Bush shoe incident sparks Ducati sales boost

300,000 orders in the last week, says manufacturer

THE IRATE IRAQI that hurled his shoes at US President George Bush must have had little idea his actions would go on to boost Ducati sales worldwide.

Sales of the Ducati Model 271 shoe have risen to the point where the manufacturer can hardly keep up with demand. Ramazan Baydan, a shoemaker in Istanbul, says of the Ducati Model 271: “We have been producing that specific style, which I personally designed, for 10 years."

The Ducati Model 271 is now so famous that Baydan said they may rename them as "The Bush Shoe" or "Bye, Bye, Bush."

“We’ve been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,” he said. “We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising.”

Baydan has since received orders for 300,000 pairs of Ducati 271s - 4,000 pairs from a U.S. company.