This week Astro Boy’s big red boot exploded across the internet.

Launched by American artist collective slash hype brand MSCHF, they’ve been everywhere ($350 if you want to rock a pair).

They describe them as:

“Cartoon boots for a Cool 3D World.” 

“Cartoonishness is an abstraction that frees us from the constraints of reality. If you kick someone in these boots they go BOING!”

It’s a lesson for any brand looking at building hype around their brand:

1. Take something with cultural resonance:

Astro boy has cult status, it was originally founded in 1963 and had a significant impact on Manga storytelling. It’s authentic but still has a bit of geeky underground appeal to tap into fandom (vs something like Pokeman).

2. Leverage something super distinctive:

You can’t get away from a big red boot. It’s astro-boys ‘key brand asset’. They celebrated it in all its glory in an uncompromising way, by:

3. Reinterpret these two things with fresh appeal:

Launching it as a shoe taps into all aspects of hype, meme culture, art and a trend for celebrating the hyper surreal (Did you see Sam Smiths Brit costume?) and the blurring of real and virtual worlds.

4. Leak then let lose with the right influencers:

Before boot was available to buy (today is the day) the hype was generated through getting the boot on the feet of influencers.

Now who’s going to show up to a meeting in a pair of these?