http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNNlePr8qII

The first on our list is from American betting organisation Proline, who show that even if the unexpected happens you can still make some money on it.

There is no better feeling that winning that all important bet, and here our Australian counterparts at TAB show us how to celebrate.

Sportsbet bring us their take on mobile betting, which is apparently the greatest thing since betting.

Paddy Power go over the dire consequences of betting against your own team in this ad; foolish form by Gregos Traitorelli.

What betting ads usually gloss over is that the whole industry is rigged towards finding new customers in the hopes of snagging a few big-paying fish. A compulsive, high-amount punter is worth hundreds of new accounts, which is why bookmakers like Betfair can afford to pay out millions in customer acquisitions.

They typically rely on punters not knowing much about betting odds and taking advantage of creatively-placed betting specials, but the the beauty of the online gambling industry these days is that you have many, many bloggers analysing the game and providing betting tips, doing all the hard work for the bookies.

So if you’re betting online, don’t worry about the complexity – as long as you read up on the betting basics, are smart about where you spend your money in online gambling, and can use insights over emotions when predicting outcomes, you should be fine.

But enough about betting, let’s get back to the ads. Here’s a classic sign-off:

Finally, Chris Kamara stars in Ladbrokes football betting campaign, one of the most memorable of recent times.

10. Nike – Maria Sharapova

The tennis betting odds nearly always favour Maria Sharapova in major tournaments, and Nike are clearly excited to have landed the Russian as an ambassador here. However, Sharapova has pulled out of the upcoming US Open with a shoulder injury.

9. American Express – Venus Williams

One of the hardest hitters in the women’s game, Venus shows the mole who is boss in this ad for American Express.

8. Scwab – Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova showcases beauty and brains in this ad for Schwab.

7. Genworth Financial – Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf

The famous husband and wife team partner up in this ad for Genworth Financial.

6. Canon – Andre Agassi

Going back to 1990, they retro ad has Andre Agassi at his prime, with rock star-esq hair.

5. American Express – Andy Roddick

American Express partner leading mens tennis player Andy Roddick with retro game pong in this amusing ad.

4. American Express – Jon McEnroe

Mr McEnroe’s anger and frustration on the courts is legendary even today, but American Express appear to have found a way to calm the hothead.

3. Tesco – Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe

McEnroe might well have taken the game of tennis very seriously but it appears that he can see the funny side now that he has retired. He features alongside Bjorn Borg in this ad for British supermarket chain Tesco.

2. Dayzers Lottery – John McEnroe

McEnroe is in this one too, except for Dutch lottery Dayzers. Never one to sit on the fench, it appears the American can be impartial after all.

1. Nike – Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras

This ad goes back to 1995, with Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in their prime. The guerilla tennis ad for Nike had a cult following and displays some shows of skill from two American great of the tennis world.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good commercials out there. While many Americans can watch their Netflix-streamed seasons of Mad Men and Breaking Bad sans commercials, sports fans remain a captive audience for Madison Avenue to broadside with uber-cool ads, because sports are still best enjoyed live. The incentive to do commercials big and flashy is higher than ever before.

There are a slew of quality sports-themed ads on television right now, hawking products from insurance to the new edition of the FIFA video game franchise (but no Betfair Football or other betting ads as this is the US). Here are some of the best.

State Farm “Discount Double Check” featuring Aaron Rodgers and BJ Raji

While competitor Geico gets the bulk of the praise when it comes to insurance ads (though things are going downhill quickly), it’s State Farm that has managed to produce a series of funny ads featuring one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is a star in America’s biggest sport, but he does play in the NFL’s smallest market. Nevertheless, the ads are a good use of his personality. The most recent spot adds Packers defensive tackle BJ Raji to the mix, adding a twist to the Discount Double Check move. Drop it Raji.

FIFA 13 “Join the Club” featuring a cast of Snoop and Andrew Luck

EA Sports’ newest iteration of their immensely popular FIFA franchise comes with the requisite high-quality ads. The “Join The Club” campaign shows FIFA player entering a members-only club with some of soccer’s biggest names, with crossover stars like Snoop Lion thrown in for good measure. There’s even a cameo by the number one pick of this year’s NFL draft, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. The message here: America is all-in on FIFA.

