That Wacky New Converse Site
Moderate buzz lately around the new Converse site, which is really a collection of 20 mini-experiences. My thoughts, as an avid indie rock fan is that I’ve seen chuck taylors on 90% of the kids at concerts and bars for the past 10-12 years. It seems similar to Pabst in that the brand was dormant, a generation of kids picked it up as part of their identity and now the ad/marketing machine is trying to grow that reach & penetration. Two of three people I’ve collected snippets from below generally agree with me, while Rob is confused about the target for this ad. I don’t blame him really … the sites are quite abstract and I neither understand many of them or have any basis for my opinion.
That said, my broad impression of Converse over the past year or so is that they’re trying really, really hard. Surely you’ve read about things like the Kurt Cobain sneaker, for instance. And I honestly don’t get it. My totally unreported and uninformed outsider guess is that there’s some kind of identity crisis going on as to what they’re trying to do and for whom, and they’re just running through a period of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the question. (via murketing, Rob Walker, NYTimes Mag Columnist and author)
So, where does Converse fall in the Deeply Immersive Narrative Universe matrix? This will be an interesting period for Converse as they try multiple approaches. Target gives them mass, they will probably still hang on to a segment of the anti-corporate/punk rock/DIY/no leather crowd, and this new online short film initiative could appeal to a different group. I think creating a compelling story with those disparate elements will be a challenge. (from Nike-ization of Converse post on EyeCube blog)
The campaign follows the Converse approach of aligning itself with indie culture, while also acknowledging the Web’s diffuse characteristics. The rise of social media is causing some brands to question the effectiveness of the campaign microsite in favor of spreading content through various social platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. (Adweek)
Some highlights:
http://www.kissingwithross.com/
