I know this, and i like the Wiggins one, as it came on the back of all his success so everyone and his dog knew who he was.
Webber is a retired, not particularly successful F1 driver.

Aparrently lots of ManU players watch RL. Get Giggs et al. on sky sports saying how they love it and that they could never play it etc and see the interest grow.

Of course well known premier league players would be great but maybe they wouldn't do it? or at least wouldn't do it without being paid a lot.

Webber is a very well known sports star and most if not all Sky Sports subscribers will know who he is. The ad works, it's in keeping with last years ad. Just sacking together a 30 second big hit/try package (you can't really fit that many in in 30 seconds) would be lazy and unimaginative advertising.

If I'd have made it, weber driving round Monte Carlo in a formula one car, speedster winger (does SL have any?) overtakes him on the straight, he rounds a bend and is stopped ironman style by western an or Morley or so e other hard forward. Finishes with weber saying, and I thought my sport was tough, or something. With cgi these days wouldn't have cost a mint. In fact I'd do similar scenarios with top sportspeople and have a running campaign for two years. I'd have spent 1/2the new sponsorship deal on it.

Marketing and RL strange bed fellows make!

Exactly!
Anything with a but of action to grab the attention

Webber suffered having Vettel as a teammate at Red Bull who was favoured all the time. There are plenty of Man Utd players as you say who are RL fans such as Giggs, Shrek, Ferdinand and Roy Keane is a fan too I think.

Its not a Rugby League advert. Its a Sky Sports advert.

I really like the premier sports advert for the 2014 NRL season.

No that wouldn't have cost much at all - honest.

Also that just sounds a tad contrived and cheesy to me.

I honestly thing you are reading far too much into this it's not a RFL advert it's a short promo for the start if the season using a very well know sport star which might just grab the attention of non RL fans.

Not all advertising has to be in your face, especially on a channel where there is constant action being broadcast a simple talking head ad can be far more effective

I think Giggsy would be happy to do it. I've seen him asked about RL in interviews a few times and he always speaks highly of it and tells of his father playing for Swinton(?).

During the RLWC, some Australians went to Carrington and met Giggys and a couple of others. it's on the RLWC Youtube channel.

Maybe the good Dr will get him to do an add to get Manchester fans to watch Salford

I'm sure 'Giggsy' loves RL and wants to promote it, maybe he's not allowed for contractural reasons? He's a current premier league player with other advertising commitments it may not be as simple as 'Giggsy like RL let's get him to do it'

don't most players agents own some percent of image rights and maybe they would want to be paid for it?

Of course they do, but I very much mark Webber did this for free. He'll have been on as much if not more that a premiership player

honestly I'm not an F1 fan by any stretch but seriously they would expect to be paid more than giggsy or rooney?

A top F1 driver earns a very similar amount to a top Premiership footballer, so I wouldn't be too surprised.

Who cares anyway? It came out of Sky Sports' budget, not the RFL's.