Image via Complex Original
Actin' a Fool: The 10 Best Local Ads Starring Athletes
Companies don't need Nike's million-dollar advertising budget to produce entertaining commercials starring superstar athletes. A bit of creativity and hometown loyalty can make small funds go a long way. Just ask Woodbury Nissan, whose recent Tri-State area commercial featuring Michael Vick (his first since returning to the NFL) has brought the dealership national attention. Local ads give athletes an opportunity to flash a bit of personality (or lack thereof) off the field, and when you combine that with the low-budget quality of the ads, the result is often pure comedy. From Carson Palmer measuring his meat (ayo!) to Clinton Portis bobbing to the Eastern Motors jingle, check out The 10 Best Local Ads Starring Athletes...
10. Mattress King
ATHLETE: Chris "Birdman" Andersen
MARKET: Denver
COMPLEX SAYS: Considering Birdman's past drugs-related suspension from the league, we figure endorsing mattresses are a good second option to, say, rolling papers. "Brikikiki," indeed.
9. Eagle Hardware & Garden
ATHLETE: Alex Rodriguez
MARKET: Seattle
COMPLEX SAYS: Who better to advertise a hardware store than MLB's ultimate tool?
8. JTM Food Group
ATHLETE: Bronson Arroyo
MARKET: Cincinnati
COMPLEX SAYS: Before belting out ballads about beef hoagies, Arroyo actually released a grunge album titled Covering the Bases on Asylum Records in 2005. We expected more from a dude who once rocked cornrows.
7. H-E-B Grocery
ATHLETE: Emmitt Smith
MARKET: Dallas
COMPLEX SAYS: Fresh off winning Dancing with the Stars in 2006, Emmitt starred in this very pause-worthy, yet entertaining, ad. Someone forgot to tell dude that satin shirts and dancing to Bee Gees' rip-offs are not acceptable outside of the show.
6. Casa Ole
ATHLETE: Jose Lima
MARKET: Houston
COMPLEX SAYS: Most restaurant ads starring athletes are stiff and boring, but in this classic commercial, the late pitcher brought that Latin flava. Don't front, you know you started to do a little merengue two-step when Jose started singing the jingle. Lima, R.I.P.
5. Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits
ATHLETE: Jake Delhomme
MARKET: Charlotte, N.C.
COMPLEX SAYS: A white NFL player like Delhomme had to be chosen for this ad, because a black athlete advertising a chicken spot called Bojangles just wouldn't seem right. Actually, Big Ben wouldn't have been a good look, either.
4. Mr. Submarine
ATHLETE: Scottie Pippen
MARKET: Chicago
COMPLEX SAYS: Pippen may have played Robin to MJ's Batman throughout his career, but when it comes to commercials, bitches partying with your foot-long (II) >>> talking underwear with Charlie Sheen. #justsayin
3. Gebco Car Insurance
ATHLETE: Jonathan Ogden
MARKET: Baltimore
COMPLEX SAYS: Many have clowned on the 11-time Pro Bowler for dancing around while advertising a bootleg Geico. But let him live—homie seems to be having fun, and what other retired offensive tackles are getting endorsement cake?
2. John Morrell Meat Co.
ATHLETE: Carson Palmer
MARKET: Cincinnati
COMPLEX SAYS: Measuring sausages?! Yeah, we're not sure which is more embarrassing: this ad or the Bengals' record this season. And to think, this wasn't the most pause-worthy part of Palmer's John Morrell Meat ad campaign. B-b-b-b-b-ut wait, it gets worse!
1. Eastern Motors
ATHLETE: LaVar Arrington, Clinton Portis, Ray Lewis, and Brendan Haywood
MARKET: Washington, D.C./Baltimore
COMPLEX SAYS: The marketing team at Eastern Motors could write a book on how to make your local ad go national, and this spot starring various D.C.-area athletes is by far their most well-known. We already named the clip as one of 100 Best Internet Videos of the Aughts, so it's gotta be our favorite local ad starring athletes. Internationally known and locally respected? Yup. Salute.
