ADIDAS SUPERSTAR CAMPAIGN FEATURES SAMUEL L JACKSON BABY KEEM
By Fashion Team | Approved by Will Nichols, Editor in Chief | 2/26/2026
NBA is #25 on the FO Pulse (2026-07-13 close), up 1 from the previous close.
Adidas unveils its Spring 2026 Superstar campaign starring Samuel L. Jackson alongside JENNIE, Kendall Jenner, Baby Keem, and soccer prodigy Lamine Yamal. The campaign, set in a surreal Hotel Superstar, celebrates the 56-year legacy of the iconic shell-toe sneaker that transformed from basketball courts to hip-hop culture.
Key Points
- Lamine Yamal at 18 is Barcelona's most valuable player at €343 million
- Samuel L. Jackson continues his Adidas partnership after 2025's Pyramids campaign
- Adidas Superstar has outsold Jordan retros for multiple years since 2016
Samuel L. Jackson is back, narrating what might be the strangest sneaker commercial ever made. Adidas Originals just dropped the Spring 2026 Superstar campaign, and it looks less like a shoe ad and more like the opening scene of a Ari Aster film. The cast reads like someone threw a dart at a cultural dartboard: JENNIE, Kendall Jenner, Lamine Yamal, Baby Keem, James Harden, Tyshawn Jones, and Olivia Dean all converging in a surreal hotel setting directed by Thibaut Grevet, the photographer who makes everything look haunted. Jackson's narration cuts through the weirdness with precision. "Most folks make moments. But some make movements." That line does the real work.
The brilliance here is casting. Yamal especially. At 18 years old, the Barcelona right winger is valued at €343 million according to CIES Football Observatory, making him the world's most valuable player entering 2026. He won the Kopa Trophy twice, finished second in the Ballon d'Or in 2025, and just locked in a six-year contract through June 2031. Putting a teenager with that level of cultural momentum alongside Jackson and JENNIE signals something: sneakers are no longer just about athletes or musicians anymore. They are about total cultural proximity.
This is actually chapter two of Jackson's Superstar narrative. The 2025 "Pyramids" campaign positioned the shoe as foundational architecture. Then came "Clocks," featuring Missy Elliott and Mark Gonzales. Now this. The through-line is deliberate. Jackson plays someone searching for his "Superstar," a callback to his Incredibles line that somehow works as both comedy and philosophy.
The Superstar itself is nearly 56 years old. Launched in 1970, it owned 75 percent of NBA feet by 1973. Run-DMC canonized it in 1986. By 2016, it outsold every other sneaker in America, a position it has basically held ever since despite constant competition from Jordan retros and Nike's endless innovation. That staying power is not accident. It is design, culture, and the right celebrity at the right moment converging.
What Adidas is doing with this
Related Reading
- ADIDAS ORIGINALS DROPS HOTEL SUPERSTAR CAMPAIGN WITH BABY KEEM
- Adidas Originals x Willy Chavarria "Love Prevails" Drops April 18
- ADIDAS UNEXPECTED BREAKS SPORT-FASHION BOUNDARIES
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Adidas' 2026 Superstar campaign?
Samuel L. Jackson leads alongside JENNIE, Kendall Jenner, Baby Keem, Lamine Yamal, James Harden, Tyshawn Jones, and Olivia Dean in a cross-generational cast.
How old is Lamine Yamal in 2026?
Lamine Yamal is 18 years old, born July 13, 2007, and is valued at €343 million as the world's most valuable player.
When was the Adidas Superstar first released?
The Adidas Superstar officially hit the market in 1970 and by 1973 was worn by more than 75% of all NBA players.
Topics: focus-52-5, baby keem, willy chavarria, sneakers, willy-chavarria, adidas originals, jennie, basketball, kendall jenner, superstar, adidas-originals, hip hop, adidas, samuel l jackson, nba, lamine yamal, nike