Gawker
There's nothing that will tear your heart out quicker than seeing one of your immortal heroes decide to sell out. Hearing the "conscious" rapper KRS-ONE declaring "The revolution is basketball" in a Nike ad back in the 90's was a particularly dark day for me. But at least living people havethe free will to decide to sell out. An even more despicable practice is waiting until an icon is dead, then pimping their image out to the highest bidder. Some responsibility falls on whoever licensed their image for commercial use. Some of it falls on us, the consumers, for making these campaigns financially worthwhile. But most of it falls on the damn ad people who co-opt someone's cool without their attendant philosophy. And now that Gonzo extraordinaire Hunter Thompson has popped up in a Converse ad, it's time for some serious boycott action. Some things just aren't right. Right?
Yea yea, it's all part of capitalism. Everything pure eventually gets taken over for monetary gain. We're all familiar with the thriving Che Guevara t-shirt industry. That doesn't make it any less objectionable. [Nike-owned] Converse's new campaign, "Connectivity," shows Dr. Gonzo side by side with a bunch of living and dead "icons," including the Sex Pistols' deceased frontman Sid Vicious, who would no doubt also be pleased to make a contribution to the sneaker industry. See, HT and Sid are "connecting" to basketball player Dwyane Wade and globo-hip-hop singer M.I.A, all for the love of the Converse brand!
So what if Hunter Thompson wore Converse on his dirty feet when he was alive? "Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of 'the rat race' is not yet final," he wrote in 1979. Dude, Converse is so about that too! It kind of makes you want to puke. But mostly it makes you sad.
It's not an across-the-board condemnation. Some celebrities were shiny commercial vehicles during their lives, and keeping them at it after they pass away isn't really sullying anything. Fred Astaire and Lucille Ball have made ghostly ad appearances, but would they really be upset, judging by their level of celebrity while alive? Not quite as clear-cut as Sid Vicious, who, if he stood for anything besides drugs and self destruction, probably stood for "Fuck the system." Which, it turns out, is exactly the image people want in their cheap canvas shoes.
Consider Apple's "Think Different" campaign: Martin Luther King, Einstein, Gandhi. Being used, indirectly, to sell computers. On the scale of disgust, it would have to rank lower than Converse's crime, because at least the "Think Different" spots were promoting some faux-version of peace on earth and goodwill among men. Whereas if one were to emulate Hunter Thompson by, say, sniffing a ton of coke, dropping acid, and running up in the Converse corporate headquarters shooting a shotgun at the company logo, the company would probably lose its enthusiasm for the implications of their endorsements.
Whenever the dead stop messing around in the afterlife and come back to earth in zombie form, they won't be happy about this. Zombie Gonzo will be dining on the bursting brains of the young cool creative minds that dreamed up his ad appearances. And we should all want a bite.
This is exactly why I only wear Adidas.
Comments
Converse? I'd die first.
You're right. Not right.
To paraphrase KRS-One, chief creative officers act like they don't know.
We've covered this already.
This is a sacrilege. I can't even come up with words adequate to express my utter disgust at this. Not ever, in his lifetime, would HT have even considered shit like this.
Who's responsible for pimping him out like this, his widow?
I guess it’s his own damn fault for becoming an icon. Can you be iconoclastic without also being iconic?
At first, all I could think was "wtf, Converse?"
And then I remembered that Coverse was bought out by Nike last year, so the fact that they're now pissing themselves from trying so hard to appeal to the Che-loving (or at least shirt wearing), I'm-so-hardcorexxx, teenybopper (who more than likely doesn't know Gonzo or SV from Adam and Steve) makes sense.
Hey, how about putting Gonzo the Great in an Adidas ad?
Careful. Someone might commit suicide over this kind of criticism.
Word, I'm down for the 3 stripes as well, but didn't they use Beckenbauer (or the ghost thereof) in their world cup ad campaign in '06? Not that this disputes your claim in any way. I'm just sayin'.
@IBentMyWookie: Remakes are better than reruns.
What I find staggering is that Dennis Hopper's estate permits the use of his image.
Isn't the right to use his likeness protected legally in one or another document? What about the survivors? Don't they have something to say? I'm not savvy on these things, but it seems to me that you just can't rip off a dead celebrity's image for commericial purposes.
@KarenUhOh: Brilliant! Love that one.
@Michael Jahn: His widow was complaining about her financial situation a while back. I'm not sure (and have no proof) but my guess is this is her handiwork.
This is like the time that Justinian I and Theodora were used in that Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover ad.
Jesus is the ad for the Lord--Dude's everywhere, including holographic drawings on my Great Aunt Irene's wall. You know, the 3-D pic right next to JFK, frame splattered with whiskey stains from when Uncle Charlie threw a tumbler glass across the room after he caught my other Uncle Charlie cheating in a card game.
