Jona Bechtold. Kid Sister. Bradford Cox.
Sophie Kasakove (Care Bears on Fire). Morgan Quaintance. Santi White. Pharrell Williams.
The list goes on, but I thought those two images would be enough to make my point.
I am wearing a pair of navy Converse right now, and I think it'd be a safe guess to say everyone I know owns a pair (be them black, pink, blue, green...) The popularity and versatility of the Connie isn't something that needs to be argued. For me, a campaign like the above begs the question: How much is too much when it comes to celebrity endorsement?
As much as I love the artists featured, I think this campaign really cheapens the Converse brand. They've never needed to flaunt their 'cool' before so why start now? And why with so many artists? The line up reads like the who's who of indie cred right now. I mean, hello! Bradford Cox?! I love Converse. And so does everyone else, right? So why do they feel they need to 'celebrate' the brand by turning them into a gimmick endorsed by rich and famous Americans? If they really want to celebrate the brand, Converse reps should head into the clubs and photograph the people who wear them everyday and wear them to death. Without being paid to do so.
Converse already had a campaign with randoms sending their home made videos about their chucks. The outcome was actually pretty sweet. The best film clips were broadcasted on national TV.
ReplyDeleteThey also had people sending short stories about their chucks. It was part of a contest in Vice I think.
I don't mind the ad because I quite like the photo and it uses kinda cool "celebs" such as M.I.A. and Pharell. You can see it at Town Hall station, Bondi platform. The "celebs" are kind of underground. I can garantee you that 80% of your average Town Hall train users can't name more than one of the ten people on that photo.
I mean, it is not like the campaign is just a photo of skanky Britney "I am white trash slash I have no taste even though I could just get myself a tasty stylist with all the money I make singing songs that I didn't come up with" Spears wearing chucks.
P.S: I do not own Chucks (if you're still reading).
P.P.S: Just having a constructive comment?
Really? Thats awesome! Was it just in France? I don't think I ever saw anything like that...
ReplyDeleteAnd you don't? Mat! Jeez... just having a I'm French I Only Wear Spring Court ;)
i don't think anything about this campaign cheapens the brand. celebrity endorsement is always going to be around and i'd rather money was going to people like santogold than lauren conrad from the hills. i think it's a cool photo shoot. if they had used random people from "clubs", it just wouldn't have the same impact, thats the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteand it's not a marketing ploy anyway. they would sell shoes if they never made another commercial again. but instead they've decided to showcase an assortment of emerging musical talent from MGMT to Kid Sister to YACHT whilst celebrating their 100 year anniversary... which is what this is all actually about.
kudos, i say.
Hunter S Thompson, Joan Jett, James Dean, M.I.A & Martin Novosel. Peas in a pod.
ReplyDeleteI just wish I was in the campaign.
ReplyDeletedont they know who i am?
AAA, backstage
love catcall
"we don't mean to completely hate on Converse here. We all wear Chuck Taylors, and we all love them to death, even though you can purchase them at Gap these days. We don't need our admiration for the classic example of timeless footwear to be hammered into our heads, though, and we certainly don't need it done through such bland and commercial mechanisms."
ReplyDeletehttp://anthemmagazine.com/story/551
They agree with me!
that's cool.
ReplyDeleteThey were just much more articulate! But I also totes agree that those artists are still quite 'contemporary' within mainstream media. Even Martin! ;)
ReplyDeletevans always wins
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I were recently talking about technology, and how integrated it has become to our daily lives. Reading this post makes me think back to that debate we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as technology further advances, the possibility of transferring our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could see in my lifetime.
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great read. I would love to follow you on twitter.
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