by Isobel Clayton

Created on: April 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 11, 2007

Converse shoes came into being in 1908. Their popularity grew but the real phenomenon started when Converse produced a basketball shoe. It was one of those moments that rarely happens : the right product at the right time endorsed by the right person. A certain Charles H. Taylor (aka Chuck Taylor), a basketball player, was wearing them during his American tours which were designed to inform Americans and raise the profile of basketball..the fact that it existed, what it was and how it worked. It wasn't long before Chuck was the spokesperson for Converse and this fruitful relationship was cemented in 1923 when Chuck added his moniker to the All-Star patch.

You may be thinking of Chuck in terms of modern-day celebrities, whereby they'll champion anything if the price was right. This wasn't like that, in fact it was publicity in its purest sense : a product endorsed because Chuck used and loved it. Perhaps it is not coincidence that the profitability of Converse began to plunge after Chuck's death of a heart attack in 1969, until it ultimately filed for Bankruptcy in 2001.

Nike bought Converse in 2003...something of a sad end to a brand that had previously been so inextricably linked with the alternative way of life and anti-consumerist philosophy.

Learn more about this author, Isobel Clayton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.