opened in San Antonio, Texas, suburban Atlanta, Georgia and Columbus, Ohio; the Texas and Georgia stores subsequently became company-owned locations. By the end of 1996, Just For Feet operated superstores in eleven states. In 1997, Just For Feet bought Florida-based Athletic Attic and Michigan-based Imperial Sports, enabling the company to enter numerous markets (and several states) where it previously had no presence. The 1998 acquisition of New Jersey-based Sneaker Stadium, and the subsequent conversion of those stores to the Just For Feet nameplate, enabled the company to expand into the metropolitan areas of Boston, Norfolk, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. These acquisitions enabled the company to become the second largest athletic footwear retailer near the end of the 20th century. One of the slogans the store used to position itself was "The World's Largest Athletic Shoe Store". The store was also famous for their promotion of buying any 12 pair of shoes, and then getting one pair for free, in the process, hence the other slogan, "Where Your 13th Pair is Free!" Marketing In 1999, Just For Feet broadcast a commercial during Super Bowl XXXIII, produced by the agency Saatchi & Saatchi. In the spot, a group of Caucasian men in a humvee are seen tracking down a barefoot Kenyan runner, sedating him with drug-laced water, and forcing Nike shoes on his feet while he is unconscious. When the runner wakes up, he rejects the shoes and attempts to shake them off whilst running away. The ad was widely criticized by the media and advertising industry for its derogatory content; Stuart Elliot, advertising columnist for The New York Times, called it "appallingly insensitive", while Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield described the commercial as being "neo-colonialist", "culturally imperialist", and "probably racist". Just For Feet later sued Saatchi & Saatchi for malpractice over the spot, seeking $10 million in damages. Just For Feet alleged that they had relied on the expertise of the agency against their initial negative reactions to the spot, which ran contrary to the company's values and damaged its reputation. However, in the midst of Just For Feet's bankruptcy, the lawsuit was dropped. Bankruptcy and acquisition In November 1999, Just For Feet filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and in February 2000, the company was forced into Chapter 7. Footstar, Inc., at that time the parent company of Footaction USA, purchased the Just For Feet name and the