It all started with the shoe thrown at former President Bush by an Iraqi journalist--an offense that can carry a hefty prison term. In less than one week, Bayden, the shoe's cobbler, needed to hire 100 additional employees to keep up with the orders. The style was renamed the "Bush Shoe"; the incident launched a political fashion trend as videos of the shoe throwing act were posted on YouTube. And, one Saudi offered $10 million for the pair of shoes thrown at George W.
The trend seems to be catching on, yesterday a protester hurled a shoe at the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. People around the world tweeted about the event and the media reported the incident immediately via online sites. In fact, an AP photographer quickly snapped a shot of the shoe which will be available through AP images for people to upload, download, publish, etc.
With a little bit of spin, this has become a great media outreach tactic. How else would this basic clothing staple get international coverage? And what's more, double orders and open up companies to a global marketplace.
So, even if the shoe fits, throw it!
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