Pittsburgh sports celebrities have become some of North America’s most popular and beloved product endorsers over the years.
Steelers tough guy Joe Greene hit the nation right in the feels by tossing his jersey to an adoring young fan in exchange for a Coca-Cola in the iconic 1979 national commercial. Golfing legend Arnold Palmer pitched everything from luxury automobiles to rental cars to motor oil. Even Sidney Crosby worked a drive-thru window at Tim Horton’s with his buddy Nathan MacKinnon.
Not everyone can operate on a national level. It doesn’t mean, however, athletes can’t leave a memorable or humorous or cringe-inducing mark on their audiences.
The staff at DK Pittsburgh Sports recently was asked to submit some of their favorite local commercials. With the Pirates in offseason hibernation and the Penguins in a holding pattern, we thought now might be a good time to take subscribers on a journey down Madison Avenue or, in our case, Bigelow Boulevard.
Some of these spots are gems. Others are, well, sequestered to the back pages of YouTube for a reason. Enjoy.
WET AND WILD
In 1985, Kennywood Park was searching for a follow-up to its spot featuring Jack Lambert on a rollercoaster. It proved to be “The Godfather II” of local commercials — a rare sequel that eclipses the original.
Marc Advertising convinced Lambert to join broadcaster Myron Cope to shoot an ad for Kennywood’s latest attraction, Raging Rapids. The commercial was filmed in Virginia because Kennywood was still preparing to debut the ride. In a 30-second span, Jack "Splat" was transformed into Jack "Splash."
How did advertisers talk the ferocious linebacker into teaming up with Cope?
“Money,” said former Steelers public relations wizard Joe Gordon. “It was typical of Lambert. He was complaining about going through all the water and everything and Myron turns to him and says, ‘Splat,’ it’s like stealing. Easy money.”
The commercial ranks among the best involving Pittsburgh sports celebrities. And, it sure beats peddling kielbasa at Subway.
FLOWER IN FULL BLOOM
Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC was looking for someone to showcase the lighter side of fatherhood.
The hospital could not have found a better candidate than former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The 2016 spot also included Fleury’s wife, Veronique, and their daughter, Scarlett.
Fleury dons his catching glove while changing Scarlett and disposes of the dirty diaper with his goalie stick.
“I thought it was a brilliant commercial,” said longtime Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald, who also worked in the team’s marketing department. “It showed a side of Marc-Andre Fleury that a lot of us were aware of. I think the fans appreciated him as a person and a nice guy and a character. I think what you also saw is he’s a good human being.”
BRINGING THE HEAT
Much-traveled Oliver Perez spent four seasons with the Pirates. He finished his time in Pittsburgh with a 21-28 record and a 4.59 ERA.
Among his most memorable contributions from 2003-06 was this commercial in which he demonstrated his, um, culinary skills.
‘WOW’
Nowadays, it’s extremely rare for high-profile athletes to appear in local commercials. There just isn’t the financial incentive to go in front of a camera and perform in an unnatural environment.
But in the late 1980s, Colussy Chevrolet managed to persuade budding superstar Mario Lemieux to work alongside a pint-size pitchman.
“Mario was happy to do those commercials,” Steigerwald said. “They weren’t the greatest produced commercials in the history of television, but Mario was willing to put his image out there in exchange for the deal he had with Colussy.
“To look back on it now, it was really comical. Mario became so big that he would never do a commercial for an individual car dealer again. It just shows you where he was in the trajectory of his career and where hockey was in the 1980s.”
HEAVY-HANDED SALES PITCH
James Harrison is nowadays seen marauding through households, tackling FanDuel consumers like he did that poor inebriated Browns supporter in Cleveland years ago.
But the former Steelers linebacker did shoot some local ads for Richard Bazzy and Shults Ford during his playing days. Just the sight of Harrison launching into a car dealer is enough to give Colt McCoy flashbacks.
'CLOWN PRINCE'
Gary Rissling played on some forgettable Penguins’ teams in the years before the franchise was lucky enough to draft Lemieux. But the diminutive winger kept fans entertained with his willingness to fight almost any opponent. He also was a godsend to the club’s marketing department, appearing in multiple commercials to promote upcoming games.
The sound quality in this video is poor, but all you really need is the expressions of Rissling to keep from hitting the stop button. As an added bonus, viewers get to see a baby-faced Mike Lange.
“It was my feeling that one thing the Penguins never did was use their players in commercials,” Steigerwald said. “I thought it would be a cool approach. I thought hockey players were pretty entertaining characters and I wanted to make heroes out of them.
“Gary was a real character. He was the crown prince of hockey, who was really funny and made hilarious faces. He fought all the time even though he wasn’t a big guy. He was just a scrapper.”
Added former Penguins forward Colby Armstrong: “I just died watching his commercials. Rissling is a legend to me.”
DIESEL FUELED
James Harden isn’t the only bearded athlete who can hawk merchandise.
Former Steelers defensive lineman Brett Keisel partnered with Diehl Automotive Group for a spot best remembered for the big man’s dance moves. It’s unlikely JuJu Schuster-Smith will be calling The Diesel for any TikTok cameos.
PAY DIRT
Hines Ward is among the most fearless receivers to play in the NFL. We hope the Super Bowl MVP was paid handsomely to go over the middle for his appearance in this car ad.
At least he played the role of the straight pitchman.
A (SUPER)STAR IS BORN
This commercial, starring Max Talbot, was so wacky we wrote an entire story about it.
In 2007, A&L Motor Sales was looking to make a commercial to celebrate its role as a new Penguins’ sponsor. The high-end car dealers had formed a relationship with Talbot, Armstrong, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar. So, they decided to make a television ad together.
That’s when Talbot decided to channel his inner-McLovin from “Superbad.” The rest is local TV commercial history.
The zany spot, filled with awkward acting, was lampooned on Jay Leno’s late-night talk show. But the hockey cast got the last laugh as the spot became a cult hit around Pittsburgh. Talbot recorded four A&L commercials in all, hyping his “Superstar treatment.”
“One thing about those Penguins teams is they were a loose group,” Steigerwald said. “They had a certain camaraderie about them because they were so young. They were all in the same boat. They embraced it as a team and as individuals.”
The good news is Talbot and his former teammates never have to worry about being pegged as the worst actors in a local car commercial. Alexander Ovechkin retired the title years ago.
If we forget your favorite local ad -- we were unable to find some on YouTube -- leave a response in the comments section below. Thanks for playing along.