What's the Vigoda estate's position on this?
@IBentMyWookie: I love ya Wookie, but cut the guy some slack.
YOU covered it already, in May of last year on a post that Balk only brought up Curt Cobain. Not only does New Guy With Two Last Names not re-hash the Cobain bent, he dug around and found MORE than one reference to the topic. I joined in the Fall of last year, and keep in mind the commenter floodgates have been a little wide open this year.
Change happens! You don't have to like it but try to be open minded about it!
Maybe Nick needs to have a counseling forum for change averse commenters.
@yourfriendandneighbor: In this case, someone is already dead.
@Colonel Mustard: This is also like the time Rock Hudson was used in a K-Y ad.
@Michael Jahn: This had to be done with permission of the estate.
@flipper baby: Hah! He's alive, by one account: [www.abevigoda.com]
@IndianSlipper: Read the comments on that thread. What can be said here that won't be a rehash of those?
@In Other News...: Yes, but the creatives and clients who chose to use said dead guy in their ad. They could get really sad if they read these comments. You don't want to upset them, do you?
@riskybusiness: they did but he also proudly wore the brand with 3 stripes and even had a football boot named after him. and yes, it was an awesome cleat.
OK now that I got that out of the way... I think these come about because the people controlling the estates are trying to build equity in the "brand" of the entertainer before it's too late. Didn't they have Steve McQueen car commercials not to long ago? Well, I'm just guessing that the Estate cash was running dry.
I don't think this is too much different than the "new" Beatles song, or the "new" Elvis song. I liked them both, too.
This is why it's almost always better to pick obscure heroes who have been dead at least 100-150 years, e.g., Arthur Schopenhauer or JK Huysmans.
@IBentMyWookie: Wow, OK after posting my opinion on this thread, I did another scan of the old thread looking for people discussed.
And nobody brought up my opinion today last May. Maybe my opinion isn't relevant, but it's mine.
Bothersome.
@yourfriendandneighbor: Okay, I get it. I was wondering why some deadsters images appear on stuff and others don't. Are there Jim Morrison Signature leather pants? Haven't seen 'em, but then am not a great consumer.
This is exactly why the Natalie Wood line of sailboats was in such poor taste.
I hope when I'm dead, my heirs pimp me out to sell pizzas and some people get offended. If I'm still alive -- I guess I'd have to fake my death in that case -- I'll know I've made it.
Hamilton, first you drop the acid, then start on the coke. You put the turkey in the oven before the sweet potatoes, et al. Yes, I'm following my own advice.
This might be the first time anything I read on Gawker struck me as naive. But then again, I'm running a fever.
Isn't converse kind of simmering down now in terms of hotness? I personally can't wait for a Buster Brown revamp.
@scroll_lock: Also why the JFK Jr. edition Piper wasn't such a hot sell.
@scroll_lock:
But I have to tell you, my Karen Carpenter appetite suppressants are better than blow.
Who are the ad wizards ... ugh! Sorry, but it's been almost an hour since a new post and I have nothing to say about this.
@karion: Also, I head O.j. Simpson is coming out with a swell line of leather gloves. They always run small though.
*heard
@surfbeavernsb: Nor was the Grace Kelly edition of Escalade.
I'd say this post is the template for the Gawker Business Model. My screen shows "0 views, 39 comments."
Help yourself to some coffee, Hamilton Nolan.
@KarenUhOh: 99 views, 0 comments here!
this is like the time danny bonaduce was in the cialis ad
this is like the time britney spears was in the public service ad for not hitting ur kidz
@karion: No wonder she's the new face of Jenny Craig!
I just wonder how well the Mary Jo Kopechne Swim Academy will do.
@scroll_lock: Yes, it only sold slightly better than the Wade Edwards edition Wrangler.
This is also like the time Phil Hartman was used in a Smith and Wesson ad.
@CodePink: 99v, 43c here. I'm guessing the views are "unique"?
@KarenUhOh: But only a thimble-full. And no cream or sugar, Mr. Spendypants.
@surfbeavernsb: Which was neck and neck in sales with the James Dean edition Porsche.
If I remember correctly, the Sonny Bono ski goggles were a great gag gift though.
This is just like the time Kurt Cobain was used in an NRA ad.
@riskybusiness: Also, Beckenbauer is alive still. And since he was the one who led Germany on the '06 WC bid, was everywhere during coverage of the games and whatnot.
So, no, not the same thing. And I am not just saying that because you will pry my 2Gs off my cold dead feet.
@scroll_lock: No no, that was the Adobe car.
@IndianSlipper: They seem to be working differently these days, that's for sure.
@surfbeavernsb: As was the Sonny Bono Memorial Tree.
@scroll_lock: Or when William Shatner's wife was the spokesperson for swimming?