Roger Federer took out Andy Roddick over the weekend, to notch his fifteenth major championship, and Nike put together a pretty cool ad to honor the accomplishment. Here is the spot featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and John McEnroe....

Anytime you rock some mid-90s R&B in an ad, I'm going to pay attention. But when you ruin it with the stupid Kobe puppet....I just turn it off. The idea was clever at first, but hopefully we never have to see these dumb puppets again....

Well they don't exactly "do" Sports Center per se, but rather sing the intro song as annoyingly as possible for 20 seconds. For some reason Nike managed to get the Kobe and Lebron puppets onto the Sports Center set, and this is what they came up with....

While some people think these spots are hilarious, I still can't quite figure them out. Sure they're entertaining, but they're not really selling anything specific, which is rare. I guess Nike is just banking on a Lakers-Cavs Finals matchup like the rest of the world.

The Nike Puppets Do Sports Center (Intentional Foul)

When I first saw this commercial, I thought I somehow stumbled on an episode of Crank Yankers, but it's actually a new Nike commercial which features puppet versions of Kobe and Lebron. Via First Cuts....

Those little guys are pretty spot on, if you ask me. However, I have no idea what the commercial is about. Is Nike just telling us that the Playoffs are here, a month into them, or are they saying that Kobe Bryant doesn't care about said Playoffs? I'm confused.

LeBron Is Excited To Be In The Playoffs, But It's Old Hat To Kobe (First Cuts)

Kobe has another "Ankle Insurance" spot on Youtube out today, and while the first one was entertaining, I think this one bests the original. Kobe first talks about the "One Thousand, One Hundred Million and Two, One Hundred Thousand" ankles that will be broken and then, playground legend Deion Wilcox, explains how to file a claim and "get back on your feet". Via NESW Sports....

Can Nike do any wrong when it comes to commercials? Just about everything they've put out in the last year has either been breathtaking ("Leave Nothing" spots) or hilarious.

File a “Broken Ankle Claim” with Kobe, Nike Commercial (NESW Sports)

Everyone knows about my irrational hate for Lebron James. A lot of it has to do with him killing my Wizards during every Playoff series, but a lot of it also has to do with the constant hype of the Cav, and the fact that (up until this year) he's lazy at times on the court. With that said, I've always thought the powder thing he does before games is original, and pretty badass, but not everyone agrees.

Kevin Ding, of the OCRegister, is now chastising NIKE for sending the message that it's okay to ruin his laptop. From the OCReg via BDL via TSB....

"As stylish as James' "chalk" Nike commercial is both in vision and sound, it sends a terrible message. You have no idea just how horrible that 'chalk' is. (It’s actually a rosin mixture — this is the one the Lakers use — to keep players’ hands dry for gripping the ball.) The powdery stuff gets everywhere — especially in sports writers’ drinks when sitting courtside and even worse ... in laptop keyboards. It’s a nightmare. So boo on James (and Kevin Garnett) for throwing that crap into the air. And kudos to Bryant, who gets his and bends at the waist to lower his hands toward the floor, discreetly dispersing it with slow claps that keep it out of harm's way."

Wahhhhhhhh! First of all, powder isn't going to ruin your laptop. Second, if you know it's coming, just shut the top of the thing for 5 seconds. I know a lot of people whine about all sorts of different thing, I too do my fair share (see tag: Lebron James), but this is just a tad annoying.

LeBron’s “chalk” is a silent killer of defenseless laptops (OC Regsiter)
Suicide Lines (Ball Don't Lie)
Writer Wants Nike To Stop Encouraging Laptop-Killing Pregame 'Chalk' Tossing (The Sporting Blog)

This actually debuted last Friday, but it's so awesome that I wasn't about to skip over it. Nike is back with another edition of it's "Leave Nothing" campaign, this time featuring Troy Polamalu and LaDanian Tomlinson. This one is titled "Fate" and it takes you all the way from the two star's respective births, to them meeting head to head on the Football field....

That's just too good. They honestly need to make about forty of these and turn them into their own 30 minute show. Just air them over and over again. I mean, the part when Young Troy jumps on that table and destroys it was just awesome. I still liked the Shawne Merriman-Steven Jackson one better, but they really can't go wrong with these.

LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu Are Good at Football (Fanhouse)
Shawne Merriman And Steven Jackson Are Time Travelers (Awful Announcing)

Esquire recently got a hold of one of Lebron's new agents, and childhood friend, Maverick Carter (one-fourth of James' LRMR management team) for a feature on the "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century" to talk about the marketing of his client and what's on the horizon. The 26-year old mogul is much more than a charity case and a friend that Lebron gave a job to and some of the answers he gives to the mag are almost a completely new way to think about promoting an athlete as a brand. There are talks of a possible ABC sitcom, a Buzz Bissinger written book and a story of how fun it is to turn down $10 million, but the whole thing is worth a read. Here's a brief section of the article in Esquire....

