Chuck Taylors Converse All Stars
Chuck Taylors Converse All Stars have been around for generations. Created in 1917, the rubber sole and canvas top combination has had more action on basketball courts around the world than Nike Air Jordans and Reebok Pumps combined.
The All Stars advertise themselves on each high top shoe through the brands signature logo – a star with the product name and creators signature, which was added in 1923.
From the beginning, Chuck Taylor used gimmicks to sell his shoes. He worked with small-town basketball coaches to hold team workshops and sell sneakers out of the trunk of his car.
Beginning in the 1970s, All Stars paid NBA star players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to endorse the sneakers.
1996 brought the introduction of a new performance basketball shoe, the leather All Star 2000. The global launch included a television campaign, a point-of-sale program and a consumer promotion.
Converse has run many national campaigns, including their provocative ads aimed at customers more concerned with fashion than basketball. The ads make the brand seem sexy.
One of these ads shows a young woman laying face down on a table while a camera pans across her body, showing the audience that her pants are pulled down and she has on a pair of All Stars. The very end of the ad reveals that she has been getting a tattoo. The campaign ran on MTV and the FOX Network.
In December 2007, All Stars tried something different with their advertising. The three spot campaign featured no sound. One spot had pageant footage in the background with scrolling text reading “Be grateful for TV. Thank your luck stars for mindless marathons of sitcoms. Get on your knees and praise the makers of reality shows. And video games. For while everyone watches their life evaporate into the unmemorable atmosphere…You’ve got a head start to erect your unforgotten place in history. Are you still sitting there?”
A second commercial scrolled, “This program was brought to you by old people. Like old, old. Like your parents’ age old. Designing your clothes. Marketing your music. Greedily waiting for you to buy into a system made by people who have no idea what it’s like to be you. Enjoy the next commercial.” This bold campaign ran on MTV, VH1 and the CW.
All Stars have been called “retro” fashion for an audience aged 13 to 30. All Stars also has a branded website: http://www.chucktaylor.converse.com