Converse All Star

In the 1920’s, Converse All Star was by far the coolest shoes available in the market, being the number one shoe for basketball. Converse is a product generator and Williamson (1978) defines a product as a generator as a product that creates intense feelings and helps the individual achieve the state. Essentially, Converse was a product that allowed for individuals to feel that Converse shoes would make them a better basketball player. Consumers believed that if they were to own a pair of these shoes, those around them would immediately associate them as an amazing basketball player because a majority of the National Basket Association (NBA) players would wear these shoes when playing basketball. However in the 21st century, Converse shoes

Today, Converse is now associated with rebellious culture, and with the use of authenticity forms, Converse can thus be defined as cool. Let us backtrack a little and begin with the history of Converse. Converse Rubber Shoe Company was founded in 1908 by Marquis Mills. The first All Star sneaker was developed in 1917 and soon become a commodity that was essential for basketball players. Chuck Taylor became a representative for Converse All Star and turned into a sneaker marketer in 1921. Converse All Star became widely known as Chuck Taylor’s and for half a century, and became the basketball shoe. Leading competitors, Spalding and P.F. Flyer made styles that were comparable to Converse, but they never rose in popularity because they were merely imitations. They were not the real deal, they were unauthentic shoes that allowed for the less fortunate to purchase. Only athletes and those who could afford Converse All Stars were considered cool. However in the 1980’s, Converse All Star was replaced by a multiplicity of other shoe corporations like Nike, Adidas and Keds. Converse All Star was

Having the title as a cool commodity is what most companies strive for, as cool has become the central ideology of consumer culture. Heath (2004) describes cool as the rebellion as the nonconformity of consumer culture. Cool goes against the mainstream and converse achieves this by using hip hop culture. Advertisers are not given the choice as to what they want to define cool, as cool is found from the streets. Companies are so obsessed with cool because its values stems from the comparison to other people and targets low self esteem individuals. Being cool in high school was almost necessary to having a social life. Klein (2000) further elaborates by stating that if the company is able to sell one product to them, they are able to sell the same product to everyone else in their class and school, which results in high amounts of revenue for the companies. Which is why there has become a trend in companies hiring young individuals to become ‘cool hunters’. A cool hunter’s main goal is to become a change agent for their brand. These young individuals go out and explore the streets to search for cool. Converse hired change agents to rebrand themselves through visual advertisements. In 2013, Converse created a campaign stating “Shoes are boring, wear sneakers” (Schoenen, 2013). This advertisement compares the differences between shoes and sneakers. It displays shoes as either high class or nerdy individuals who abide life with