Despite being in the twilight of his career, Dan Carter is still a marketer's dream.
He comes across as a fairly nice bloke, is well-spoken, well recognised and easy on the eye.
Yet Healtheries, a New Zealand based health-food and supplement manafacturer, have somehow managed to make him look likea walking, talking, cringe-a-thon in their new probiotica advertisements.
"I enjoy all kinds of food these days," Carter says with a smirk while glancing at a snail.
"And I know gut health is key to supporting digestion and well being, so that's why I use Healthfood, Probiotica 50 million."
Right. The words aren't great but it's the delivery which really steals the show. A twisted mix between happy, and being held hostage.
Check them out:
The ad highlights the difficulties of using sports stars in ad campaigns. The athletes provide pulling power with their achievements and lend their credibility to the brand; but their performances on screen very rarely matches their output on the field.
New Zealand has a long, proud history of awkward product endorsements by sports men and women. Kieran Read, Steve Hansen and Richie McCaw have all recently offered wooden, un-inspired performances, while Manu Vatuvei, Steve Price, and Simon Mannering came off looking second best to Hawaiian t-shirts in this Sky TV spot from a few years ago.
And, of course there was 'not that Bondy'. An ANZ commercial that almost accrued a cult satirical following, due to its terrible acting and over exposure during the 2015 cricket World Cup.
