The modern footballer is more than just a player...they are a brand in themselves, and those at the top of the game cash in on their notoriety, even Lee Trundle had image rights for being rotund and scouse. Whether its in a simple photo ad campaign, just being seen in the right gear, TV or in recent years virals from companies like Nike.
We all remember the old Nike adverts like The Mission (after which then led to schoolboys up and down the country trying 'the Davids flick'), the Brazil Airport ad from the 1998 World Cup or the more recent The Cage campaign and Joga Bonito and of course who can forget King Eric himself vanquishing the Devil, and they are entertaining. I could easily sit and watch all of these on a loop and be still love it, but I wouldn't ever describe them as funny (with the exception of Louis Van Gaal reprimanding his team in The Mission "IT'S ROUNDER!!"). There is however a certain betting company though who aren't afraid of using footballers to promote their products and poke a little bit of fun at them, and in all fairness, the footballers themselves aren't afraid to be the butt of the jokes...I am of course talking about Paddy Power.
Now as much as I enjoyed the blind football advert and the more recent balloon adverts for me you can't beat the ad campaign they ran a couple of years ago using a few classic players...
Now if you needed a 90's footballer to promote a gambling firm, there are quite a few options, but for your options to lead you to one Bruce David Grobbelaar a man who was charged with match fixing, it either madness or genius. Luckily for the folks over at Paddy Power the sight of Brucie popping out of a fridge in full 1980's Liverpool 'keeper kit and then disappear into the dishwasher is one of the greatest bits of telly ever, but unfortunately for yer man he'd been outshone by two others during the same campaign.
Step forward Desmond Sinclair Walker, 657 appearances, 1 goal...but one of the greatest defenders this country has ever produced...so imagine the surprise on for the young gent in this advert, when Desmond pops up on a coat hanger to give him little refund...meeting a legend and free money, sounds like a winner...and to be honest Narnia aint got nothing on this wardrobe. But Desmond only comes second in the greatest footballer adverts.
In possibly the greatest advert of all time..."isn't this nice, just you and Carlton Palmer having a bath". Whichever genius came up with this one genuinely should be knighted or given an MBE at the very least. In true marketing style there are two endings to this one...the original and the too hot for TV version. Both are amazing, and still make me giggle...enjoy.
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