This morning for no reason at all, other than the deep procrastination only found on a Friday morning, we discovered this marvellous ad Brian Kerr did with the Irish Times back in 1998:
We debated where this as ranked among the archives of other memorable Irish sporting ads. In no particular order, here they are...
This GAA commercial during Italia '90:
With soccer enjoying an unprecedented popularity in the country during the 1990 World Cup, the GAA were not prepared to sit idly by and allow their grip on Irish sport be loosened. Hence, in true GAA fashion, they compared the sport favourably to a bunch of foreign games, and gloriously screened it during the half-time break of one of the World Cup games on RTE. While they were at it they took a pop at rugby and, oddly, American football.
Jack Charlton ad for Bank of Ireland during USA '94:
As Irish fans took a trip to the States for the World Cup, Big Jack seemed to be having a totally different trip in this ad for Bank of Ireland with his translucent face spinning across the foreground of the ad. The direction behind this ad seems to have influenced the nightmarish scene from the Father Ted episode about the rigging of a sheep contest.
Padraig Harrington ad for 'Swingshirt':
Harrington gave this bewildering ad for a product called the Swingshirt, which resembled a kind of straitjacket for the golfing enthusiast. Bizarre.
Niall Quinn ad for Lucozade Sport:
This Quinn ad for Lucozade Sport was all-action, which was typical of the man. The sheer enthusiasm shown in the dramatic thrust of the Lucozade Sport can proved to be portentous of Quinn's great entrepreneurial spirit post-retirement.
We have heard unconfirmed rumours that Barry Scott of Cillit Bang fame studied Quinn's thrusting of the product closely before launching his omnipotent 'bang and the dirt is gone' campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTcIcsJrRvk
Tommy Bowe for Subway:
Included because Bowe is clearly not in the same room as the other people he is interacting with here - a mastery of CGI to make George Lucas take notice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv8sdPDdPnY
Denis Hickie for Wavin:
And finally, there is this post-modern juxtaposing of William Webb Ellis' great game with the passing of some Wavin pipe. Starring Denis Hickie.
