Soccer, arguably the pre-eminent global sport, is the perfect advertising vehicle for multinational corporations seeking entree into the global village and to fans’ disposable income.
In the United States, back in the NASL’s Golden Era, there were few soccer games on TV and even fewer TV ads with a soccer theme or featuring a soccer star. U.S.-based companies had yet to come to the realization that the best way to talk to the world was via the world’s game.
That changed, however, when Pelé joined the New York Cosmos– as you will see in one of the featured videos below that has the superstar from Brazil (who still earns money as a pitchman) riding a bicycle on the beach in an ad for Pepsi Cola.
The additional videos in this Throwback Thursday feature have a kind of prehistoric feel to them, in terms of production values, but the message – then as now – remains the same: Soccer moves merchandise.
Have A Pepsi Day Featuring The New York Cosmos' Pelé
Tampa Bay Rowdies' Rodney Marsh Does Everything With His Feet, Except...
Why Was New England Called The Tea Men?
Saves In Net, Savings At The Bank
Dallas Tornado's Kyle Rote Jr. Gets A Boost With Nutrament