Jays On My Feet

I am almost ashamed to admit that the two websites I visit frequently, almost 5 or more times a day are Footlocker.com and Finishline.com. Both of these websites serve similar purposes to advertise and sell footwear, clothing, and accessories of the athletic persuasion. I visit these sites with the intent of purchasing shoes or just to keep myself updated with the new or nearby release dates. Foot Locker advertises more for the basketball clothing and shoes, whereas Finish Line advertises more for runners. When you visit these sites they are similarly structured. At the top you will find the log-in information, search box, the drop down menus per shoe style, the current shoe mini jumbo-tron, beneath that the current grid-like structure of bestsellers, and other important but non-essential information. These websites have an audience of whomever may afford the footwear and clothing being advertised. The secondary audience in today’s times are ‘sneaker heads’ or ‘hype beast’ who purchase the shoes for style, which are people of all ages with a card number. Another targeted audience are people who are too lazy or maybe unfortunate to be able to travel to the stores bright and early on a Thursday-Saturday morning to purchase shoes. Categorically I fall into the lazy section, I don't mind the extra $7.99 of shipping.

The ethos comes into play visually on both websites and the messages the advertisements play while one is shopping. Visually Foot Locker’s website is black and a dark grey, this serves the purpose of the buyer being able to focus on the shoes being advertised on the mini jumbo-tron and beneath it on the website. The contrast forces the buyer to pay more attention to the forefront of the site - the shoes - rather than the backdrop. The wording on the site is white, which also creates a stronger contrast because it draws the buyers eyes to the different sections and titles so that one is able to easily navigate the site and purchase the shoes and leave the website. This is probably done because the Foot Locker website gets extremely crowded at specific times in the week and at certain time frame within those days. Due to the overcrowding of the website during these times one is subject to being dismissed from the website for 30 seconds to an hour. So, the site being easily manageable is a plus for the consumer. Finish Line visually is blue and white the sides possess advertisements to draw the customers attention elsewhere and to convince them to purchase or consider more than one shoe. It is a greatly effective strategy with someone like me, who loves gym shoes, however it is ineffective when the website also experiences the same overcrowding as does the Foot Locker website, during similar times. The most effective website rhetorically would be Foot Locker, it gears it’s customer to one thing and helps them to put their focus in that one place. Even though there is a lack of additional advertising once you have decided to select a shoe, because of the notorious name Foot Locker holds, it is almost unnecessary.