Michael Kasdan brings you our list of the funniest sports-themed commercials of all time! From Peyton Manning’s “Cut that meat!” to Glavine and Maddux’s “Chicks dig the long ball.”
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Advertising is part of life. For better or for worse (worse!), it’s the lifeblood of the entertainment and content economy, whether on television or the internet. (We are living in a material world. And I am a material girl. Err…guy.)
Sports is one of the strongholds of advertisers’ grip on television. For other content, we often DVR and skip commercials, but we tend to watch pro and college sport games live. And no matter what we’re watching, when the commercials entertain us, we watch them.
When they are really done well, commercials can become memorable cultural memes themselves, with lines and characters that we all know and relate to. They seep into pop culture. If we had water coolers at work and hung out hear then, we’d hang out by the water cooler talking about them.
And obviously it’s very good when they’re funny. Funny sticks. I like funny.
Now, I can’t really say that these are the top twelve of all time. “All time” is a very long time, and my memory isn’t all that good. But these are the ones that stick in my head. So I hope you enjoy ’em. Without further adieu, we give you The List. (Presented below in no particular order whatsoever):
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(1) An American Coach in London (NBC Sports Premier League Soccer)
In this hilarious short film, Jason Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a fictional American football coach hired to manage London’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Cracks me up every time.
(2) The Manning Brothers (ESPN This is SportsCenter)
One of ESPN’s many “This Is SportsCenter” commercials. They generally do a terrific job lampooning themselves as an odd mix of a boring middle-managementy office and a sports network with sports stars and mascots wandering around. Peyton Manning, and more recently his younger brother Eli, have proved to be an effective and surprisingly funny pitchmen. This spot stars both Mannings (along with their father, Archie) in a older brother-younger brother scrapping bit.
(3) Peyton Manning – “Cut that Meat! Cut That Meat!” (Mastercard)
And here is Peyton in one of his more famous advertising roles; the role-reversal of an NFL start rooting for people at their ordinary jobs. (It’s the same trope that 49ers WR Stevie Johnson hit on earlier this week by tweeting: “I drafted many of you to my fantasy work team so make sure to grab me some points today at your workplace. Don’t let me down.” – @StevieJohnson13).
(4) The Last Spot (ESPN Fantasy Football) – “Tom, you’re in the league. Bill, you’re insane.”
The bloodsport of fantasy football leagues.
(5) Terry Tate, Office Lineback (Reebok) – “To be honest, I wish Reebok sent us ten Terry Tates.”
A classic NFL SuperBowl spot. Another that mashes up our ordinary office jobs with that of the NFL.
(6) Anthony Davis Buzzer Beater (Kids Foot Locker) – “Rejected by Anthony Davis!”
A boy’s driveway basketball fantasy runs into NBA man-child Anthony Davis. Hilarity ensues.
So good, we previously gave it its own post.
(7) Chicks Dig the Long Ball (Nike) – “Hey! You got Cy Young winners over here!”
A back-in-the-day Nike commercial, where ace pitchers on the Braves lamented the public’s appetite for home runs over shutouts.
Great work by straight men Maddux and Glavine.
(8) Verlander vs. Verlander (MLB 2K12) – “You have to be the perfectist”
Video game commercials can be a great way to let sports stars be playful.
This one stars Justin Verlander playing himself in MLB 2K12.
(9) Rod Johnson & The Show (Japan Edition) (MLB The Show)
Another entry from the video game category. This one tells the tale of a strikeout prone MLB player who reinvigorates his career in Osaka, Japan.
Take it from me, as someone who spent time living in Japan and working in Osaka, this baby is dead on.
(10) Defense (The NHL Network) – “The best defense is a good offense.”
Riffing on coach double-speak and triple-speak.
(11) March Madness Brackets by Six-Year-Olds (AT&T)
An NCAA March Madness related entry in AT&T’s series of commercials featuring the wisdom and hilarity of children.
(12) Dwyane Wade and Charles Barley Fave Five (T Mobile)
One of a series of T Mobile Fave Five spots starring the always entertaining Charles Barkley and Dwyane Wade.
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So there you have it. That’s our take.
We’d be happy to hear from readers with your nominations for the sports-themed commercials that make you laugh the hardest. So drop us a comment or send us a Tweet at #GMPSports, with your thoughts and nominations!
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(Photo Credit: YouTube/video capture)