Awareness of Parkour is commonplace in the modern day. However, Parkour did not always enjoy the same level of exposure and awareness that it now has. Often the wider public has misunderstood Parkour to be acts such as trespassing and as mentioned in a previous article, Parkour sequences in movies played a major role in bringing legitimacy and recognition towards the sport.
However, another medium which brought huge awareness towards Parkour was its inclusion in television adverts that reached millions of people. This article shares some of the most memorable TV adverts that include Parkour…
- ‘Last Call for Mr. Paul’ – Redbull
We’ve all done it before, showed up slightly late for a plane journey… But ‘Mr. Paul’s’ takes a unique approach towards ensuring that he makes that plane on time. Amassing 2 million views online to date, the creative filming and the acrobatic agility shown from one of the most renowned free runners in the game is gripping:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv7J2CLBYBk
- Roger Federer – Sunrise Commercial
When he’s not winning Grand Slam Tennis Championships, Roger Federer has another hobby it seems? One of the most iconic sports figures of our generation and a helicopter jump goes hand in hand for a blockbuster advert campaign:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SjT0-VNBRk
- Parkour Golf: The Extreme Tee Time
The world of Golf and Parkour are not two sports that you would initially think would go together? But Chase Armitage’s performance in this advert campaign proves this initial assumption wrong, as he dashes to make the tea off time against a PGA pro golfer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcntR7wzzww
- Team 3Run – Thompson Cruises – “Dream Runners”
A team of Parkour athletes, an Olympic sprinter gold medallist, a cruise ship and jet skis? A few sentence summaries will never be able to do this one justice, so best just to give it a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7kZH3yXs6Q
- Ramon Dickenson – Faux Nike Free Run Commercial
An advert that expresses creatively what the beauty of the Parkour movement is all about. The labelling of the moves on the screen during this advert helped bring understanding towards the technicalities of Parkour to a large audience, through this Nike commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6a0QMIkqO0
- The Unbelievable Game – Pepsi Max
The worlds of Freestyle Football and Parkour combine for this epic advert. The inflatable pitch makes this footage seem like a real-life video game. 5 million views for a reason, bound to put a smile on your face:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkUcFF4VmO4
If you have any more personal favourites, then please do add the titles of the adverts to the comments below….