Converse started its new Fall 2010 brand campaign entitled «The Procession» featuring product with the iconic Converse «Star Chevron» logo including the new Star Player Evo shoe. Developed to pay homage to legends of Converse’s past, present and future and to celebrate basketball along with the breadth of Converse product, the ad shines a light on the iconic Star Chevron mark and gives nod to its authentic connection to the worlds of sport, music and culture which has helped define Converse for decades.

Gritty and raw, the spot was directed by award-winning filmmaker Antoine Fuqua. The ad stars basketball legend Julius «Dr. J» Erving; Carlos Arroyo of the Miami Heat; musicians Jim Jones and Doug E Fresh; legendary ball-handler God Shammgod and Harlem streetball player Adrian «A-Butta» Walton; Converse skaters Kenny Anderson, Sammy Baca, Rune Glifberg and Eli Reed; all set to the thunderous «Hello Operator» by alternative rock band, The White Stripes.

The ad is appropriately named «The Procession», as each of its cultural, torch-bearer stars symbolically pass the torch and give nod to each other. A true legend of basketball and one of culture, Dr J. and Doug E Fresh represent Converse’s heritage and the brand’s deep connection to sport, music and culture. Simultaneously, Carlos Arroyo, Jim Jones, the Converse skate team, and the others all forge Converse’s strong connection with today and the future.

In addition to the ad, each of the stars are featured in a series of online vignettes (they can be watched on YouTube) taken from outtakes that illuminate their mutual admiration for each other and that blur the lines of sport, music and lifestyle. The resulting short clips showcase new cultural, iconoclastic moments.