just add maple syrup

Once again Nike gets it right. This time for the 2010 World Cup. I haven't seen a sports ad that truly captures the impact of a game like this in years. The last campaign I can think of that comes close is the Sports Illustrated 'You may not get it, but our 6 millions subscribers do' campaign. That campaign may get an edge as it was a print campaign that managed to capture all the suspense and drama of sports without any live action, but you still have to give full credit to the way this ad covers every imaginable impact that the World Cup could have, even if it's a tad exaggerated, which is part of its charm. Still, I don't think Rooney will be living in a trailer if all goes awry in a month's time, but considering that the English love their footie like Canadians love our hockey, it's not completely impossible, unlike England winning the World Cup. Oops.

Wieden + Kennedy do it again. Love the technique. What a creative way to meet the brief (which I imagine was along the lines of 'show our entire range of products, focusing on the Civic') while producing a music video that you have to see again and again to take it all in. Great track selection (supposedly it's a remix of 'Atlas' by Battles) and mix of SFX. My faith in creative advertising is restored.

Looks like I wasn't the only one to cringe at the AIDS 'Mass Murderer' campaign. Check out the Campaign article here .

Polished Up Dirty Original Oopsies. It looks like Microsoft Poland got caught using Photoshop's lesser known white-out tool, replacing a black man from one of their own ads with a white man. What's even more hilarious/outrageous is that the ads are all about being empowered by Microsoft. Ah, irony, how we love thee. Read the article here .

Guitar Hero has taken over the world as one of the hottest video games in years. This past weekend, I got on the bandwagon as a good friend and I strapped on our controllers and rocked along to the songs of everyone from Pat Benatar to Twisted Sister. Quick observation: It's surprising how much more open-minded you are towards a song when you strip away the image of the group behind it. I thought I hated Twisted Sister's music. Turns out I just hate them. Anyway, a few songs in and I was already feeling like a rock god. I'm sure millions of Guitar Hero gamers around the world have had the same feeling. Thanks to Zippo for putting us in our place with this great ad. Check out the rest of the campaign here .

Evian's latest ad, "Roller Babies" has been popping up on facebook lately, so I was figured it must be worthy of all the attention. Nope. It's just another gimmicky babies-acting-like-adults spot, banking on people's "Awwww" reflex. The message is "Live young" - taken to the extreme. In my mind, they kind of overshot their goal. I'm not sure anyone really wants to feel like they have no control over their bowel movements, no matter how soft their butt may be. And the CGI is pretty dreadful too. They really should have cut the production down to a 30-second spot so they could spend a little more money making the babies look less creepy. I have to think that a few expecting women out there are looking down at their belly with some unease after seeing this debacle.

The written word is dying; at least the long-winded word. Along with magazines and broadsheet newspapers, long copy ads are struggling to find an audience. It's not surprising, especially considering the rising tide of communication mediums like twitter and facebook. Even most emails rarely pass the 200-word mark nowadays. And for good reason. There's too much to get done. There's never enough time. And the last thing you want to do is spend your fleeting free time reading some self-satisfying sales pitch from an overpaid advertising "writer". And then this ad comes along. Long live long copy. Creative Credit Agency: Leo Burnett Company , Toronto Client: The Bessie Awards Show 2007 Creative Directors: Judy John, Israel Diaz ...

At the height of his fame, Michael Jackson was the king of pop music and pop endorsement deals. Pepsi paid him millions to entice a new generation of sugar water drinkers like me to choose their fizzy stuff over Coke's fizzy stuff. And they weren't the only ones. Check out this rare Japanese spot he did for Suzuki scooters back in the 80's. (Is it just me or does it look like he's reading his four-word line off a cue card - maybe even phonetically? I think someone needed to learn his ABC's.) R.I.P.

This is a transit ad I saw on the Tube today. My apologies for the poor quality. I took the photo with my iPhone from afar. To get any closer would have meant crawling over a group of girls and I really don't feel like being deported on sexual harassment charges. Or any charges, for that matter. Anyway, it's an ad promoting the liberating culture of Copenhagen, Denmark, which encourages Londoners to "Free the Dane in you." If you can't tell, freeing the Dane in you seems to involve wearing a white robe and holding orange slices over your ears like an escaped mental patient who has just stolen their pyschiatrist's heart-smart breakfast. Also, the red "starburst" in which the sub-headline is placed seems to resemble a splatter of blood more than anything. Maybe this is a subtle reference to the Tourism Denmark logo, which is a heart with cross-sections cut out of it? Either way, the last thing this ad does is inspire me to be a free spirit in Denmark. ...

Found this on American Copywriter, so I feel it's only right to quote them here: "Genius." Truly.