What are the best football commercials of all time? Believe it or not there was a time when football wasn’t dominated by money. Passion ruled football and TV commercials captured the beautiful side of the game.
Best Football Commercials
Nowadays football’s way too commercialised and it seems everyone’s too lazy to create a commercial that would trick us into thinking otherwise. So lets reminisce when football was at its greatest as we take a look at the best football commercials of all-time.
Winner Stays On – Nike (2014)
Leading into the 2014 World Cup in South Africa, Nike delivered an iconic commercial by taking us all back to our childhoods with a game of “winner stays on”. We’ve all dreamt of being our favourite player and Nike’s commercial captured this brilliantly.
In the commercial young kids pick their favourite stars to transform into including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Wayne Rooney, Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andres Iniesta.
The commercial had everything from non-footballing stars like MMA’s Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, the late and great Kobe Bryant, model Irina Shayk and even Marvel’s Incredible Hulk. All I dream of is footballing returning to being as magical as it once was. They don’t make commercials like this anymore.
Joga Bonito – Nike (2006)
Nike’s Joga Bonito campaign led us into the 2006 World Cup in Germany and is one of the best football commercials ever. Joga Bonito is Portuguese for “Play Beautifully” and the aim of the commercials was to show everyone the beautiful side of football.
At the time the game was going through an identify crisis, globally tarnished with player theatrics and poor sportsmanship. We all needed a hero we never asked for. In reality, Nike wanted to make money of course…
The host of the legendary commercials was Eric Cantona. Yes, the same Eric that kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan earning himself a nine-month ban from football and an initial two-week prison sentence. The beautiful game they say.
But we all loved watching our favourite superstars including the likes of Ronaldino, Ronaldo, Kaka, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney.
Take It to the Next Level – Nike (2008)
The think tank at Nike earned every dollar by portraying what every young fan has imagined. The “Take It to the Next Level” commercial features a young professional footballer from a first-person perspective playing Sunday League football. The lad scores a free kick and at the end of the game we get to see that the young lad was scouted by Arsene Wenger.
He earns himself a contract a professional contract at Arsenal and shares the pitch with legends like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Our fictional star even ends up playing international football with Holland.
He then ends up getting fouled against Portugal and prepares to take a free kick in the exact same position he scored his Sunday League screamer that earned him the gig at Arsenal. A simple concept but one of the best football commercials ever.
The Cage – Nike (2002)
In the lead up to the 2002 World Cup, Nike’s “The Cage” campaign – also known as “Secret Tournament” – involved a fictional tournament with eight teams of three. We’ve now established that Eric Cantona is Nike’s puppet as he again features as a host and playing the role of referee.
The commercials feature 24 of the best players in the world including Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Edgar Davis, Rio Ferdinand, Thierry Henry, Figo and Patrick Viera among others.
What makes The Cage arguably the best football commercial of all-time? It literally inspired millions of kids worldwide to participate in 3-on-3 tournaments matching the rules of The Cage tournament.
The song featured in the commercial was a remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” by Junkie XL. It reached Number 1 on the music charts across large parts of the world making the commercial the perfect recipe for success.
