New life for wallflowers

Nike has launched NIKE PHOTOiD, which enables European users to make customized shoes out of mobile photos.

"Street Canvas," an AKQA ad promoting the campaign, depicts a user shooting graffiti, texting the image to Nike, and receiving a link to a customized pair of Air Force Ones, superimposed over the user's photo.

NIKE PHOTOiD selects two colors from the images in order to craft each pair of shoes. Users can forward the results to friends, or enter a unique code (a "DESIGNiD") on Nike.com to buy their design.

The effort "gives a glimpse of what can be achieved when technology connects a consumer's inspirational environment with their natural desire to create," said Dan Rosen of AKQA Mobile.

PHOTOiD is available to users in the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

AKQA was the agency behind the Halo 3 "Believe" campaign, which took a number of honors from One Show and the Cannes International Advertising Festival. It also orchestrated a Visa campaign to encourage small businesses to use Facebook's ad network.