The Winner by Converse (Sears)

Fashion Synopsis

“It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.”

How come Mom and Dad never said that if you won? Our guess is, that philosophy only worked if indeed you were the big loser.

Sears turned a loser shoe into a definite winner when they introduced ‘The Winner’ athletic shoe in hi- and low-top style. Since the 1940’s, Sears had offered their own athletic sneaker by the name of Jeepers. Converse and Keds were the popular labels of sneakers at the time, and though Converse actually produced the low-cost Jeepers, they didn’t carry the Converse name.

Because of their affordability, Jeepers were dubbed ‘cheaper Jeepers’ by the kids, and you know what that does for desirability. So Sears tried to save the shoe’s image by ditching the Jeepers name and redubbing it ‘The Winner.’ And win it did: the new image, aided by the addition of the Converse name skyrocketed ‘The Winner’ to the stratosphere of shoe sales.

‘The Winner’ hi-top was conspicuously styled like the Converse All-Star, sans the name-in-the-sphere ankle patch. The low tops even had three adidas-style stripes. Now, the only losers were the kids who paid more money for the same shoe…but with the Converse name. Oh, the things we do for labels

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