• by Sarah Mahoney , 7 hours ago

What does it take to sell a hiking shoe in 2026? If you're Columbia Sportswear, apparently 100 crocodilesand a wildlife-raised Australian with great comic timing.

Columbia has enlisted Robert Irwin — conservationist, TV personality and son of the late Steve Irwin — to put its new Tellurix Titanium OutDry shoes through the most entertaining product demo of the season: outrunning a hundred crocodiles across the Australian outback. The mockumentary-style spots are the latest in the company's Clio-winning “Engineered for Whatever"  campaign, and they arrive at a moment when Columbia badly needs the attention.

In results released earlier this month, the company reported flat quarterly sales of $779 million, with U.S. sales falling 10% — even as companywide footwear sales rose 4%. It's a familiar story for established outdoor brands navigating a market increasingly dominated by hot newcomers like On and Hoka, while consumers, squeezed by inflation and rising energy costs, have become pickier about where they spend.

The new campaign is Columbia's answer to that pressure. "Footwear is an incredibly competitive category, so standing out requires more than just performance," says Matt Sutton, Columbia's head of marketing, via email. "It takes a strong story and a clear reason for consumers to pay attention."

The Irwin spots, created in-house, deliver both. Filmed in Australia, the campaign puts Irwin's wilderness instincts — and his Tellurix shoes' traction, stability and all-terrain performance — to the ultimate test across a genuinely funny chase sequence.

The company seeded interest ahead of the launch with a fake movie trailer called "Max Impact," building intrigue before the full campaign broke. For fans paying close attention, there are also a few Easter eggs referencing Irwin's recent "Dancing with the Stars" run tucked into the footage.

“By placing the Tellurix in an exaggerated, unpredictable scenario like being chased by 100 inflatable crocs, we’re showing how it is engineered to perform in dynamic environments and keep people moving confidently,” Sutton says, emphasizing the shoe’s stability, traction, and comfort.

The work is a deliberate evolution of the "Engineered for Whatever" platform, which previously leaned harder into dark humor — missing limbs, actual snake bites, a cameo from the Grim Reaper. The Irwin campaign keeps the irreverence but trades menace for charm, broadening the appeal without softening the edge. "Our core campaign continues to focus on demonstrating the power of our products in extreme Mother Nature situations," says Sutton. "With the Robert Irwin vs. 100 crocs campaign, we collaborated with Robert to build a unique concept that doubles down on the fun and joy of being in the outdoors."

Columbia Chairman and CEO Tim Boyle, announcing quarterly results, specifically cited the campaign as central to the company's U.S. recovery efforts. "I'm encouraged by signs of growing momentum in the U.S., including an expected inflection back to wholesale growth in the second half," he said, adding that "Engineered for Whatever" is "grabbing consumers' attention and reminding them of our irreverent roots."