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Best Sports Commercials of All-Time

Posted by ZA on December 2, 2008

Great commercials are part of the sporting events we love. The best commercials, and their products, stay etched in our minds forever. Here are a few of the greatest sports commercials of all-time and the products that they featured.

Nike – Air Jordans “It’s Gotta be the Shoes”

Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon with Michael Jordan. “Yo Money, It’s gotta be the shoes”.

Reebok – “Terry Take Office Linebacker”

“You know you need a coversheet on your TPS report, Richard” Classic!

Coca-Cola – Mean Joe Green

“Hey kid, catch.” A scene that has been often imitated over the last 30 years.


Nike Golf – Trick Shots by Tiger Woods

Rumor is that Tiger did that entire spot in one take.

McDonald’s – “H-O-R-S-E”

Mickey D’s hit a home run with this spot featuring MJ and Larry Bird.


Budweiser – Zebra Referee

Classic that aired during the 2003 Superbowl.


Nike Soccer – “Joy” featuring Ronaldinho

“Joy” is right, Ronaldinho has always been a pure joy to watch play soccer.


Gatorade – “Be Like Mike”

Michael Jordan at his finest. They could make a full length feature of MJ highlights and I’d watch it.

Which do you think is the best sports commercial of all-time?
Which company do you think has the best collection of sports commercials? It’s going to be hard to beat out Nike and their brilliant ad agency Wieden Kennedy.

Posted in Athletes, Gatorade, Nike, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | 1 Comment »

How will attack ads shape the sports world?

Posted by ZA on October 27, 2008

Advertising Age posted a great article on the exponential growth of comparative ads in the advertising world.  AdAge says these “attack ads” are becoming a common tactic for the underdog in a given sector.  The success of Apple’s Mac vs PC ads have inspired a new wave of attack ads from companies in a variety of industries.

* Dunkin Donuts is going after Starbucks on coffee.
* Time Warner and Verizon are attacking each other on broadband service.
* Direct TV is attacking Time Warner on the dish being better than cable.
* Progresso is going after Campbell’s on healthy soup.
* Microsoft (aka: PC) is counterpunching Apple (aka: Mac) with their “I’m a PC ad”.

So the question is which sports brands are going to start directly attacking each other in these combative style ads?  There are many companies who spend a lot of marketing dollars in the sports world, who already have a history of attacking each other, including: Coke versus Pepsi, Burger King versus McDonald’s and Miller Lite versus Bud Light.  But what sports brands are going to form the next wave of attack ads:

Under Armour vs Nike vs Reebok/Adidas
* There has already been a history of some attack ads in this space, but look for upstart Under Armour to try to gain market share by tearing down their bigger, richer rivals.  Attacks on Nike are going to be coming from all directions, as Reebok/Adidas will continue to battle Nike for supremacy in different sports categories.  The last few years Nike and Adidas have exchanged a lot of blows as Nike tries to grow their foothold in the soccer world, a previous stronghold of Adidas.

Gatorade vs Powerade evolves to Vitaminwater vs SoBe Lifewater
Again these are two companies that are not strangers to attack ads.  They and their parent companies, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, have battled back and forth for years.  The new battleground will be the flavored water, where Coke brand Vitaminwater will fight against attacks from Pepsi’s SoBe Lifewater.

UFC vs Elite XC
Wait, this battle between rival MMA organizations looks to be already over with the news that Elite XC is going out of business.  Score it a TKO for the UFC and Dana White.

NBA vs NHL
It’s doubtful these two leagues ever take off the gloves and really start bashing each other, but there might be a few jabs thrown.  The two major professional sports leagues compete for dollars, fans, corporate sponsorships and television air time every year.  Both are hurting for revenue, so rather than try to build their own brand they may choose to attack the other brand to try to grab some market share.

These are just a few, surely there will be more big name sports brands that throw down the gauntlet to go after their competitors.  It’ll be interesting to see which of these “attacks” prove effective, and which turn out to be just more noise in the marketplace.

Posted in Apparel & Shoes, Gatorade, NBA, NHL, Nike, Powerade, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | 1 Comment »

Eli Manning makes fun of brother Peyton

Posted by ZA on October 6, 2008

Over the past few years, Peyton Manning has taken some playful jabs for the number of products he endorses.  He has become known as a sort of walking pitchman for everything under the sun.  Turn on the television during an NFL game and you are sure to see Peyton in a commercial pitching some product from cell phones to sports drinks.