"Absolutely. If it's not AUTHENTIC to LeBron, then definitely not. We don't do sponsorships. See, sponsorship is" -- he points to the State Farm logo on one of the bike-a-thon banners -- "State Farm pays, then they get to put their names on it. Partnership is: State Farm pays to put their name on it, but they also bring something to the table. Instead of just money."

"The biggest deal we've said no to," Maverick says, scratching his chin and considering the options, "was $2.5 million a year. Now that's per year. Four years. Per year. It wasn't necessarily that the brand wasn't right. It just wasn't the right time for LeBron to do it."

To fully inhabit the future, LRMR is occupying every media medium and fanning out its breadth like a many-necked cobra. In each medium, they are partnering with someone who is tried-and-true. They are developing a sitcom with ABC based on LeBron; they are in talks with H. G. "Buzz" Bissinger about writing a book. (Maverick says, "You know him, he did Friday Night Lights.") They are releasing a documentary called, More Than a Game. Maverick's very excited about this one. He says, "It's true, it's real life, it's three hundred hours of footage -- the director was embedded in LeBron's high school world. If you got the best writer in Hollywood, you couldn't write a better script."

There are very few articles about Lebron that break any new ground these days, but this could possibly be the greatest glimpse inside "Camp James". I thought it impossible for anyone or anything to overtake the "Jordan" brand within Sports, but after reading that, it's not out of the question. When you consider Lebron's sheer popularity, and the globalization of Basketball, he very well could be the heir apparent to Jordan's advertising throne. What really fascinated me though was how both the author, and his agent, almost seemed to refer to Lebron as an inanimate object throughout the piece. He's almost robotic when proclaiming that his favorite drink when he goes out is "Vitamin Water" and he's even referred to as a "commodity" in the article at one point.

The biggest knock on Lebron James the player is that he's lazy and doesn't have the same fire that Jordan had. After reading that, I think he obviously has the fire, but it seems to be directed somewhere else, and not necessarily at an NBA Championship.

LeBron James's Magnum-sized, Ultrashiny, Nike-powered Lawn Mower to the Next Century (Esquire)
Buzz Bissinger’s Next Project: Book On Lebron? (Sports By Brooks)

Now far be it from me to poke fun at a Tournament that is trying its hardest to let people know it's right around the corner, but when you employ Don King and the WWE to do so....I have to comment. The U.S. Open is getting underway today, but the past few weeks have been rather interesting in the way of PR for the matches in Flushing, New York.

First up was Nike's campaign hyping the potential final matchup of Nadal v. Federer. The Swoosh decided to turn the potential meeting into a pseudo-weigh in for the two Tennis stars and even brought in Don King to do what Don King does. Hype. Via the Telegraph....

King, speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, revealed his “delight” at being called up to promote one of the greatest sporting rivalries on the planet. “You had the 'Thrilla in Manila’, you had the 'Rumble in the Jungle’ now we have the 'Grapple in the Apple’. We gonna take it to the moon. They try to pretend to be friends. But they’re no kin and they’re gonna bend. They got to be competitive.”

King, getting into character, insisted in his idiolect that the US Open would be “free of trickeration”. Tennis may never be the same. But nor would boxing have had some of its most memorable nights without the genius of King.

As annoying as King is, that's pretty clever and that poster is pretty spot on. You would think that "stunt" was enough, but oh no, they weren't done there. "Hey, Let's try to use the most obvious avenue to cross promote the Tourney. Why of course that's the WWE!"



Well then.....that was special. The collaboration between WWE and the U.S. Open isn't anything new, but I think it's safe to say that having a wrestler jump off a judges chair onto a tennis player is taking it to another level.

'Apple Grapple' brings a gleam to Don King's eye (Telegraph)

Okay, Nike has done it again and whoever came up with this idea is a freaking genius. The new campaign is called "Train Like LT" and features LaDanian Tomlinson heading over to Kimbo Slice's house to train the "old school way". Via Yardbarker....

First of all, that car that LT rolls up in is badass. Second, when Kimbo swung the freezer door open, I just lost it. Outside of that "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" ad, I can't think of one Nike has put out there that hasn't been awesome. Great work again, Swooshers.

First Look at Nike's New "Train Like LT" Campaign with Kimbo Slice (Yardbarker)

Marvin Gaye performed one of the best live renditions of the National Anthem back at the 1983 NBA All Star Game in Los Angeles and Nike has decided to use it for a new Team USA commercial. Via Fanhouse....

Goosebumps. There's a 30-second version and a 60-second version that you will begin seeing on 08-08-08 as well as a two and a half minute version of the commercial will air on August 5th. That extended version will follow the final episode of “Road To Redemption presented by NIKE” on ESPN2.

Marvin Gaye + USA Basketball = Chills (Fanhouse)
Just Do It: Marvin Gaye (Inside Nike)

I passed on this story last week because it didn't seem that noteworthy, but that was until today. A few people got upset with the "homophobic nature" of a few of Wieden+Kennedy's latest efforts for Nike's "Hyperdunk" shoes and the company has in turn pulled a few of the ads....

