Top 10 Sports Ads of All Time

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Nike The Cage

In no particular order, here are 10 of the best from Australia and around the world.

Nike - Secret Tournament
It seems so simple. Take 24 of the world's best footballers, stick them in a cage and make them play a knockout tournament which is overseen by the enigmatic Eric Cantona. What resulted was one of the best ads of all time. And with a reported marketing budget of US$100 million, it needed to be!



McDonalds - The Showdown
The Super Bowl is renowned for it's advertisements. These days companies can grab a 30 second slot for around US$4 million. They probably didn't pay that much, but back in 1993 McDonald's made an ad that is still fondly remembered today. 'The Showdown' saw NBA legend Michael Jordan rock up at a gym with a Big Mac and challenge fellow superstar Larry Bird to a game of H-O-R-S-E, with the winner getting the meal. Sure most of the shots were fake, but who cares?



Coca Cola - Hey Kid, Catch!
In one of the most famous ads of the 20th century, Pittsburgh Steelers star Joe Green ruins a kid's day by drinking his Coke after a tough loss. Luckily for the young lad, 'Mean' Mr. Green was nice enough to give him his jersey. Things were so simple back in 1979!

 

NRL - What You Get Is What You Need featuring Tina Turner
What do you get when you put Tina Turner, Cliff Lyons, Steve Roach, Bretty Kenny and Noel Cleal into a two minute video package? The best NRL ad of all time, that's what!


Nike - Brazil v Portgual
The sportswear giants deliver the goods again! This time they pitched the Selecao against, well, the Seleccao (that's Portugal) back in both team's golden eras. Footballing gold ensued, set to an extremely catchy Perry Como track.

 

Toyota - Legendary moments featuring Alex Jesaulenko
Who could ever forget this series of adverts by Toyota? They came up with some great stuff, perhaps none better than this one focusing on the Carlton legend's infamous grab from the 1970 Grand Final. With comedians Stephen Curry and Dave Lawson at the helm, hilarity ensued.


A-League - It's football, but not as you know it
Any new sporting league in the saturated Australian market is going to have to do something pretty special to stand out from the pack. Luckily for the A-League, their inaugural advertising campaign allowed football to do exactly that!

 

Snickers - You're not you when you're hungry
Who doesn't want to see Betty White get tackled playing American football? That's the mindset Snickers marketing department took when they made this for Super Bowl XLIV.


HEB - Barbie
We Aussies love taking the piss out of ourselves, and San Antonio Spurs star Patty Mills is no exception in this ad for H-E-B Speciality Burgers. The accents being thrown around here are quality, and the cringeworthy acting makes it so much better.


Carlsberg - Old Lions
Who doesn't want to watch a Danish beer company grab some of the best English footballers ever to help sell their product to Poms? Being an English ad, there's plenty of banter as we watch the likes of Bobby Charlton, Bobby Robson and Peter Shilton destroy an opposition pub team.
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