Ads for hockey have been around for decades and like anything else in the game, a few stand out above the rest.
The ads for the game have gone for humor, tugged on the heart-strings emotions and have been just straight-up weird.
But these 10 are among the better ones that have aired:
Nike Hockey: Don’t Fence Me In
Remember when Nike had a hockey division? In the 1990s and 2000s, Nike had some of the best marketing and it included a few NHL names.
This 2000s ad with Markus Naslund and Ilya Kovalchuck was by far one of their bests. The two stars decided that the puck leaving the ice surface doesn’t mean that the game needed to stop, with the two going through the streets, a kitchen, and a hotel before getting the action going again.
Editor’s Note: Special shoutout to the incredible Nike goalie commercials.
Boston Bruins: Never Leave Early
In the early 2010s, the Boston Bruins wanted to remind their fans that you should never leave a game early to beat traffic by very violent means. The Bruins used their mascot in a few more ads but the rest were far less aggressive than this one.
McDonalds: Mini Star Sticks
Most know Darren Pang as the shortest goalie of the NHL’s modern era, but thanks to McDonald’s’, we were introduced to one even smaller: JC Petite. The lines in the ad may have been more memorable than the actual sticks that McDonald’s actually sold at the restaurants.
Lays : Mark Messier Betcha Can’t Eat Just One
“Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” was a catchphrase that lasted for years with the Lays brand. For a long time, Mark Messier was the biggest face of the campaign.
How is no one else trying to get Messier away from the kid who had a seemingly endless list of memorabilia for him to sign?
ESPN: Gordie Howe This Is Sportscenter
ESPN’s “This is Sportscenter” ads had the biggest athletes in the world coming through Bristol most of the time in full uniform. Did it matter if the players were active or retired? Absolutely not, which made these ads even funnier.
The late, great Gordie Howe showing up only to be ignored by Keith Olbermann and showing his displeasure for it is one of the better ones.
NHL: No Words
We already know that the Stanley Cup is one of the hardest trophies to win in sports, but this ad is brilliant. It shows just how much emotion goes into finally reaching hockey’s pinnacle in a simple fashion.
From the biggest names to Brett Hull, Mark Messier and others, once you’ve won it, it can be overwhelming to explain what it truly means to win something that everyone works for years in the game to finally reach.
McDonalds: Wayne Gretzky and Mats Sundin Big Mac commercial
McDonalds gets a second mention on this list but it’s well deserved. The fast food giant put a hockey spin on the basketball commercial that saw Larry Bird and Michael Jordan battling for a Big Mac.
The hockey version of horse that saw Wayne Gretzky and Mats Sundin battling it out for lunch was just as absurd as the basketball one yet still charming and hilarious.
NHL: Roadtrip commercial
What happens when you let the stars from every team in the NHL left to their own devices in a hotel?
You get one of the best hockey ads ever made! Between Alex Ovechkin ordering enough food for Sidney Crosby’s room to feed an entire province or Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo pranking Marty Turco, there are gems in every bit of this.
Dunkin Donuts: Inside The Bubble With Dunkin
Dunkin brought many back to their childhoods when it came to a commercial involving Bubble Hockey.
TJ Oshie and David Pastrnak lending their voices to a CGI ad is a nice touch.
CCM: Alex Ovechkin U+ Crazy Light Skate
I would have loved to be in the meeting room for when this commercial was pitched. Alex Ovechkin’s head, just his head asking a student if he got the U+ Crazy Light Skates? Weed wasn’t legal back then.
One of the more unique ads you’ll see in hockey but it also shows off the personality of Alex The Great, sans most of his body.
