Reebok returns to the brand's roots in the north of England is this film promoting its Classics range of footwear, which was filmed by Ridley Scott Associates' Antony Crook against a moodily gray backdrop in Bolton, Lancashire (where Reebok was founded), and in Manchester.

It features a voiceover by actor Paul Popplewell, whose films include "24 Hour Party People," musing on how Manchester's creativity and youth culture "defined a generation," from the industrial revolution to acid house. At the same time he warns that we mustn't look to the past too much, harking after "old bands getting back together" and believing things were better 20 years ago.

As we watch a young man pick up a girl from leafy suburbia and go on to a gritty urban club, the message -- that Manchester is stil busy making things -- and the tagline, "Give me your Classics and I'll show you the future," is neatly inserted among more meaningful lines such as "We don't need factories or pills to change the world."

The spot, which was creative directed by content and publishing company The Rig Out, also features an original score by Illum Sphere. It was created to coincide with the launch of a "brand book" celebrating Reebok Classics.