This month's GQ magazine contains a curious advertisement. At first glance, it looks like a well-crafted Florsheim Shoes ad, but look again, and you'll notice the man in the leather shoes is sitting in Milwaukee's Alterra at the Lake.
According to Paul Miller, one of Alterra's owners, the photo was shot on an early Thursday morning last fall during the usual morning rush. "It was great. The customers dug it, creating the right fuel for the ads," says Miller.
A bunch of shots were also taken outside of the café. Originally, Laughlin Constable, the creative agency handling the account, planned to use one of the outdoor photos, but a slight glitch made their first choice impossible.
Alterra's terrace tables and chairs, which appeared in the original ad, were purchased from UW-Madison and are licensed trademarks of the university. The images of the furniture appear on T-shirts and marketing pieces promoting the school and, consequently, when UW officials heard about the ads, they were upset, according to Miller.
{INSERT_RELATED}Once the university expressed their concern -- and reminded Miller of the contract he signed stating the patio furniture could not be used in promotional materials -- the ad was redesigned.
Miller sees a certain irony in the situation. When friend and business owner John Florsheim proposed the idea of shooting the ads at Alterra, Miller and his partners, Lincoln and Ward Fowler, were excited to be a part of a national ad campaign and garner exposure for their brand. At the same time, UW-Madison felt very protective of their brand and refused the opportunity to participate.
Sara Hull, Laughlin Constable account supervisor, was also surprised by UW-Madison's reaction. "It was kind of shocking," she says, "but I guess they had their reasons."
The Florsheim family recently brought their business back to Milwaukee and hope this new campaign will help reposition their line of shoes. Besides GQ, the ads will run in the Wall Street Journal, a footwear trade publication and will be featured in point-of-purchase displays across the country.
This was the first time Alterra at the Lake appeared in an advertisement, but the Prospect Avenue location was the setting for Kohl's Department Store, Boston Store and Harley Davidson ads.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
