ESPN Renews Street Ball: The AND 1 Mix Tape Tour for Two More Years; Sixth Season of Popular TV Series Premieres in July Featuring the Search for the Next AND 1 Streetball Star
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The AND 1 Mix Tape(R) Tour 2007, the original street basketball entertainment tour featuring the world's best playground players, is returning to its blacktop roots this summer for a nationwide 10-city tour from June 16 through August 25. Tipping off in New York City, the tour will travel across the United States with its best team yet playing against summer league all stars from city to city.
Streetball: The AND 1 Mix Tape Tour, the popular television show documenting the on-court action and behind the scenes drama, is produced by ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE). Broadcasts kick off in July as part of a new two-year agreement. The season will feature 10 half-hour episodes centered around the search for the next AND 1 Mix Tape Tour Player. Throughout the season fans will have the opportunity to vote online for their favorite player from each city, with the contest winner announced in the season finale.
To kick off the tour, a new advertising campaign entitled The United Streets of America (via 72 & Sunny, El Segundo, California) will launch online and via print ads in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM and Complex. The premium design of the campaign highlights the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour as the premier streetball showcase and its players as statesmen of the game. Players on the tour and in the creative campaign include Professor, Hot Sauce, Escalade, Bad Santa, Helicopter, The Assasin, Go Get It, Baby Shaq, Silk, Springs and, 8th Wonder.
"We are excited to bring the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour back outdoors this summer," said Mark Woolsey, AND 1 General Manager and CMO. "AND 1 is the premier streetball brand, and what better way to celebrate the eighth year of the tour and sixth year of the ESPN series than by taking it back to our roots where it all began for our fans and players."
AND 1's best team yet will take on the finest summer league all-stars in 10 cities, with one local baller from each market chosen for a 10-man team that will travel to Los Angeles on August 25 for the finale game, vying for the ultimate prize -- an endorsement contract with AND 1 and a spot on the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour roster. Bringing the democratic process to life in conjunction with the United Streets of America campaign, one finalist from each market will be chosen by fans via online voting at www.AND1.com, where weekly highlight videos will be posted after each event.
"Before joining AND 1, I was just another regular ball player," said Grayson "The Professor" Boucher, who shot to prominence after winning the Mix Tape Tour contest in 2003. "But because of the popularity of the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour and the phenomenon it has become, things have really changed for me. I get to do something I love for a living and I hope it inspires others to achieve their hoop dreams."
The 2007 AND 1 MIX TAPE TOUR SCHEDULE*
City Date
New York 6/16/07
Boston 6/23/07
Atlanta 6/30/07
Washington D.C. 7/14/07
Philadelphia 7/21/07
Detroit 7/28/07
Chicago 8/04/07
Dallas 8/11/07
San Francisco 8/18/07
Los Angeles 8/25/07
*Schedule subject to change
Roster Hometown
8th Wonder North Carolina
Assassin LA
Baby Shack DC
Bad Santa LA
Escalade New York
Go Get It Chicago
Helicopter North Carolina
Hot Sauce Atlanta
Professor Oregon
Silk Baltimore
Springs Detroit
Coach -- Mike Ellis
MC -- Duke Tango
Tickets will go on sale nationally on May 15, 2007. For more information, check out www.AND1.com.
Now in its eighth year, the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour has celebritized streetball players and made them international icons, including original AND 1 streetball legend Skip to My Lou (also known as Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets), who will be making guest appearances throughout the summer. AND 1's series of basketball videos and DVDs known as the 'AND 1 Mix Tapes' have attained cult status among hard-core ball players. AND 1 Mix Tape Volume 10 will launch this summer.
About AND 1
Founded in 1993, AND 1 makes basketball footwear and apparel for players with serious game. The company that first made its mark in the apparel industry with a line of "in your face" trash talk tee shirts now offers a complete product line for basketball players, including on-and off-court performance shoes, shorts, tees, sleeveless tees, pants, team uniforms, licensed collegiate gear and accessories. AND 1 endorsers include Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors and star of AND 1 Mix Tape(TM) Volume 1, Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets.
About ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE)
ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) features a wide-range of branded programming outside of ESPN's traditional event and news genres. Using a collection of vehicles -- original movies, discussion programs, reality-based shows, documentaries, game shows and more -- ESPN's goal is to broaden its audience by more strongly appealing to younger (when appropriate) and casual sports fans.
Source: AND 1
CONTACT: Paul Yoffe, +1-323-988-4680, pauly@carryonpr.com, for AND 1
Web site: http://www.and1.com/