Madden 13 featuring Ray Lewis Paul Rudd

Who knew Ravens great Ray Lewis, still going strong in his 17th year at linebacker, could be funny? Paired with Paul Rudd in a series of ads for another of EA Sports’ offering, the NFL Madden franchise, Lewis is perfectly suited for the role. Lewis has turned himself into a media darling, with actual selling power, despite a troubling brush with the law earlier in his career. Rudd’s the bigger star, but it’s Lewis who makes the ads worth watching. Play Madden because Ray says so. Ray’s your family.

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket featuring Deion Sanders and Eli Manning

Eli is the “other” Manning brother when it comes to the ad game (he actually has one more Super Bowl championship than his more famous brother Peyton), but he has an “aww shucks” quality that works well when paired with the cocksure delivery of flashy ex-NFLer Deion Sanders. The pair are little football fairies in this ad for DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package, and it’s nearly impossible to resist anything involving football players dressed as little fairies. That’s a fact.

This Is Sportscenter featuring John Clayton

The commercials for ESPN’s flagship news show, Sportscenter, have been some of the best on TV for more than a decade. The ads use the network’s talent–anchors, reporters, talking heads–to highlight the basic whimsy of the job, covering games day-in and day-out. In the world of the This Is Sportscenter ads, famous athletes mill about the cafeteria and costumed mascots type copy; it’s like a sportsfan’s Shangri-La, in the middle of Connecticut. This ad, featuring unassuming NFL reporter John Clayton, lives up the high standard set by the endless string of quality commercials that came before it. It’s wonderful because it we can easily imagine Clayton living this life in reality–the fake suit top, the Slayer, the eating Chinese in bed, the living at home with mom.

Jason Davis is a freelance writer who covers soccer and other sports for outlets like The Guardian, ESPNFC, The Score, and others. He lives in Virginia.

Here’s a look at some of the best football ads:

Nike Airport Ad

This iconic Nike ad generated excitement in the build-up to the 1998 World Cup in France, and features the favourites for the tournament Brazil and their players in an airport. The likes of Denilson, Romario, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo showcase their skills.

Brazil v Portugal – Nike Ole! Advert

Another vintage Nike ad sees superstars from Brazil and Portugal go head-to-head. Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo again star, but this time they are joined by Ronaldinho, Luis Figo and a young Cristiano Ronaldo.

Nike: Good v Evil

Edgar Davids, Luis Figo and a raft of other Nike adorning superstars showcase their skills and steal the latest Nike ball in this classic ad.

Adidas – 1

A pioneering ad for Adidas, this one sees Raul, David Beckham, Kaka and even Jermain Defoe showboating against a raft of helpless and faceless defenders.

Nike Secret Tournament

A 3×3 secret tournament, this ad had viewers on the edge of their seats in the 2000′s as the stars of the game did battle – with Eric Cantona the announcer and referee in this classic Nike ad.

Nike: Good v Evil (Classic)

An early trendsetter, this good vs evil ad from the 1990′s has Paolo Maldini, Luis Figo, Patrick Kliuvert, Ronaldo and Eric Cantona taking on a group of heavy-handed demons, and winning!

Nike Parklife Ad

This ad featuring home-grown heroes Ian Wright, Robbie Fowler, David Seaman and the mercurial Frenchman Eric Cantona promotes grassroots football, and was an immensely popular ad in the UK.

Adidas 2006 World Cup Ad

Clever and entertaining, this Adidas ad ran in the build-up to the 2006 World Cup, and featured the world’s best players at the time and past greats such as Michel Platini and Franz Beckenbauer.

Nike Write The Future Ad

Nike’s incredibly popular ad released in the build up to the 2010 World Cup. Teaser promos showed Wayne Rooney living in a trailer and highlighted football’s knack of throwing up life-defining moments.

Nike My Time Is Now Ad

Nike’s ad for the 2012 European Championships. A new addition but already a big hit.

Adidas is all in

A brand-defining, cross-discipline campaign by adidas to highlight their approach to sports. Right up there with Nike’s Write The Future ad as having one of the biggest buildups in football advertising.

ITV – It’s Good To Dream (Euro 2012)

ITV’s ad in the build up to 2012 is well-made and documents England’s international tournament track record over the years and how things could have been had things went their way.

Back in August, Sam Katz, the incumbent mayor of Winnepeg accidentally kicked a teen in the head during a charity soccer match between some adult city workers and a team of kids from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba. The video went viral and achieved semifame on the internet among Canadians. Now a clip from that video has shown up in a hilarious mock ad supposedly paid for by an unknown group called “FOPATKITFOC” or, “the Friends of People Against the Kicking in the Face of Children.” Nice.

