The success of the Candie's slide followed on the heels of the movie Grease, in which Olivia Newton-John played the role of a naive high school girl transformed into a sexy young woman. In the final scene, wearing tight pants and high-heeled shoes similar to the Candie's style, Newton-John brought John Travolta's character to his knees.

The movie made the shoe style wildly popular, and Cole filled the demand. Advertisements reflected the brash style of the footwear, including a television commercial that featured college women scampering around a dormitory in various states of undress wearing Candie's slides.

Cole used his established trade connections in the Midwest to bring the Candie's slide into the market. Specialty stores, department stores, and independent chain shoe stores were more receptive to the low price, which was a result of low-cost Italian manufacturing. Sales exploded after Macy's began to carry the brand, and better department stores followed. From 1978 to 1981, at the height of the disco craze, El Greco sold 14 million pairs of slides to women 14 to 30 years of age. Other shoe styles that El Greco made popular under the Candie's brand name included the Chrissy sneaker and Jellies, plastic sandals in bright, translucent colors.