The NBA is huge on always reminding the public who they are and why they’re great ("Where amazing happens"), but they certainly aren’t the only ones creating recognizable brands.
The NBA stars are much better integrated into pop culture than with other sports, but that doesn’t mean a good Manning brother’s ad isn’t always appreciated.
Scope out these 15 examples of athletes and professional leagues getting attention. My favourite is the puppet ad for the NBA Finals.
15 Examples of Athletvertising
15
Au Natural Olympians
Naked Powerade Athletes Show Their Muscles
14
Mom-Athlete Dairy Campaigns
Dara Torres Unveils New “Got Milk?” Ad
13
Turning Athletes into Smurfs
Nike ‘V is for Victory' Campaign
12
Olympic Advertising
Freddy Ads for Italian Athletes
11
Sibling Athlete Ads
Williams Sisters and Manning Brothers for Oreo
10
Artistic Athlete Photography
Dylan Coulter Helps With Olympic Withdrawal
9
Retro Movie Recreation
Athletes Recreate 'Risky Business' for ‘Guitar Hero'
8
Badass Sportsvertising
Pro Athletes Show Off Their Best Trick Moves for NFL 'Fantasy File' Promos
7
Extreme Sports Evolution Ads
From Primordial Ooze to Athlete in ESPN's Winter X Games Commercial
6
Olympic AIDS Prevention
UNAIDS Gives 100,000 Condoms to Beijing Olympic Athletes
5
Cyborg Athletes for Cell Phones
Beckham Goes 'Terminator' for the Motorola AURA
4
Oddball Olympians
ESPN Brazil's Unusual Athletes
3
Puppetized Pro-Athletes
LeBron James Gets Animated For Nike MVPuppets Commercial
2
Cheeky Laundry Ad Campaigns
Softlan Ultra Makes Clothes So Soft, Athletes Become Gay
1
Basketball Celebubranding
Kanye West's “Amazing” Chosen as NBA Playoffs Theme
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Olympic Condoms
Elasun Ads Go Viral in China
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Dara Torres Makes it to 5th Olympics
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Objectified Male Parodies
Michael Phelps as Dr. McSwimmy Pre Emmy Awards
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L'Oreal Denies Whitening Beyonce
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Replay Kobe Bryant's Momentous Scoring with Google Video
Condom Couture IV
Safe Sex Made Fashionable
Superheroes Promoting Milk
Batman: Got Milk?
Talcum Powder-Tossing in Ads
LeBron James in 'Chalk' for Nike
Extreme Sports Fusion
Rally Car Racing Meets Snowboarding
Canine Prophylactics
Dog Condoms
Snowmobiles of the Future
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Cell Phones With 5 Touchscreens
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Olympic Advertising
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Glass Mobile Phones
‘Glassy Glassy' by Mac Funamizu
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Funny Phobiads
Downy Softener Campaign: Your Clothes Are Not There
Athletes As Religious Figures
Tiger Woods Walks on Water in EA Sports Ad
Cross-Branded Designer Sneakers
Kanye West and Louis Vuitton Catapult Street Shoes to the Mainstre
Soccer Players as Boxers
David Beckham's 2009 Calendar
Olympic Triathlete Models
Vanessa Fernandes for Nike
Extreme Eastern European Sports
Czech Republic Rock Jumping
Extreme Stunt YouTube Ads
Kobe Bryant Jumps Over Aston Martin for Nike
Stop Motion Post-it Commercials
Nike Human Race 10K Sticky Notes
Dramatic Sports Commercials
Nike ‘Fate'
Dual Screen, No Frills Cell Phones
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Billionaire Athletes
Tiger Woods on Track for 2011
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Puppet Show Parallels
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Athletes as Fashion Journalists
Sean Avery Interns at Vogue
Snowsports in the Summer
Snowflex Promises Year-Round Powder
Emotion-Sensitive Cell Phones
TouchMan Shares Your Feelings Visually
Rubik's Cube Golfing
Tiger Woods EA Ad
X-Ray Photography
Nick Veasy
Extreme City Sports
Urban Cliff Diving
Condom Couture
Guilin Fashion Show
Basketball Superstars as Models
LeBron James Covers Vogue
Transformer Athletes
Rafael Nadal vs. Alien for Kia
Parody Sports Virals
Nike Pro Exposes Cristiano Ronaldo, Pokes Fun at Nike
Nerd Sports
Speed Cabling
Baseball Charity Wines
Boston Red Sox Longball Cellars
Stealth Paparazzi Ads
Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen Promotes Nike with Paps
Return of Hand-Eye Coordination Sports
Cup Stacking
Repulsive Finger Puppets
Mr. Mouthy Mouth is Sure to Give You a Mouthful
Spoofed Hollywood Puppetry
Harry 'Potter Puppet Pals' Parodies Teen Wizards
You as a Hand Puppet
Playful Brother Creativity School Campaign
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