Robert Mackey at the New York Times blog calls it the “mock Canadian attack ad of the year”.
Check out the original video of the facekick, complete with audio:

The best part… the announcer’s commentary: “Oh! He’s booted him in the face in an election year!”

In the Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode “Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens”, the gang tries to come up with various marketable products in an attempt to build the Paddy’s Pub brand.

Frank comes up with a gun that shoots alcohol directly into your mouth, Mac comes up with the dick-towel (http://www.dicktowel.com/), and Charlie comes up with the now world-famous ‘Kitten Mittons’. An excellent episode about advertising and marketing. Best episode yet. Check out the complete, uncensored Dick Towel video after the jump:

Also, if you’re interested in making your own pair of kitten “mittons”, check out this post on instructables.com:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Kitten-Mittons/

When I was a kid, there was this freaky weirdo in my class who used to wipe his nose on his sleeve. We used to call him names like “greensleeves” and “slimer” and “asshole”. Little did we know that he was using the “proper” method of sneezing and coughing. Boy, do I feel stupid now. I bet he invented this thing.

http://www.mysneezee.com/

I would imagine that after attaching such a strange contraption to your face while on a plane, one would actually find it more difficult to nap, mostly because of the uncomfortable mumblings from your fellow passengers and all the painful taserings from federal air marshals.

http://www.snazzynapper.com/

This is the new McDonald’s commercial that’s generating all the interest online. It’s called “Come As You Are”.

In it, a teenage boy sits in a McDonald’s, wistfully looking at his class picture and caressing it with his finger while talking to the obvious object of his affection on the phone. As his father approaches, he quickly hangs up and then listens to his dad tell him how much of a ladies’ man he was at his son’s age. The eventual reveal is that the son goes to an all boys school, so the object of his affection on the other end of the phone was another boy. That’s a twist ending worthy of M. Night Shyamalan.

It’s pretty bold of McDonald’s to air such an ad. The question is, is it really necessary? Did French homosexuals previously feel uncomfortable in McDonald’s? Either way, score one for MickeyDees for scooping up the huge teenage homosexual market in France.

The French website Yagg.com interviewed the brand director of McDonald’s France, Nathalie Legarlantezec, and got this explanation:

“We wanted to take a look at how French society is today. We’re very comfortable with the topic of homosexuality, there is obviously no problem with homosexuality in France today”. While the statement sounds a bit naive in a country where same sex couples cannot legally marry nor adopt, the idea was to give a positive image of the brand: “The point was not to show someone who is troubled, especially a teenager. We know it can be difficult for some people, but we wouldn’t have dared show someone who is struggling”.

The Problem: Budweiser’s sales were down 9% last year and are down another 9% this year. The brand’s been losing customer loyalty consistently over the past 5-10 years, as can be seen in their ranking among national product brands – which slipped from 16th in 2003 to 220th in 2010.

The Reason: The major beer drinking age demographic, 21-34 year olds, consists of ironic hipsters and testosterone-challenged “progressives” who are switching to microbrews, wine, and abominations like Smirnoff Ice in droves. In fact, microbreweries specifically have more than doubled their production since 2004.

What Budweiser is doing about it: Good advertising…

The beauty of this ad is in it’s simplicity, and in the fact that it embraces a sense of masculinity that has been absent in most advertising, and is definitely absent in the apparent tastes of most 21-34 year olds. Plus, aesthetically, it’s just a good commercial. It gets me excited about the weekend, makes me want to go get a six pack of Bud.

There are no gimmicks or forced humor, in fact there’s no talking at all, just rousing music and rapid fire shots of baseball, concerts, girlflesh, grilled meat, and swimming pools; and Budweiser between each shot. Plus there is a tiny touch of patriotism there at the end, which is another possible faux pas when you’re trying to appeal to the 21-34 year old self-hating American progressive.

Bud is semi-unfashionable, just like being pro-America is semi-unfashionable. But Budweiser embraces it, because America is cool, concerts are cool, and baseball games are cool – especially when badass fighter jets fly over the stadium while you’re drinking beer.

A few years ago, president of Anheuser-Busch, August Busch IV, said:
First, while beer is America’s favorite beverage with 58 percent of overall alcohol servings, we must continue to improve the image and desirability of beer. Second, we must keep beer fun and social. Third, we must grow beer occasions. And fourth, we must continue to improve our retail execution.”.