Converse: The Chuck II

How might we innovate to make the world’s best-selling sneaker better?

Proposition Development | Breakthrough Strategy

The Chuck II launched to positive reviews with improvements to comfort and durability taking centre stage

The Challenge

Almost 100 years old, the Chuck Taylor All Star is in many ways the Coca-Cola of sneakers. Converse wanted to innovate and deliver fresh purchasing options for their customers.

An ex-Coca-Cola executive, Geoff Cottrill knew there was an inherent risk in ‘improving’ an iconic product. No one wanted a consumer riot to deal with like New Coke did in the 1980s.

The Outcomes

A reimagining of the classic Chuck design with a focus on improved comfort and increased build quality. You can read the Fast Company article about the Chuck II by John Brownlee here.

The Result

The shoe was released to positive reviews, with the upgrades to comfort and durability being a focus of the praise:

• “They’re not just worth the money—they’re a legitimate game-changer for fans of the sneaker everywhere“, GQ.
• “Overall, these are a great addition to the Converse family of shoes, and will be a great addition to my collection“, Dress Code.
• “If you like the original Converse All Stars but wish they were more comfortable or more durable, give the All Star IIs a try. If you prefer the flat-soled, floppy canvas version, stick with the originals. It’s a win-win“, Dappered.

Many of the changes incorporated into the Chuck II can be seen in the later developed ‘Converse Modern’.

Our Approach

Any changes needed to feel organic and necessary. The danger of alienating Converse’s core consumer with thoughtless corporate tinkering was real. Converse’s core consumers are creatives, artists, rockers and skateboarders, rebels and iconoclasts. That’s where collaboration with The Sense Network came in; synonymous with Converse’s core consumers, they live at the edges of culture.

How The Sense Network Helped

The Sense Network (including one particularly passionate chef), the Converse Brand team and Product Design team worked collaboratively and iteratively to develop the new shoe. The brief was to change everything without changing anything.

Working through iterative loops the Chuck ll product was developed. Messaging was refined. Each loop delivered feedback that was reviewed and informed the next round.

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