The popularity of the NBA, from the early 1970s to today, has grown exponentially, and the sneakers market has followed hand-in-hand. Multiple brands have made millions by selling basketball sneakers, including Converse, Nike, Reebok, and Addidas. And to sell these sneakers, the companies have come up with some creative commercials over the years. Recently, Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett gave a shout-out to a 1980s Converse commercial featuring Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
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Converse was leading the basketball sneakers market in the early 1980s, with multiple NBA legends endorsing the brand. One of those endorsements included superstars like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Mark Mcguire and Bernard King. Garnett shared the commercial on his Instagram story and said,
“Might be the hardest shoe commercial of All-Time!”
The iconic commercial featured a rap song with each player bragging about their game while holding the ‘Converse Weapon’ in their hand. Garnett referred to the commercial as “the hardest” as it featured so many superstars who played for rival franchises. The commercial ended with Larry Bird showing off his MVP award that he had recently won.
Through his post, Garnett must be referring to the superstars putting their egos aside to come together, which resulted in an advertisement that resonated with the fans.
As mentioned before, Converse dominated the sneakers market with a plethora of superstars under their belt. However, this dominance also bred competition with Nike, which had recently launched the iconic ‘Air Jordan’ sneakers.
The rivalry resulted in Nike also releasing a slew of iconic commercials. The Nike brand would go on to conquer the sneaker market with the overwhelming success of Michael Jordan. Subsequently, the company acquired Converse in 2003 for approximately 305 million dollars.
Converse commercials led to Magic and Bird’s friendship
One of the most iconic rivalries in the NBA features their two most successful franchises – the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. The competition between the two franchises has also resulted in rivalries between their superstars.
In the 1980s, the two superstars representing the iconic franchises were Magic Johnson for the Lakers and Larry Bird for the Celtics. And thanks to them, the fans were privy to some great moments on the basketball court.
However, in the case of Bird and Magic, the rivalry was limited to the basketball court. Off the court, the two legends were great friends which began due to a Converse commercial. As reported by ‘IndyStar‘, Magic Johnson talked about a Converse commercial bringing them together and said,
“That’s when we became friends, and that’s when we said, ‘You know, we’re more alike than we are different.”
The Lakers’ legend spoke about the rivalry on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and said they hated each other in the early stages of their career due to constant comparison and getting beaten in the Finals. Needless to say, both these legends achieved a lot and have inspired many in the league on and off the court.
