Here’s Cheers To 60 Years!

This post is brought to you by Hush Puppies

Hush Puppies have just turned 60 – and have a colourful history from Rock n Roll to Royalty

“I’ve got my Hush Puppies On…”

That iconic song by Jimmy Buffet reached #3 on the charts… and it isn’t the only song to mention Hush Puppies!

In the beginning….

‘Wolverine World Wide’ started as a company that made pigskin gloves for the United States Navy. After World War II ended, the Navy no longer needed gloves in such numbers, but the company had a glut of pigskin just lying around. Looking to save the business, the chairman decided to use the pigskin to make comfortable, casual shoes! And it worked!

Post-war America went crazy for the lightweight brushed suede shoes.

Where did the name Hush Puppies come from?

The Sales Manager of the company, Jim Muir was on a trip to Tennessee when he sat with a friend at the dinner table.  Eating a delicious meal of Cat Fish and deep fried cornballs that the friend called ‘Hush Puppies’.  Mr Muir asked his friend about the strange name, and the friend replied that ‘The fried dough was used by farmers to quiet their barking dogs’… Seems farmers in that time gave their barking dogs these fritters in a bit to make them quiet…  ‘Barking Dogs’ was also another name local farm workers used to call tired, aching feet.  The Salesman reasoned that his soft pigskin shoes could also ‘quiet the barking dogs’. and the brand Hush Puppies was born.

By 1963 1 in 10 adults in the United States owned a pair of Hush Puppies.

Hush Puppies Going Global

Soon celebrities starting noticing how diverse, colourful and comfortable Hush Puppies were.  Prince Phillip sported a pair on an official visit to the United States.  Other celebrities that sported the iconic brand include:

• Warren Beatty
• Perry Como
• The ‘Rat Pack’
• Keith Richards
• The Beatles
• Nicholas Cage

The 1960’s came and ‘British Invasion’ bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones started sporting the on-trend shoes.  It’s told that Hush Puppies even saved the life of Keith Richards who accidentally touched his guitar against an un-grounded microphone at a concert in 1965 in Sacramento.  He was knocked unconscious however medics believed the crepe-soled shoes Richards was wearing insulted him, saving his life and even Pete Townsend of the Who sings about them in his song Rough Boys.

Comfort and Worry Free

From the beginning, the revolutionary use of Scotchgard® leather protector, added during the tanning process, made Hush Puppies leather scuff, stain and water resistant and changed suede footwear forever. Water beaded up and rolled away, leaving feet dry and the suede soft, supple and looking like new. Hush Puppies patented the term “worry-free” a benchmark of its shoes and its brand attitude.

The Hush Puppies Mascot – the Basset Hound

The Basset Hound was the perfect dog to encapsulate the Hush Puppies Brand. He started off as being an illustration, which was of those early years, but as time rolled on it was time to look for a real live Brand Ambassador and they found one in the lanky Jason the Basset.  The plucky house hound was placed in unusual situations for their iconic advertising campaigns such as relaxing on a hammock or cooling in front of a fan.  And he even did a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ and was photographed on a subway grate, allowing the hot air from the trains below to blow up his ears over his head.

The Ad was so popular it was named one of the Top 50 TV Commercials of all time!

Classic American Style

The Hush Puppies Brand has been had a signature style from the start.  Casual and relaxed.  After the world had been formal for so long, the new relaxed style hit a chord with American suburbia and the rest of the world.

After being so popular for 60 years it’s now time to celebrate and have some fun.

Going Retro

Hush Puppies are releasing a collection which are re-designs of the iconic shoes from when the brand was first launched in 1958.

Today…

Hush Puppies is still the king of the casual shoe.  It has been catering to men, women and children for decades, and now has seven dedicated retail stores across Victoria and New South Wales.

Today 17 million pairs of Hush Puppies are sold each year in 167 countries around the world.’

So Cheers to 60 Years of Hush Puppies!