BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – POPULARLY known for its variety in footwear, The Athlete’s Foot on Victoria Road will be launching a new video commercial on the screens of Caribbean Cinemas in Buckley’s Estate.

While the store has always had very unique commercials, what makes this one stand out is the message it sends to the youths.

The commercial features 14-year-old athlete Josiah Oyebefun of the Washington Archibald High School in a race with a car. It depicts him going through different struggles in order to win the race which he eventually does. The commercial mainly promotes The Athlete’s Foot but it also promotes youth positivity.

Samal Duggins, founder and President of Island Xpressions Media Marketing and the man behind the commercial, said it shows that youths could be positive despite what society thinks and they can face any challenge and come out of it successfully.

He explained that the concept originated from a discussion with the General Manager of The Athlete’s Foot as a means of making it the best commercial ever produced by the company. He also explained that after the concept was developed, the decision was made to use a youth.

“After the concept of the commercial developed into it being a race between someone in a pair of Athlete’s Foot’s shoes and a vehicle, I sat on the idea for a few weeks and the first person that came to mind was Kim Collins with him being former world champion, but then shortly after the idea came to mind. There was a series of violence speculated to be perpetrated by youths and I then thought that the youths need something else to do, and I then decided to use a young person,” Duggins said.

He went on to say: “They [youths] need attention. They need to know ‘what I can do, people will acknowledge that’. They need to know ‘what talents I have, people would give me the credit due for it’. I figured if we’re putting this on the movie screen it would be excellent to take a youth and put him in that spotlight.”

He further explained that Oyebefun was chosen because he came out as one of the top athletes at the 2011 Inter-School Championships.
Duggins said that apart from promoting The Athlete’s Foot, he also wanted to promote youths making use of their talents and doing something positive.

“Besides promoting Athlete’s Foot, my other intention was highlighting youth talent in such a way that everybody would be able to enjoy it. When you look at the commercial, you won’t need to know his background but you would feel proud of him as a runner. You won’t need to know what he has accomplished as an athlete, but you are able to look at it [commercial] and want to give him a round of applause at the end. That was the whole idea...putting them [youths] out there in a way that people would feel proud of them, and in return the youths would feel proud of themselves,” Duggins said.

He said that the youths want to know that someone is paying attention to them, that people are listening to them and that people care about them. He also said that when one youth sees the other utilising his or her talent and getting somewhere, they would want to utilise their talent as well.

Duggins said that with this commercial, he hopes the older generation would discontinue placing all youths under the same umbrella and realise the good qualities in some.

He said, “I just want them to appreciate what we have here...the beauty of the island; because, you see a bit of that in the commercial, but most importantly, youth development. I want them to understand that it is not all bad that is going on with the youths. I think that they shut out the youths too many times saying, ‘All these youths want to do is...’ and ‘these young people...’ It’s too much broad brushing. It’s no longer this person and that person; it’s a broad brush now, as if all of us are doing the same thing when it’s not really true.

“Some of us are really trying to make a difference; some of us are really trying to make a positive impact. I don’t think they are paying us enough attention, I don’t think they are giving us the kind of support that we really need...part of it is on us too. We have to create what we want people to see in us.”

Duggins has been producing commercials for The Athlete’s Foot for quite some time and he commended management for giving him the opportunity to feature Oyebefun.

“One of the reasons I appreciate working with The Athlete’s Foot is because Gopal [General Manager] gives me a lot of creative control. Once we discuss something and he sees the vision, he tells me go for it, do it. It’s a joy working with someone who does not limit you. Duggins said.

“Hardly anybody would have known about Josiah before this commercial. It is more impacting to the country using him, because at the end of the day his friends in school would say, ‘Boy, I see you...’ And they would probably compete for the same thing. Youths are competitive by nature, so it creates a channel...another way for them to go,” Duggins added.

He also said that the commercial is not about the athlete’s age, but about him being victorious and conquering all the obstacles.
“He went through a whole bunch of obstacles to win that race...and that’s the idea – overcoming every challenge to get where you need to be,” Duggins declared.

Duggins also commended the cameramen who shot the commercial, Omari Flemming and Glenroy Belle, as well as Alvan Hyligar who did the musical arrangement.

Speaking briefly with Oyebefun, he told SKNVibes that he was overwhelmed by the idea of being featured in a commercial and saw it as a good opportunity to showcase his talent.

“I was happy, I was not expecting it because no one wants a 14-year-old to do a commercial for them. But speaking with Samal, he said that it would be a good opportunity for me and I saw the same. It was a good thing.

“The commercial was promoting The Athlete’s Foot but it also shows that nothing beats you if you strive to be the best out there. You can stand against anything, even a car that is very fast. It has both promoted and showed me that track and field can do things for me...it can take me places,” Oyebefun said.

General Manager of The Athlete’s Foot Gopal Ashvani told SKNVibes that he was pleased with the idea of the commercial and thinks that it would be very successful in achieving what it is intended to.

Patrons of the Caribbean Cinemas would be able to see the The Athlete’s Foot’s commercial on the movie screens as of next week.