Post written by: Piotr Jakubowski
Please visit his blog at:
http://piotrj.wordpress.com/

A few weeks ago I wrote a post discussing the importance of viral in today’s world in terms of creating a different type of relationship between the brand and the customer. Many old brands are still slightly skeptical about this shift and still remain on the outer fringes of proper online and viral strategy.

Converse is not one of these brands. Recently acquired by Nike, another brand that has opened its doors to alternative advertising, the brand has utilized its stereotypes and the Internet to put together a great viral campaign for the Chuck Taylor classics. The campaign is actually a collection of viral sites that are all linked together in some way.

Visit the Site

Theoretically, the sites really have nothing to do with the brand. In some of the videos, characters are wearing converse sneakers and in one of them a shoelace is conducting a spelling bee, but otherwise there is no push from the brand about its products. Or is there?

Having sold over 750 million pairs of Chuck Taylors, Converse has been a household name for years. Starting with the basketball players of the 40s and 50s through to the Nirvana-era punk rockers and the current hipster revival, Converse has been through it all. So why these sites?

First of all, the main target are mainstream teenagers – who spend incredible amounts of time on the Internet. With the current Internet timespan of 8 seconds, what better way to entertain this group than with very funny and incredibly random microsites?

Secondly, the brand is so well-known among these teenagers that all they need is a simple reminder. As simple as a small logo on each of the pages and a link to the converse website

Now who would watch the entire Kissing With Ross video? I don’t know. But I could definitely use some more tips from the Out of Your League Girl. And how much more interactive can you get than Reasons You are Special, a seemingly infinite number of random reasons that give you purpose.

Kudos to Converse for hitting one out of the park, reaching and interacting with their target without pushing the brand.

Some other great ones are:

http://www.outofyourleagueguy.com
http://www.whatsforlunchyo.com/
http://www.changehatesnewroutestowork.com/
http://www.askchucktaylor.com/

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Filed under: Piotr Jakubowski, Videos, alternative advertising, basketball players, chuck taylor, converse sneakers, hipster, kudos, punk rockers, target, timespan