TOMS shoes are just about ubiquitous on our college campus. It's hard to walk to your next class without seeing that charming blue and white flag on someone's heel. In our 'college culture', these unique shoes can be read as an object of our (hopefully) benevolent generation.
If you are in-the-dark, this link has a quick overview about their company:
http://toms.com/our-movement
By buying a pair of TOMS shoes, you, as the consumer, have already accepted the rhetoric of the company. By investing in their shoes you are doing your part as a global citizen and taking social responsibility. They, as the producers, have already 'argued' you into taking the position of a compassionate do-gooder. They are playing to your humanitarian desires to help others and are giving you a reason and a process in which to act on them.
Secondly, by wearing a pair of TOMS, you, as a subject, of our 'college culture' are using them as a sign to signify yourself as a generous and charitable person. Essentially they're almost altruistic status symbols.
TOMS creates these arguments in two main ways. The actual product it supplies, as mentioned above as a representation of an idea, and its marketing. By being a web-based company with only a few in-store sellers, TOMS owes much of its PR not to ads or commercials, but to the grassroots nature of its networking. Have you ever stopped and asked a TOMS wearer why they are wearing those shoes? You will find an enthusiastic supporter who is singing their praises and spreading the company's message of social change. While the brand name might not be quite as recognizable as the Nike 'swoosh', it has grown in popularity.
But as we've learned, meaning is not inherent in the world, so you might interpret these shoes as a pretentious way to let the world know you're awesome. Or you might think that they're really ugly and wouldn't be caught dead in them. But, whether you digested that or not, they are a piece if our society.
I honestly got a little exited when I saw there was a blog about TOMS. I have a pair, if you haven't guessed. This is a very interesting view and I think you sized up the company's advertising and marketing technique exactly right. Additionally, people really do always say how they bought a pair of shoes for a child in need when they still get a pair for themselves.. my question is: is that such a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteI think it's refreshing to find something for a good cause grow into a popular trend instead of the typical $80 pair of jeans that rip within a month because they're meant to be worn that tight (obvi) and then end up in a landfill somewhere.
People do want to feel good about buying shoes for themselves that they may not actually need, yes. And no, I'm not saying owning a pair of TOMS automatically makes you a good person. On the contrary, many TOMS owners may be thinking of only complying with fashion and how comfortable their feet are.
BUT, regardless of a person's motives to buy a pair of TOMS (or 5 so they have multiple colors to match all of their outfits) a child is still getting a pair of their own shoes that they would otherwise not have.