To The Marketing Director at Keds

9/17/07


To Whom it May Concern,

I am proposing a brand new campaign for your fresh, young footwear line, one that might make some naysayers, scoffers, and so- so'ers turn around and say, "Huh? Was that a KED?" And i don't want more than 10%, sir. Or Madam. Or Sirs.

See, Mischa Barton, she's pretty, right? And in your ads, she looks like she's having a lot of fun. A lot. Her skin is clear, she's white, she can perch on top of an Ford Mustang in white slip ons without anyone screaming, "Geroff mah cah, hussy!"; she can trot down a boardwalk in a houndstooth low top with a brunette cascade down her back (fresh from the ocean!) with the most hither-y of smiles; she can kick your ass in a game of croquette and then go down on you while the sun sets over Cape Cod's shore, while her kicky plaid lace ups lie nearby.

Yeah, I know. I kinda want a pair of Keds now too.

But see? I've got a new angle. You ready? I think we should lose Ked's privileged, intoxicating, supernaturally clean image and go to where the Keds really are. Dump Mischa, and you'll see things start to shake up. Well, then who goes on the Mustang, you ask? Who blows Vanderbilt PuffyPants on the raquetball court?

See, man, here's the thing. You're a shoe company. Show shoes! Except cover them in blood.

Yep, that's right- Mischa out, blood spattered Ked in. It's the perfect image for our on the go teens and tweens and whatever the other one is. 'Mos?
Picture it, put it anywhere. On that beach in the setting sun. A single perfect, red smeared Ked lying next to a railroad track. In a dumpster. In the basement of the church orphanage. Outside of a Quiznos (for a dose of quick cross marketing)!

Give it some thought- I know it's edgy, and I know some OC fans might get a little fussy. But I think we might be able to grab some of the fence sitters on this one. Hey, what about a bloody Ked stuck on a post of a white picket fence?

I don't want a penny for that one.

I hope to hear back a favorable response for what I consider a fantastic way to shock bored consumers back into buying, buying, eating, using, buying, eating, eating.

Onto Nestle!

Best,
Nadine