Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao is putting some endorsement money in the bank and poking fun at the five-year delay it took to finally sign a deal to fight Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao is the star of “It’s Really Happening,” a commercial from Foot Locker athletic stores that debuted Thursday in anticipation of next week’s welterweight showdown between Pacquiao and unbeaten US star Mayweather.
Playing off a 2014 commercial that ended with Pacquiao supposedly believing the fight was set when no deal had been struck, the latest ad features Pacquiao’s business manager telling him that an actual deal had been made.
Instead of his overjoyed reaction from the first time he thought it had been set, Pacquiao has more of a surprised demeanor, until it settles in that this time it is true, and then his elation bursts forth once more.
“Our original spot with Manny Pacquiao last November was a big hit with our customers. It parodied the well-documented opposition of the fighters to agree upon a deal,” Foot Locker marketing executive vice president Stacy Cunningham said.
“So when the two sides finally announced that a deal had been made, we saw an opportunity to follow up, tapping into the hilarity of the original spot.”