Commentary

Out to Launch

MTV International launched a trio of ads in Russian, Spanish and Korean relating to the World Cup. Odd subject matter for a music network, yet even MTV knows its viewership will wane when the World Cup takes place. A man buys and eats dog food for a trip to the World Cup in "Shto." His sister wonders why he just doesn't peel off and send the labels. The brother insists that eating dog food has done him no harm... then he humps the couch. Watch it here. Two friends watching football spot a large bug in "Chobi." One friend wants to kill it, while the other thinks it's good luck for their team. The critter turns them into snails, but their team scores. See it here. "Spooky," the adult-sized guinea pig, wields a chainsaw at his owner for neglecting to feed him while watching the World Cup. Perhaps there were performance-enhancing drugs in his water? The frightened owner orders a pizza for Spooky and sleeps with one eye open. Watch it here. La Comunidad created the ads.

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Believe the hype. Nike launched a global football campaign beginning with "Write the Future," a three-minute film that will knock the socks off fans and non-fans alike. Famous footballers Drogba, Cannavaro, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rooney and Ribery are featured both on- and off-field. Their on-field actions, whether it's victory or defeat, trigger global consequences. Take Wayne Rooney, for example. His pass to a teammate is deflected, causing England's stock market to nosedive and sending him to live in a trailer, no longer playing soccer. However, if Rooney recovers and stops his opponent from scoring, the Queen knights him, England's economy soars and baby boys are named Wayne. Who knew Ronaldo made house calls? He drops in on Homer Simpson for a quick score. See the ad here. Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam created the film.

John Smith's launched its second TV spot, "Antique," this week, starring the brand's "No Nonsense" man. In "Diner," which launched earlier this month, our spokesman truthfully answered the dreaded question: If you could date anyone, who would it be? This time around, the no-nonsense man is having a watercolor appraised. The setting is just like "Antiques Roadshow." A crowd gathers around our spokesman and art expert, who describes the painting's history. After a large build-up, the painting's worth is valued at £200. "There's a man over there that got $15,000 for a box," says a disgruntled no-nonsense man. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/London.

Target created three 15-second spots that aired during the series finale of "Lost," which combined products sold at Target with themes found throughout the series. Jack Bender, a producer and lead director on "Lost," directed the ads. The first ad shows the infamous "Lost" numbers being entered into a computer with an unreliable keyboard, while Target sells a wireless keyboard. See it here. Black boars are hunted on the island. Why not slather ribs in Kraft BBQ sauce? Watch it here. Islanders would know when the Smoke Monster is nearby if they had a smoke detector... and batteries. See it here. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the ads.

Huggies launched limited-edition Jeans diapers. Yes, you read that right. It's all so children can look stylish when crapping themselves. There's a TV version and online version of the ad, where copy is slightly altered. The voiceover in the TV spots says, "My diaper is full. Full of fashion," while the online version states, "My diaper is full. Full of chic." Both ads follow the viewpoint of two lunching women who spot something jaw-dropping: a baby walking in a dress shirt, shoes and denim diaper. Heads turn, the baby looks at himself in a mirror, then climbs into the backseat of a car. "The coolest you'll look pooping your pants" closes the ads, seen here and here. Cue Seth Myers and Amy Poehler and say it with me: "Really?" JWT New York created the ads.

Don't think that color can enhance a person's life, mind and behavior? Watch this ad for Dulux and be prepared to think differently. "Let's colour" launched online and combines a series of painting events that occurred over the past 4 months in the U.K., France, Brazil and India. Each community painting event, dubbed "Dulux Walls," tasked participants to transfer public and private spaces into something more vibrant, using Dulux paints. Looks like a job well done. The film will run worldwide on TV, starting with France. Euro RSCG London created the campaign.

Have you seen the Toyota Sienna music video "Swagger Wagon," starring the Sienna Family? Sit back and enjoy. The Sienna parents, with cameos from their children, rap about parenting skills and why rolling in a Sienna SE is better than a SUV. Shot in black and white, the video includes quotes like, "I got the pride in my ride in my swagger wagon" and "Straight owning bake sales with my cupcake skills, I'm better with the money so I handle the bills." Watch it here, created by Saatchi & Saatchi LA.

In honor of NBA Playoffs, here's a Nike Basketball ad entitled "Handshake." Puppet LeBron James sits in a barbershop, discussing the importance of a team handshake, while shots of human LeBron James performs said handshake on TV. LeBron catches flak for the handshake, with his barber saying, "I heard you gotta go to training camp three weeks early just to learn the handshake." When a fellow patron arrives, Lebron teaches him the handshake. The barber is still fascinated by the drawn-out ritual, commenting, "They're gonna need some hand sanitizer after that." Watch the ad here, created by Wieden+KennedyPortland.

Random iPhone App of the week: The NBA on ESPN launched RV Chase, a free app that allows users to collect points and trophies by checking in at basketball-related locations. Users can compete against friends and fellow ESPN members for biggest NBA fan-bragging rights. App updates can be synced with Facebook and Twitter status updates. The app can be downloaded from the App Store.

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