Simply the worst! NRL is forced to make major last-minute edits to cringe-worthy and virtue-signalling new TV advert featuring Tina Turner's iconic footy anthem after fans point out a series of embarrassing blunders
- NRL's new ad campaign launched on Monday night, sparking public outrage
- Polarising TV ad features a series of editing blunders and controversial scenes
- Simply the Best ad pays homage to iconic 1990 campaign starring Tina Turner
Red-faced NRL officials have been forced to make last-minute edits to its new television ad to promote the 2020 season after a series of embarrassing blunders originally went unnoticed.
The two minute ad divided rugby league fans and sent social media into meltdown when it aired for the first time on Monday night, 11 days out from the start of the season.
The new Simply the Best ad to Tina Turner's chart-topping hit pays homage to the league's most famous ad of all time and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic campaign starring the US singer.
A scene from the ad showing Latrell Mitchell at the beach with an Aboriginal flag draped around him has sparked public outrage because people have claimed it is divisive
A young Jake and Tom Trbojevic in the new NRL ad dated 1996 - the year Tom was born
Eagled-eyed fans were quick to notice several blunders- including footage of Manly brothers Jake and Tom Trbojevic playing in the backyard, which is dated from 1996.
'Hey NRL, just on your new ad for 2020, you do know Tom Trbojevic [was] born 2 October 1996,' a Sea Eagles fan tweeted.
The embarrassing blunder is followed by a voiceover referring to the bitter Super League war in the mid 1990s.
'As the Super League war tears the code apart,' the since deleted voiceover states.
There's yet another blunder in footage from the massive protest march from South Sydney fans in November 2000 after their club was kicked out of the NRL when the competition was reduced to 14 teams.
The ad shows a fan at the protest wearing a Rabbitohs jumper with Sutton emblazoned across the back.
Rabbitohs champion John Sutton did not make his debut for South Sydney until four years later.
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Don't mention the war! References to the bitter Super League war have since been omitted
An earlier version of the ad sent to news outlets showed scenes of Bulldogs legend Hazem El Masri's final match for the club.
The scene begins with the words 'Belmore 2010 when his last game was in 2009, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Other fans slammed the ad for too being politicised after scenes of Latrell Mitchell draped in an Aboriginal flag and the famous footage of women's State of Origin couple Karina Brown and Vanessa Foliaki kissing after a match last year sparked controversy.
US rapper Macklemore's pre-match tribute to same-sex marriage at the 2017 grand final is also featured - as fans criticised his inclusion given his tenuous association with rugby league.
Footage from the protest march in 2000 shows a Souths fan with the name Sutton emblazoned on the back- four years before club legend John Sutton made his debut
'We love the footy to get away from politics and advocacy nonsense, and we loved the original because it was centred on footy! Ruined,' one man tweeted.
Today host Karl Stefanovic also weighed into the debate.
'How do you unite the game when you have a picture of Latrell Mitchell on his own with the Aboriginal flag around him? That's not unifying, that's divisive,' he said on Tuesday's morning's show.
There were some fans who defended the controversial ad.
'The negative few who are criticising the NRL's 'Still Simply The Best campaign need to have a look in the mirror. Mitchell draped in an Aboriginal Flag, Foliaki and Brown kissing, and showing Macklemore isn't political correctness, it's called 'progress,' one fan posted on social media.
Another added: 'People just don't get the meaning of inclusion. It's not 'making a political statement', it's telling everyone they're welcome to being rugby league fans. The old white straight males triggered by it need to realise not every NRL fan (or potential fan) is exactly like them.'
Turner met with NRL stars, dressed in jerseys, played footy on the beach and danced onstage in the NRL's iconic 1990 advert. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the iconic ad
The ad also features memorable moments from the last 30 years- including Darren Albert's try in the dying seconds to win Newcastle their first premiership in 1997, Wests Tigers' Benji Marshall's magic flick pass in the 2005 grand final, South Sydney breaking their 43 year premiership drought in 2014 and Johnathan Thurston's extra-time one pointer in 2015 to win a maiden premiership for the North Queensland Cowboys.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg defended the new ad, despite the blunders, controversy and public backlash.
'This campaign celebrates the best on and off field moments in our game over the last 30 years and acknowledges some of the challenges we have overcome,' he said.
'It also reflects on the impact of rugby league in Australian communities and how our game, like no other, brings communities and cultures together.'
'We have always stood for inclusion and the campaign addresses some of the most important social issues.'
The ad also shows Karina Brown and Vanessa Foliaki kissing after a women's State of Origin game last year- which has sparked backlash from conservative fans
