New Dr. J commercial: first look
From our friends at Converse
To celebrate 100 years of being a true original and innovator on the basketball court, Converse will launch a unique television spot featuring one of the game’s most exciting and influential players ever - Julius “Dr. J” Erving.
Widely credited as the first player to bring the game of professional basketball “above the rim,” Erving made some of the most memorable, jaw-dropping plays in the ABA and NBA in the ‘70s and ‘80s. His elite, graceful athleticism, as well as his on and off-court style and professionalism, has made Erving one of the most celebrated players of the last 30 years, and a true original and ambassador of the game.
The :15 second television spot features slow motion game footage from a contest between the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls during the 1985-86 NBA season. The spot is voiced over with audio announcing the NBA Slam Dunk contest rules. It begins with Erving receiving the ball near mid-court. He then glides toward the basket in his classic, effortless stride that became his signature, before putting down a violent, “Rock the Cradle” slam dunk in front of an exploding crowd.
The spot is the last in Converse’s “Disruption” campaign, launched in December to celebrate their 100th anniversary of disrupting the status quo. The campaign features other spots including “Hendrix,” “Pageant,” “Marketers” and “MeWe.”
The spot will begin airing Monday, February 11, 2008 on ESPN Sportscenter, and will continue to run on ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT through February 23. To coincide with NBA All-Star Weekend, the spot will air during TNT’s coverage of the dunk contest on All-Star Saturday night.
Following on the heels of the ad spot, Converse will re-issue the Pro Leather 1976, which was made famous by Julius “Dr. J” Erving and enjoyed immense popularity when he began to wear the shoe in 1976, and became a standard for the court warriors in playgrounds like NYC’s Rucker Park. The limited edition shoe will be available on April 1 for $70.
20 Responses to “New Dr. J commercial: first look”
Feb.12 at 7:03 pm
WhaHuh says:
they should have used Dr J with a Fro
Feb.12 at 7:05 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
The Bulls don’t get no respect.
Feb.12 at 7:14 pm
James the balla says:
dope!
Feb.12 at 7:14 pm
Pro says:
Is it just me, or does it seem like that ref was willing to get dunked on?
Feb.12 at 7:18 pm
john says:
wow the ref looked like he wanted to pin the dunk to the board
Feb.12 at 7:32 pm
James Martin says:
This is very nice, I’d like to see more of the same. Bird? Magic? Grandmama? I am sure Lang wouldn’t mind a Rider dunk contest commercial.
Feb.12 at 7:33 pm
TADOne says:
The Originator.
Feb.12 at 7:37 pm
Gerard Himself says:
And probably the coolest nickname in the history of the game. Well, one of the coolest.
Feb.12 at 7:49 pm
Kevin says:
that ref looked like he was indeed timing a block haha..
Feb.12 at 8:10 pm
jdubbs says:
i never noticed that he clearly traveled on that play…good to see that 3 steps was allowed back then too…
Feb.12 at 8:25 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I can’t tell for sure, but there’s a decent chance that the Bull in that clip is George Gervin.
Feb.12 at 10:48 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
One of the most iconic dunks of all time
Feb.12 at 11:43 pm
Kevin says:
lol, i never even noticed the travel til now… but its a blatant walk
Feb.13 at 1:01 am
Jay says:
That’s not a travel. He took two steps after he picked up the dribble.
Feb.13 at 1:19 am
TC says:
The spot looks dope. I have been wearing my Weapons low for some time now…..looking forward to the release of Pro Leather.
Feb.13 at 3:05 am
tealish says:
Blatant walk? what…?
Feb.13 at 9:52 am
räuber hotzenplotz says:
beautiful dunk
Feb.13 at 11:02 am
Ben says:
He walked but its still a nice dunk
Feb.25 at 4:48 pm
steve says:
I’ve been waiting for these shoes!!!!
Aug.27 at 6:31 pm
» New Dr. J commercial: first look Games cheats Tips and tricks says:
[…] From our friends at Converse To celebrate 100 years of being a true original and innovator on the basketball court, Converse will launch a unique television spot featuring one of the games most exciting and influential players ever - Julius Dr. J Erving. Widely credited as the first player to bring the game of professional basketball above the rim, Erving made some of the most memorable, jaw-dropping plays in the ABA and NBA in the 70s and 80s. His elite, graceful athleticism, as well source: New Dr. J commercial: first look, SLAM ONLINE | […]