Fashion, social causes mix in kenneth cole digital campaigns

sociable rights. Hard times, Well being. Political relation. Those are among the hefty subject of the multi-authored Awearness blog created by Kenneth Cole Productions and creative agency electric automobile Artists.

The blog brings to light some of the issues the manner designer has stood for in the 25 years he's been in concern. "As an organisation we've ever had a sociable awareness skewed to the brand," said Henry M. Robert Genovese, vice president of media, selling at Kenneth Cole Productions.

Over the years Kenneth Cole has participated in and created philanthropic organisation and activities; Cole is the president of the board of AIDS research organization amfAR. The brand is now trying to go a step further using the net and sociable media. "We never had the chance to make it a dialogue," said Genovese. "We haven't had that chance to truly engage in the conversation, and that's what having the blog allows us to do."

writer for the blog will range from Kenneth Cole himself to creative person, musicians, athletics figures and activists. Expected contributors include New York Giants player Michael Strahan, Alan Cumming, Stanley Tucci, Alan Dershovitz, and Joey Pantoliano. Weekly comment will come from vocalist KT Tunstall, Paper mag founder David Hershkovits, who is on staff at electric automobile Artists, and Good mag founder Ben Goldhirsh.

The purpose is to reach out to different people and different things, and content will take on different forms. "It's people involved in things they are passionate about on the sociable side, it's evolving. It could be a Q&A with them, it could be authorship an essay, elaborating on a address they made, or a platform or column," said Marc Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, CEO and laminitis of electric automobile Artists.

Blog entries topics include posts on women-only buses in United Mexican States City, treatment around a CNN video of Angelina Jolie discussing Refugees outside of Iraq, looking into tainted drugs in China, and the post "Hacking Democracy" discusses the recent primaries in New York City where presidential hopeful Barak Obama received no votes in certain precincts.

Another recurring feature in the blog is Photo Finish. Photojournalists have the opportunity to post their work. "We asked them to tell the story behind the photograph, behind these great images that are out there," said Schiller.

Kenneth Cole is separately running a video campaign featuring individuals from different walks of life modeling its clothes while talking about their lives. Models include an Israeli and Palestinian film director duo, a Sikh entrepreneur, a U.S. Army soldier awarded a purple heart, and a gay Republican. The effort's tagline is "We all walk in different shoes."

In addition to the main Web site, the campaign includes a YouTube channel with three teaser videos. More videos will be added later.

To promote the blog, Kenneth Cole Productions will buy a mix of search and display ads, including traditional banner advertising on blogs. "[We're] hoping to capitalize on people that look to blogs and contribute to blogs, and are part of that social networking community," said Genovese.

While the campaign's emphasis is on digital media, ads will run in national fashion magazines and in Wired and Good magazines, as well as on taxi tops, posters, and bulletin boards in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami.