Converse celebrates its centennial year

James Dean stars by Karen O and M.I.A in Converse advertising campaign

James Dean, Sid Vicious, Karen O, and Jane Birkin are just four of the stars that stand side-by-side in the latest advertising campaign from Converse.

The iconic brand is celebrating its centennial year, and as part of the celebrations has unveiled the Connectivity advertising campaign, bringing together style icons from past and present from the world's of music, sport, film and fashion. As well as Yeah Yeah Yeah's star Karen O, from the music industry M.I.A. and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong have posed for the campaign.

Different versions of the advertisements will debut around the world, with culturally specific icons for each country. For the UK, Jefferson Hack gets added into the mix.

Converse CEO Jack Boys said of the centennial year, 'Converse is the footwear company that was first in sports and first in rock ‘n’ roll, and we will continue to be the brand that inspires originality for the next 100 years... We are extremely proud of our heritage and excited about the momentum we have as we embark on our next 100 years.'

The one hundred year celebrations will also see the reissue of classic Converse styles, with updated variations, entitled the Century collection. Converse will also continue its support of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, and will launch Converse 1HUND(RED) Artists, a year-long project which will see the brand collaborate with artists around the world to raise funds for the charity.