Sneaker shoes are a currency that makes people feel like they are expressing their individuality, but they are doing so in a way that is limited and within an accepted framework. Converse shoes are one of these brands that work within the culture industries that through its advertising, appeals to people to stand out, when in fact, they are accepting a standard identity. The advertising is aimed at young people but it also relies on nostalgia and history to make it look like the Converse shoes are unique. This appeals to many people and has led to the success of the brand.
Commodities are not just sold to be used, instead, they act as signs that communicate things about peoples’ identities and their social status. In a capitalist society, everything gets commodified and can be exchanged, and this is considered the starting point of communication (Fuchs, 2012, 697). The different brands of shoes are encoded with signs that make it appealing for people to buy them. There are certain brands that have an image. For example, Adidas is associated with sports, Nike with celebrity endorsements, and Converse is part of the skater and nostalgic scene. They used to be very famous in the 1980s and many rappers would wear them, but now they have mass appeal. The brand is part of the culture industries in that it is a commodity that is used to communicate to people, but it goes beyond that as well. It is an artifact of the culture industries. In the digital age, culture is also defined as a way of “consuming free time” (Markus, 2013, 154). Whereas before, there was a separation between low and high culture, with the high culture reflecting artifacts that showed people who appreciated it had free time, now that has changed. In the past, low culture was considered to be “folk culture,” and it was considered popular culture (Markus, 2013, 129). In today’s climate, the line between low and high culture has largely disappeared, and the culture industries produce all forms, without there being any difference between what used to be high and low culture (Markus, 2013, 129). The advertisements for shoes reflect that. They have photos of rich celebrities using them, and also of regular skateboarders. The more appeal that a product has, then the more profits the company will make in selling these products. The way that this is done is by using advertising to flatten the differences between classes and just present the product as being accessible to everybody who wants to buy into the image that is being sold.
The advertisements for Converse shoes are targeted at young people. However, there is also a connection to the past in the advertisements. On the website, there is an advertisement that states the shoes are older than the Queen of England. Converse was started in 1908 as rubber shoes, but it was not until 1915 that they became known for everyday, athletic shoes (Brands, 11/13/2018). It was not until the 1980s though that the brand became known for endorsements, and it was worn by athletes and rock stars, including Kurt Cobain (Brands, 11/13/2018). In the 2000s, Nike bought the shoes and they had a revival in popularity. Along with being an everyday shoe, the brand also became fashionable for people to wear. When people buy a pair of Converse they are doing two things at the same time, which is to assert their individuality but also to associate themselves with the images that come with the brand they are buying.
Brands like Converse are artifacts in the culture industries that make people conform to the dominant ideas of the society they live in. Generally, people want to feel independent. They like to think that they are unique and that they do not fall for the gimmicks of advertising. However, that desire is something that is preyed on by advertisers to sell their products. In the end, as people buy products to establish their identity, they are actually conforming to standard roles that are accepted. Skaters will buy Converse because everyone in their community wears them. A skater might think he is distancing himself from mainstream society by buying them, but he is actually accepting the standardized identity of “the skater.” Whereas before there was a class consciousness that people formed with what they bought, now there is more of a group identity that people express through the things they consume.
Converse shoes are one of the many brands that have a strong appeal to people because of their history and the people associated with them. It is an artifact in the culture industries that are designed to turn everything into a commodity. When people buy these commodities they are expressing something about their identity, but unfortunately, it is an identity chosen from a finite set of available ones.