Sensible shoemaker H.H. Brown is touting the benefits of its health-oriented shoe brands with two new campaigns, inciting consumers to start caring for their feet and educating them about the perils of improper footware.

An eight-week national print campaign, underway now, called ‘Are your feet killing you? or are you killing your feet?’ highlights the shoe company’s Soft Spots Supremes career shoe brand and is running in Homemaker’s, Chatelaine, and Canadian Living magazines. Radio spots in support of BioWalks, shoes for active outdoor consumers, are also running. Both campaigns, by Toronto-based agency Padulo Integrated, broke in November.

It’s a hard sell for people who insist on buying for trendy reasons as opposed to healthy ones says Leslie Hudson, marketing manager for H.H. Brown Shoe Company of Canada, but the company has pegged its fortunes on bringing style to the decidely unsexy realm of semi-orthopedic footwear. Hudson says H.H. Brown is betting that aging consumers will become increasingly concerned about taking care of themselves, shifting a bigger share of Canada’s $1.7-billion shoe market away from hip and into health.

Although Oakville-based H.H. Brown has been in business since 1953, the shoe manufacturer has been slow to advertise its shoes. Traditionally, it has relied on word of mouth and below-the-line initiatives that focus on the quality of its footwear.

The Canadian company, which manufactures its products in Quebec, markets several brands: Soft Spots for career dressing, Prospectors for hiking and outdoor activities, BioWalks for walking, and SlipAirs for lighter in-house wear. All are designed by an in-house podiatrist to ensure maximum comfort, and use materials such as cork, which conform to the foot’s natural shape and cushion it.

Nationally, the brands are available in department stores like The Bay and Sears, specialty retailers like Mark’s Work Warehouse and Sporting Life, as well as smaller, high-quality shoe retailers.

Prices range from $29-$39 for SlipAirs up to $200 for Prospectors, which are guaranteed for life.