It is so bad lately that even brother Eli Manning cannot resist the chance to make fun of Peyton for the number of products he endorses.  Eli cracked on his brother during ESPN’s NFL Sunday Countdown television show while answering a question about Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt’s tryout for an NFL team.

“He runs like my brother runs to endorsement opportunities,” said the younger Manning.

Although it’s funny to hear Eli making fun of his brother, Eli better watch out for Peyton returning the favor.  Because Eli Manning has racked up a large number of endorsement deals since his victory in the Super Bowl.  Eli current pitches for Citizen watches, ESPN radio, Nabisco, Reebok and Toyota.

Peyton Manning endorsement deals:
* DirecTV
* ESPN
* Gatorade
* Mastercard
* Microsoft Xbox
* Nabisco’s Oreo cookies
* Reebok
* Sony
* Sprint 

Here is one of the better Peyton Manning commercials for Mastercard:

Posted in Apparel & Shoes, Athletes, Endorsement Deals, ESPN, Gatorade, NFL, Sports Brands | Leave a Comment »

Gatorade vs Powerade: Whose stars are bigger?

Posted by ZA on July 25, 2008

Coca-Cola’s Powerade is launching a new “Power Up” ad campaign in an effort to cut into the marketshare of of industry leader Gatorade.  The launch will be supported by a slew of new sports stars that will now endorse Powerade.  The athletes will be featured in the traditional media component of the campaign, specifically in their home markets.  The 18 sports stars selected as endorsers by Powerade are:

NBA
Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz)
Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets)
Baron Davis (Los Angeles Clippers)
Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat)
Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic)
Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics)
Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks)
Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)

NFL
Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins)
Shawne Merriman (San Diego Chargers)
Jeremy Shockey (New Orleans Saints)
Steve Smith (Carolina Panthers)
Vince Young (Tennessee Titans)

MLB
Vladimir Guerrero (Anaheim Angels)
Ryan Howard (Philadelphia Phillies)

Other
Juan Pablo Montoya (Nascar)
Venus Williams (Tennis)

Anthony, Howard and Merriman will be designated as the national faces of the campaign.  The rest of the athletes will focus on their core markets.  Which is a good plan that hit a speed bump when Jeremy Shockey was recently traded from the New York Giants to the New Orleans Saints, leaving Powerade without a local star presence in the largest U.S. media market, New York City.  My guess is that Powerade will either add someone in New York, and possibly Chicago, or try to utilize Venus Williams presence at the US Open as their in to the Big Apple.

What is most striking about this Powerade promotion is the athletes they picked to lead it.  It seems their strategy is to align themselves with up-and-coming endorsement stars, rather than trying to pluck the marquee endorsement stars from each sport.  That is not a knock at these stars ability, but more a commentary on their Q-rating which are all about B-level.

If that is what Powerade is trying to do, it is certainly an interesting strategy to employee in this particular space because for years their chief rival, Gatorade, has made a living signing the biggest marquee names available.  Gatorade’s current endorsement stars including Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, Candace Parker, LaDainian Tomlinson, Maria Sharapova, Sidney Crosby, Landon Donovan, Kevin Durant, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Garnett, Eli Manning and Dwayne Wade.  That list reads like a who’s, who of the biggest stars in each sport.  Only Vitaminwater, another Coca-Cola product has a list of celebrity endorsers that can come close to Gatorade (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tom Brady, Brian Urlacher & David Ortiz).

What is Powerade’s strategy in putting these 18 stars up against the All-Star lineup that endorses Gatorade?  Powerade is playing the odds by signing a large number of star athletes who have not yet made the jump to superstar status.  They have a bunch of chips on the table and can wait and see which one’s pay off big over the next few years.  Essentially Powerade is trying to block out Gatorade from signing any of these 18 athletes and hoping one of them turns into the next Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning in-regards to endorsement potential.

Personally I like the move by Powerade, they’ve got a stable of great, mostly young talent to represent their brand.  Many of whom are already fairly large stars in the endorsement world, and the one’s that are not yet seem to be on the way up.  What is the ceiling for endorsement potential on Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Howard and Vince Young?  Seems to be pretty high for each of them, and if those don’t work out they’ve still got established athletes like Venus Williams and Paul Pierce leading their brand.

The 18 Powerade stars might not currently matchup with the lineup from Gatorade, but their long-term potential is excellent.  Powerade made the right move in taking quantity over top-notch quality, now it will be interesting to see how that gamble pays off.

