As the world cup kicks off, England had their first game on Saturday night and in true form managed to have the nation in states of tension, frustration and at times embarrassment. Robert Green, England’s chosen goal keeper, managed to let a goal in that even I could have saved and in the wake of his embarrassment, UK Advertising Agencies have told him that he should have a fairly good career in advertising, presumably being the butt of his own joke.

So, who else has managed to make a career in advertising?

Gareth Southgate, Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce who all famously missed penalties in crucial matches gained roles in the Pizza Hut advertising campaign. Southgate was seen with a bag over his head in the restaurant whilst trying to eat a pizza, trying to hide his identity from fellow diners.

Gary Lineker was a household name for his football abilities and clean record on the pitch and become the face of Walkers crisps in ironic roles as Mr. Bad Guy, stealing crisps off unsuspecting crisp eaters in a series of very successful adverts.
Eric Cantona retired early from an extremely successful football career playing for Manchester United and his country, to become an actor. Along the way he starred in a fair amount of adverts, the most famous being his Nike commercials which featured a whole host of world class players in a dungeon playing football, he was the dungeon master hosting the tournament.

It will be interesting to see which players sign up to a UK Advertising Agent and start to appear in adverts as a result of their success or demise in the World Cup.