A YouTube video, reshared by VHS Dumpster Drive after many years now, is going viral on the Internet. This video is a TV commercial for Dunlop tennis rackets and the biggest player in their roster back then, was John McEnroe. The ad originally aired in 1994.
The commercial was also a way for Dunlop to celebrate its association with McEnroe for their long-standing association. In this advertisement, it starts with the narrator sharing a fact about McEnroe.
He said, “John McEnroe won 115 titles with Dunlop rackets. How will our new revelation affect his performance.”
At the start of the video, one could also see that it was the ‘Five Nations Cup’, which was the set-up for the ad. McEnroe was fabulous in the commercial, saying “Bless you” to the cameraman, who sneezed. The American tennis star was also seen properly performing the service motion in it. His rockstar-like attitude and acting in it was also laudable.
Such was his impact in this advertisement that it continues to garner views and likes years after it first aired.
This 1994 advertisement wasn’t the first one which McEnroe did for them. In 1981, he did an advertisement for Dunlop that was published in the El Grafico magazine. It was with the Dunlop Maxply Fort racket. He mostly used the Mxply Fort but also had a Maxply McEnroe customized racket.
Dunlop HM 200G is also one of his rackets from the now Japanese-owned brand. A lot of his rackets, such as the Dunlop McEnroe, Dunlop Maxply McEnroe, Vintage Dunlop John McEnroe, Dunlop McEnroe Boron Comp, etc, are all available on eBay today.
Other tennis players on the Dunlop roster apart from John McEnroe
Tennis is an old sport and Dunlop is said to have been associated with the game for nearly 100 years now.
“For more than 130 years, this love of the game is what’s driven us,” goes a line in the Dunlop official website.
In 1956, Lew Hoad won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon using the Dunlop Maxply racket. Rod Laver’s ‘Golden Slam’ in 1962 was achieved using Dunlop Maxply rackets, and so was his 2nd Golden Slam in 1969.
1981 was when John McEnroe came on board. Steffi Graf, Thomas Johansson, and Amelie Mauresmo are some of the other tennis players who actively used Dunlop rackets throughout their careers.