Posted in Endorsement Deals, Gatorade, Powerade, Sports Marketing | 1 Comment »

Maria Sharapova inks deal with Tiffany & Co

Posted by ZA on May 22, 2008

Maria Sharapova is a global icon, she has the beauty and personality to match her talent on the tennis court where she is the top-ranked player in women’s tennis.  Her latest endorsement deal makes her the first athlete to be a spokesperson for legendary jewelry boutique Tiffany & Co.  The two year deal calls for Sharapova to wear Tiffany earrings and jewelry at all four major tennis tournaments, starting at the 2008 French Open.

Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova counts Tag Heuer watches among her many endorsement deals.
(Photo courtesy: Tag Heuer)

Maria Sharapova endorsement deals:
* Nike
* Tag Heuer (watches)
* Gatorade
* Canon
* Land Rover
* Sony Ericsson
* Prince (tennis racquets)
* Tropicana
* Parlux Fragrances (perfume)
* Tiffany & Co

Posted in Apparel & Shoes, Endorsement Deals, Gatorade, Sponsorship Deals, Sports Brands | Leave a Comment »

Gatorade dumps Work Out

Posted by ZA on May 15, 2008

For the past few years Gatorade’s Propel fit water has been one of the sponsor for Bravo TV’s show Work Out, but Gatorade is now pulling that sponsorship in the wake of comments made on the show.  Work Out is a cable tv reality show that follows the lives of Los Angeles trainer, Jackie Warner, and the trainers at her Skylab gym.  Propel product placements have been a fixture on the show for the past two seasons.

In a recent episode Warner made comments that were insensitive towards a woman who is a breast cancer survivor, which set off a firestorm of criticism.  Viewers of the show started to voice their displeasure in the blogosphere and by emailing the show, and Gatorade quickly made the (correct) decision to pull their sponsorship.  Propel’s product placement will still be included in this season’s episodes, but now they are being blurred out on the screen by Bravo.

Propel Fit Water
Gatorade pulled Propel’s sponsorship from Work Out to prevent further brand association with a show that could be damaging.  (Image courtesy: NiceMuscle)

Click here to read the statement from Gatorade on dropping their sponsorship.

Posted in Gatorade, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Powerade dumps Lebron James

Posted by ZA on April 1, 2008

Why would Powerade drop a top sports icon from endorsing their brand?
Because Daddy said that Little Brother needed Lebron’s help more.

Only in this case “Daddy” is Coca-Cola, which owns Powerade.  And “Little Brother” is Coca-Cola’s newest asset, Vitaminwater, which Coca-Cola bought when it acquired Glaceau in 2007.  Coca-Cola switched Lebron to add another high-profile athlete to the stable of Vitaminwater endorsers.  Some of the athletes who are currently working with Glaceau’s product are: James, Brian Urlacher, Shaquille O’Neal, LaDainian Tomlinson, Tracy McGrady and Tom Brady.  Vitaminwater also recently signed Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to an endorsement deal.

So why would Coca-Cola switch Lebron from one of their key products to another?  Two reasons.  First, water and healthier alternative drinks are the shining star for the future of the beverage industry.  As society has become more health conscious, the major beverage companies have been pushing their water & health conscious products more.  Because it is easier to sell someone on zero calorie Dasani or a product that has “water” featured in the name (even if Vitaminwater does usually pack in about 150 calories per bottle), than perceived high calorie beverage like Powerade or Gatorade.  Pepsico has even started to convert its in stadium signage from its MLB sponsorship to focus on Aquafina instead of Pepsi.  Again, the focus is on positioning themselves for the consumer who wants the healthier option.

The second reason Coca-Cola switched Lebron was the endorsement model for Vitaminwater has a bigger upside than Powerade.  Vitaminwater will create a special flavor for Lebron.  Think Formula 50 (named for rapper 50 Center) or Tigerade (Tiger’s new Gatorade product).  James can focus on marketing that particular flavor to drive sales, and help the overall brand at the same time.  Plus Lebron’s special flavor from Powerade never took off, so this gives Coca-Cola a mulligan by moving him to a new product.  Forget Flava23 (Lebron’s Powerade brand), this will be King James Water.

So as you are pushing your cart down the water aisle at the grocery store, keep an eye out for its newest start – Lebron James.

Posted in Endorsement Deals, Gatorade, Sponsorship Deals, Sports Marketing | Leave a Comment »

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