by Howard Campbell
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican dancehall star Popcaan and British shoe company Clarks have teamed-up to launch a signature Wallabee Boot, scheduled to hit the market on November 10.
The company, which has headquarters in Somerset, south west England, launched its campaign for the footwear on November 8 with a video posted to social media. It has Popcaan wandering the Somerset countryside searching for the manufacturer’s factory.
The red and black Wallabee bears the word ‘Unruly’, a nod to the deejay’s Unruly Boss alter ego. It has an online cost of $190.
At the end of the ad, Popcaan is seeing packing a barrel of Clarks, ready for shipment to Jamaica.
Popcaan, 35, has a strong following in the United Kingdom. He told the highsnobiety.com website that, “Wearing a pair of Clarks makes you a part of the street culture, so when politicians and them wear Clarks they think it’s cool to the streets.”
Clarks has been a part of dancehall and Jamaican culture for decades. The first Jamaicans associated with the brand were immigrants who went to the UK to work during the 1950s.
The diminutive Popcaan had a big hit song in 2010 with Clarks, a collaboration with his mentor Vybz Kartel.
Jamaica-born, British soccer star Raheem Sterling also has an endorsement contract with Clarks which is also worn on occasion by Jamaica’s prime minister Andrew Holness.
