With this weekend’s AFL Grand Final signaling the impending arrival of 2010/11 cricket season, it’s a good time to start preparing mentally for the latest round of ads featuring our Aussie stars.
With Andrew Symonds enjoying an extended visit to the pub these days, there is a sad lack of personality among the current side.
With captain Punter and captain-in-waiting Clarke leading the charge, fans can expect to see players flogging wares with the enthusiasm of a race-caller on ecstasy. Let’s look at some of the more memorable cricket ads of recent years:
Ricky Ponting and John ‘Yoda’ Laws
I often wonder who came up with this pairing. Was it pitched as part of a dare? Were the advertising team drinking Valvoline in a meeting when they suddenly thought ‘Ricky Ponting and John Laws? Win!’?
These questions aside, was pitching a Star Wars reference at beer swilling audience of cricket fans the best move? Time (and sales figures) will tell, but in the meantime, I have no doubt there is some form of Valvoline signage mounted prominently in the extension on Ricky’s house.
Okay, not exactly an ad, but who doesn’t enjoy watching Clarke look like a goose? I found this much more enjoyable than seeing him plug razors, deodorant, adult nappies or whatever else he’ll no doubt be pitching again this summer.
Like Nostradamus before them, it seems KFC have an eerie knack of predicting the future. Mitchell Johnson? Who cares? Give us fried chicken! Seems to tie in nicely with Mitch’s form since he actually performed well in one Test at the WACA a few years ago.
I considered including our golden boy pitching Weet Bix or perhaps cavorting with a Bollywood actress here, but like Michael Clarke earlier, this memory made me smile more than any of Brett’s efforts in the advertising world.
With the Aussies likely to be schooled by India (again) in the upcoming series, I discovered that India can teach our advertising industry a thing or two on how to use cricketers to flog your products.
This little gem rates considerably higher on the ‘unintentionally amusing’ index than anything KFC, VB or Warney will reel out this summer.
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