• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 2, 2017

Two beloved preppy brands are getting a jolt of new creative, with Sperry launching its first-ever national TV spot for shoes, and Lacoste debuting a short romantic film to highlight its newest apparel collection.

Sperry, the famed boat-shoe company, says it is running the ad on the NBC Sports Network and NBC National Network supporting its link to the America’s Cup races. And real America’s Cup athletes, who inspired the new Sperry 7 Seas line, appear in the ad. The Waltham, Mass.-based company says the new collection, launched in March, marks its first voyage into the casual athletic market. (A different high-top version of the shoe, called Sperry 7 Seas Pro, is designed for the race’s genuine sailors.)

But don’t let the “casual athletic” label fool you into thinking this is just another athleisure offering. “Using insights gleaned from America’s Cup athletes, Sperry designers fused 21st-century footwear technology with innovative details to create the ultimate performance shoe,” says Adrienne Mathias, Sperry’s director of consumer marketing, via email.

“We know our target consumer cares about versatility, a parallel concern of America’s Cup athletes, so we wanted to create a shoe that was focused on the needs and lifestyles of modern day explorers.” She tells Marketing Daily the shoe has “a lightweight and versatile silhouette with a secure fit and good traction, resulting in a shoe that spans both fashion and function without compromise.”

Sperry created the ad with SpecialGuest.

Meanwhile, Lacoste, maker of the crocodile shirts preferred by prepsters since 1933, has introduced the lovely “Timeless,” a 90-second romance directed by Seb Edwards. It follows a pair of time-traveling lovers who first meet at a Depression-era Parisian train station, complete with hundreds of extras and vintage trains, through the decades. The film flits between black-and-white to the brand’s contemporary color palette.

The campaign for the French clothing company, from BETC Paris, is running on TV, online, and in outdoor ads, along with digital ads and bumpers.