Nike is strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting athletes regardless of their sexual orientation. The advertisement in question is based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball - the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.

However, after listening to concerns expressed around specific executions, we have decided to drop them from the campaign to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace.

Nike has a strong record of support for diversity and is proud to have been honored with a 100 percent score over several consecutive years in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.

I really have no idea how this spiraled out of control, but Nike has pulled the three ads seen within this post. While some sites like Out Sports don't seem to find a problem, in the end it's a good move. The ads seemed like a sloppy effort at best and certainly could be taken as perpetuating stereotypes. That's not something we need more of in Sports these days.


Nike drops three Hyperdunk ads (Oregon Live)
Some Nike crotch-to-the-face ads are catching "homophobic" heat (Out Sports)

Obviously with the mass amount of ads that Nike produces not all are going to be winners but I think they've got another hit with this one. This is the "Courage" ad you'll be seeing all throughout the Olympics....

I'm a sucker for good music, a ton of athletes and random flowers blooming, so they had me at the jump. I'm curious if this type of ad is wearing on people or if you're enjoying them as much as me. In the past year we've had the "My Better" one, the Jackson/Merriman "Leave Nothing" one, and the Guy Ritchie "Next Level" one. Keep it coming Nike.

Everyone remember the Kobe jumping the car video that was released on the Internet, well he's got another one out now. This time it's the Black Mamba jumping over a pool of snakes, but not before the guys from Jackass have some fun with the pool first.....

Man, they couldn't have made that look more fake if they tried, but that was still rather entertaining. Keep them coming Kobe.

Kobe and the Jackass crew (Ball Don't Lie)

I honestly don't mind most of the Lebron James commercials. The lawyer one was funny and the "Lebrons" ones were kind of cute. Well these "Witness" ones aren't funny or cute and they're really starting to creep me out. Here's the latest Nike spot....

I personally think Lebron is lazy and doesn't try as hard as he could, but that's irrelevant here. When did we start comparing him to the second coming of Jesus? This is just a little much for my tastes.

LeBron James' new 'Witness Stand' commercial (Ball Don't Lie)
Witness (Nike Basketball)

This video starts off kind of weak but once the guy (or you actually) signs a chicks breasts, shakes hands with Ronaldinho, and pukes his guts out...I'm wanting to be a Soccer player. Something I haven't wanted to be since I was seven....

I feel a little nauesous myself after watching that, but that was pretty sweet. Nike has done it again.

(Thanks to BG for the video)

Here is Nike's new spot with Steve Nash as the Sixty Million Dollar Man (with special guest appearances from Raja Bell and Amare) via SLAM.....

Sixty million dollars seems like a waste of money at this point as the Suns are now down 2-0 to the World Champion Spurs. But cool commercial Nike.

Steve Nash: The Sixty Million Dollar Man Video (SLAM)

I don't know what it is about Nike's advertising lately but it actually makes me want to leave the house from time to time. Their latest installment is for something called "SPARQ" (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) and features an airhorn, a Gnarls Barkley-like song, and a ton of athletes working out....

The shoes are supposed to make you train like Adrian Peterson and Hope Solo or something. I'm ready for the parachute to be strapped on Nike! Have your way with me, your advertising is too strong!!!

Stacey Wall And Weiden+Kenedy Launch Nike’s SPARQ (Dropkick Monkey)

We usually do a good of promoting everyone else's events and goings on in this here blogosphere and more often than not those things are pretty noteworthy. Well CNBC's Darren Rovell (a blogger himself....technically) was recently tabbed to take a look into the brand that is NIKE, and sent me and advanced copy of the program airing tomorrow.

I promised Rovell that I wouldn't hold any punches back when reviewing the documentary, and here's what you need to know......It's amazing.

There are interviews with Phil Knight, Jordan, Lebron, Tiger Woods, and Charles Barkley to name a few, but it's the history of Nike and a look inside it's labor turnaround that make it that much more entertaining. Via CNBC's press release....

Rovell takes viewers on a ride through Nike's history... from the company's chaotic start in 1962 as Blue Ribbon Sports to its current sports dominance. In a rare interview, Nike co-founder Phil Knight tells CNBC how the Nike name was conceived and how he paid a design student the grand sum of 35 dollars to design the signature "swoosh" logo now recognizable around the world. "Swoosh! Inside Nike" also gives viewers an inside look into the story of the groundbreaking advertising that made Nike famous. Dan Wieden, the driving force behind the genius of ad firm Wieden + Kennedy, as well as the athletes who made the ads famous-Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Charles Barkley-reveal how the ads came about.

Many thanks to Rovell for sending me the advance copy and kudos to CNBC for putting something together so interesting that I almost watched it twice. If you have an hour or so I definitely recommend checking out "Swoosh!" tomorrow night.

"Swoosh! Inside Nike": CNBC, Tuesday February 12th (10pm and 1am)

Michael Jordan: Still "Marketing" Success (CNBC: Sports Biz)