Comcast launched a pair of TV spots yesterday promoting the benefits of its XFINITY cable versus satellite TV. And if you’ve ever had a pet that had to wear an annoying cone on its head, these ads have you empathizing with their predicament. A couple is about to watch a movie on “Date Night” when it starts raining, causing the man’s satellite dish to drop its signal. The woman thinks of better ways to occupy their time, but the satellite dish on the man’s head gets in the way and spoils the mood. Watch it here. “Stakeout” shows what not to do when trying to be inconspicuous. One cop is a “dishhead,” and when his partner tells him to duck, he hits his car horn, blowing his cover. See it here. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners created the campaign.

It’s no secret that soda is full of empty calories and too much sugar, but I had no idea how much effort it took to work off one 20 oz drink. Try walking 3 miles -- from Manhattan’s Union Square to Brooklyn for New Yorkers. That’s the gist of the NYC Dept. of Health’s latest TV campaign for “Pouring on the Pounds.” Last year’s campaign showed a man drinking fat (it was gross) and now the man is trying to walk off the fat. The man begins in Union Square, and he walks until he reaches the Brooklyn Bridge, exhausted and winded. And that’s just a 20 oz soda. Imagine if he had dessert, too? See it here. The next ad, seen here, explains that a child who drinks one soda a day eats 50 pounds of sugar a year. bigMETHOD created the campaign.

The Royal Canadian Mint launched two spots to celebrate Canada’s National Parks and the Boreal Forrest coins. “Boreal” highlights the Boreal Forrest, Canada’s largest ecosystem, depicting the wealth of plant, water and animal life contained in the region. See it here. “Parks Canada” highlights the founding of the world’s first national parks system in Canada a century ago, illustrating what life was like for early Canadians. Watch it here. Y&R Toronto created the ads, produced by Crush.

ESPN asked and Pittsburgh Steelers fans delivered. Think of this as the roaming gnome, but with a bright yellow towel. Steelers fans were asked to bring their Terrible Towels on vacation and submit video and pictures online to show that some Terrible Towels have more frequent flier miles than average travelers. Fans wave their towels proudly atop the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, the Statue of Liberty and inside a shark cage. “IT’S NOT CRAZY, IT’S SPORTS,” closes the ad, seen here, and created by Wieden+Kennedy New York.

McDonald’s French fries are good, but I haven’t had them in years. Reading “Fast Food Nation” tainted my love for them by telling me what they’re made of.  In “Fishing,” a young boy and his grandfather are fishing in a lake, and eating their McDonald’s lunch. When the boy decides to use a fry as fish bait, two businessmen and a cyclist jump off the dock to retrieve the fry. Soggy fries? I don’t think so. Why not grab the kid’s leftovers atop the cooler? See the ad here, created by Leo Burnett Chicago and produced by O Positive.

The latest ad for the Droid Razr reminds me of a Michael Bay movie: there’s action, explosions and no plot. A man is fed information by a young boy that sets him on a motorcycle chase to find an everything-proof car transporting precious cargo. The motorcyclist breaks into the vehicle and removes a large box. Back at an undisclosed location, he opens the box and finds a Droid Razr. They ship cargo like Sephora does: tiny products inside a huge box. See the ad here, created by mcgarrybowen and produced by Finger Music & Sound Design. 

Mess with the tuba and you get the sousaphone. Capri Sun's latest spot, "Sousaphone Simon" shows the consequences of “disrespecting the pouch” by dropping it in a band member’s tuba. The end result is, Simon becomes a sousaphone. Capri Sun packages are sensitive. See the ad here, mixed by Tom Jucarone of Sound Lounge.

Random iPhone App of the week: Not only did Volkswagen Canada and Red Urban launch an online and outdoor campaign to promote the Beetle in Canada, they created an app that uses augmented reality to have a virtual Beetle interact with the outdoor and online ads. Cool stuff. The AR animations could be seen on billboards in Toronto’s Dundas Square and transit shelters throughout Vancouver and Toronto. Animations show the Beetle launching itself through billboards, jumping off  a ramp that “emerges” from the side of a building, and smashing through transit shelters after racing through a tunnel coming out from behind the shelter. The app is available for free in the App Store.