37) Write the Future

On Thursday, Nike unveiled their World Cup spot, calling it, "among the best we've ever done." No small claim coming from the brand that's become synonymous with sports marketing.

The ad (by Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam) uses top of the line soccer talent - Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan and Ronaldinho - to hook sports fans and World Cup fanatics. For the rest of us, it illustrates the widespread effect professional sports now has on the world. Its fan culture, the celebrity status, its contribution to pop culture. The bit about Ronaldo, the movie, starring Gael Garcia Bernal kills me.

Yes, it is long. But its three minutes speak truthfully. By going beyond sports and the game itself, the spot comments on the connectivity of our lives. It shows the spread of influence from a world stage, how we communicate, and how we use media to create and perpetuate culture.

PS - How excited does it get you for the World Cup? Without even mentioning it once! (Nike is not a sponsor of the World Cup, and therefore cannot mention it by name.)