope, but come on guys. A Jones Beach Air Force 1? Seems like a bit of a stretch. There's no relevant artist, no sneaker head, this is just a beach/music venue where you go to drink beer in the parking lot and listen to Steve Miller.
Nike AF1 special versions are usually tied to two things: artists who design the sneakers or athletes who are on Nike and are deserving of recognition. When Nike tries to spread the hype sauce beyond these ideas, they get a little WTF. In addition to the Jones Beach AF1, hit the jump to see our list of Air Force 1s that feature Questionable Marketing/Design Conceits...
SNEAKER: Nike Playstation Air Force
RELEASE: 2006 (didn't actually come out, only VIPS)
• The (sneaker) and (video game) nerds went nuts over these, but video games + cool sneakers only mix if you're 18 like Soulja Boy.
SNEAKER: Nike 1World Air Force 1 Ladainian Tomlinson
RELEASE: 2008
• We know LT was busy with the football season, but his half-assed effort on these was very apparent. "Yo, just color the swoosh light blue." Done.
SNEAKER: Nike x VIBE Magazine Air Force 1
RELEASE: 2003
• It took more than a Air Force One to kill their Vibe, but this mash-up between the late great magazine and sneaker was a bit of a reacchhhh. Rappers not named Benzino probably loved it, though.
SNEAKER: Nike Air Force 1 "40/40 Club"
RELEASE: 2005
• Hov may be the greatest, but for the events you'd want to go to the 40/40 club for, you're usually not allowed to wear sneakers. Perhaps a collabo with Body Tap would've made more sense.
SNEAKER: Nike Air Force 1 "Jones Beach"
RELEASE: 2009
• If the 40/40 and VIBE AF1s were a play to the hip-hop dem, this one is a play to the Long Island muscle heads. They're dope, and we rep LI, but you have to admit. It's kind of funny, right?