A while back Le Cap offered up his take on the Top 11 Sports Commercials of All-Time. And it was a good list. A solid list. The Lil’ Dogg has no qualms with any of the picks and #1 is for sure, without a doubt the most famous sports commercial, at least for anyone in the coveted 25-45 male sport fan demo.
So to be clear the following is in no way an attempt to compete with that list (okay we’ll kinda but not really). Instead just look at it as an alternative list with some lesser know or forgotten ads that were probably, most definitely way more creative than the more famous sports ads on Le Cap’s list.
11. Andre Agassi – Nike (Golf)
Here’s an idea. Let’s take the most famous athlete in a sport and then do a whole commercial with him playing a completely different sport. That idea should suck. But in the hands of Nike in the 1990s it becomes genius. In the early 90s, pre-Tiger, Golf was NOT COOL, like the opposite of cool. So what does Nike do, they show one of the “coolest” athletes on earth playing the most uncool sport on earth. And guess what happens. Agassi makes Golf look cool as hell.
P.S. Agassi legit rivals Jordan when it comes to commercials. This will not be the last you see of him on this list.
10. Michael Jordan – Mars Blackmon
Not sure how Le Cap left Mars “Is it the Shoes?” Blackmon off his list. But he did. So that wrong had to be turned right.
9. Brazil World Cup Team
The original Renaldo starred in this futbol classic. One of the never ending times that Soccer was about to “take off in America.” Someday. Someday. If you haven’t heard it is the #1 youth participation sport in the USA….
8. Tiger Woods Juggle
This ad hit right in the heart of Tiger-mania and the people went nuts. Nowadays there’s probably 10,000 YouTube videos of non-names juggling five balls with two different clubs or something but at the time it seemed like Tiger was capable of doing just about anything he wanted with a club in his hands. Oh those innocent days….
7. Nike Instant Karma
More a brand statement by Nike than an individual athlete ad but the Instant Karma spot had everyone abuzz for one reason and one reason only. John Lennon.
6 and 5. Dennis Hopper Football Ref
You gotta love Dennis Hopper. No other actor makes these spots work. His crazed energy is perfect.
4. Deion Sanders Baseball
People forget how good Prime Time was as a baseball player.
3. Andre Agassi Pete Sampras Street Tennis
90s Tennis is the best tennis, at least as far as American Tennis is considered and Agassi-Sampras was the end all be all of American Tennis. It’s just not clear what was better their actual on court rivalry or their TV commercial spots.
2. Agassi-Sampras-McEnroe The Longest Point
1. Andre Agassi Rock N Roll Tennis
So absurd it’s amazing. What a run Agassi had with Nike in the 90s. A perfect match.
That’s it. That’s the list. Facts is facts and while Le Cap hit the nose on the head in his first list these bonus gems prove Sports Commercials really peaked in the 90s and haven’t been the same since.
This is a tremendous list. Any questions?
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