Funniest Sports Commercials of All Time
Maybe athletes are secretly really funny; perhaps it’s evolutionary and there’s something about human nature that instinctively finds kicking objects across a field amusing; maybe sports fans are just easily amused. *I know you weren’t a fan of the semicolons, but they’re grammatically necessary for this sentence. I can change the whole sentence if you prefer* Whatever the reason, ads about athletes tend to be hilarious, from football players acting silly to basketball stars fighting over a Big Mac. Some of the commercials on this list aired on Super Bowl night, but others are just your standard, run-of-the-mill epic sports ads. So relax, grab a beer and some wings, and enjoy the most hilarious sports commercials of all time. 10. ESPN 2010: Nerds and sports are usually mutually exclusive entities, but as this commercial proves, such a rule need not be the case. In a hilarious and quirky scenario of Star Trek meets small-town football, this ad introduces us to the sports-loving town of Oxford, Mississippi and its search for a new mascot. A delightful example of high-quality storytelling, this commercial is so engaging that it masquerades as an actual trailer for a video instead of a funny mockumentary. Ultimately, this almost-Cinderella Story favors the jocks over the underdogs, but it remains a promising glimpse into what the world might be like if nerds ruled. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx0pTIDb-r0 9. 2009 Coke Zero: If you aren’t familiar with the iconic Coca-Cola “Mean Joe Greene” ad from 1980, google it now, because this hilarious commercial requires a bit of context to fully appreciate it in all its parody glory. This is one of those rare moments in which a giant bureaucratic corporation actually pokes fun at itself by subverting one of its most iconic and beloved moments. Like any successful parody, it opens like the original: inspirational music, a cheekpinchingly-adorable kid, and a bottle of Coke. And then everything spins out of control. As hilarious as it is to watch any athlete parody a commercial classic, seeing 700-pound Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamal tackle innocent bystanders for the sake of a Coke Zero is priceless. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFGQrfUaexw 8. 2010 Snickers: As any Saturday Night Live fan knows, Betty White makes everything epic. She’s sassy, she’s crude, and she epitomizes the modern audience’s love for irony and perversion, so the genius who decided to cast the 90-year-old spitfire in a Super Bowl ad deserves a serious raise. Commentary on this ad is unnecessary. Suffice to say, it is a beautiful moment in history when Betty White utters the eloquent phrase, “that’s not what your girlfriend said.” The
only problem with this commercial is that playing football like Betty White should probably be a compliment, not an insult. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJRG1wHvfbU 7. 2008 Verizon: Hockey fans are crazy. New dads are crazy. Therefore, logic dictates that hockey fans who are also new dads must be absolutely delirious. This funny ad likens the plastic barrier between spectators and newborns to a hockey rink wall, with hilarious results. This is one of several hockey ads on the list, which probably says something about that particular demographic of fans. This hockey ad, however, is particularly funny because it is so easy to imagine a hockey fan going ballistic over something as epic as his favorite sport -- like seeing his firstborn child, for example. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfjKMpbJOs4#t=26 6. 2007 National Hockey League: More proof that hockey fans are insane, this ad opens with a potentially disastrous set-up -- bros inviting Swedish twins to their hockey game only to learn that they should have specifically asked for female Swedish twins -- but the result is even funnier. If you aren’t a diehard hockey fan and you have no idea who the Sedin twins are, no need to worry: it’s funny enough to watch two enormous men “performing” for their impromptu audience. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6tBr6PMkBY 5. 2008 National Hockey League: Only a year after the Sedins made their debuts as sexy for-hire dancers, the NHL nailed it again. This commercial is a beautiful example of sports fans making fun of themselves on TV. It takes the perfectly mundane concept of a coach commentating to reporters after a game and completely spins it around. If you’ve ever stopped to think about how much fluff goes into sports commentaries, or if you have a tendency of rambling about sports yourself, this commercial is worth a viewing (and the underlying innuendoes within the cliches are especially fun to listen for). Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjkUMbrT5SU 4. 2008 National Basketball League: Basketballers give hockey players a run for their money in terms of sense of humor in this classic commercial. If you ever watched “Shazam” as a kid, you know how hilarious it is to watch Shaq act onscreen. But nothing compares with watching him intimidate two guys over a game of Scrabble, no, not even him portraying an all-powerful genie. This commercial is funny for its unadulterated mock seriousness. The logic behind the ad makes perfect sense. Shaq is a big guy, so who wouldn’t agree with him if he found some extra Q’s in the box? Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0ncg-2zPY 3. 2007 Verizon: Next time you watch a football game, imagine yourself next to the biggest athlete on the field, then imagine the two of you pitted against each other in a test of fortitude and strength: that’s the basic scenario for this funny commercial. Comparing professional athletes to the rest of us schmucks is an innately funny concept, but this Verizon commercial takes the potentially
chuckle-worthy scenario to side-splitting extremes. It is particularly funny because of the truth behind it: most of us wouldn’t make it in pro football. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMOcyJKIDPY 2. 2010 Visa: Another example of athletes making idiots of themselves for corporate sponsorship, this commercial features the 7 foot 9 inch tall Yao Ming facing down American naiveté. This ad actually looks like it’s from the ‘90s based on the cashier’s backward baseball cap and copious use of the word “yo,” but the retro quality is actually part of its charm. Watching Yao Ming tower over a sales clerk and wrestle with the pure idiocy of the American public is really hilarious, making it one of the funniest commercials on the list. The clever twist at the end is quite beautiful, as well. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgMCVtalPu4 1. 1993 McDonalds: A classic in sports commercial history, this is one of a handful of ads in which Larry Bird made a total fool of himself for an enormous paycheck. What’s great about this funny ad is that it features not one, but two basketball legends. Think about it: What would happen two incredible athletes like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird challenged each other to a game of HORSE? This commercial may not be too far off from the truth, making it one of the best sports ads of all time. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oACRt-Qp-s