Nike Courage

Well, I've been watching the Olympic games every chance I can get to a TV, and this is the first commercial I've seen that I actually like. It might have something to do with "All These Things That I've Done" by the Killers (one of my favorite bands).

Nike showcases all kinds of athletes, Olympic and beyond, in this emotional spot. Their message is simple... their ad is complex. Split second flashes of everything from animals to comic book stars combined with countless sports icons make you want to go back and watch it again for stuff you missed. It's interesting to get a frame-by-frame by pausing and dragging the marker slowly across the timeline. Check marks galore, huh? Subliminal advertising strikes back!

Here are the athletes featured in the ad: LeBron James, Bill Bowerman, Vasily Alekseyev, John McEnroe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pau Gasol, Ralph Boston, Ladji Doucoure, Wayne Rooney, Maria Sharapova, Henry Marsh, David Lega, Mary Lou Retton, Zhu Jianhua, Liu Xiang, Carlos Lopes, Daiane dos Santos, Steve Prefontaine, Paula Radcliffe, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Wallace Spearmon Jr, Julie Moss, Omar Salazar, Miho Shinoda, Lance Armstrong, Kenny Bartram, Garrett Reynolds, Hasely Crawford, Carl Lewis, Kobe Bryant, Bernard Lagat, Mary Decker Slaney, Kerry O'Brien, Pete Sampras, Manfred Naumann, Derek Redmond, Arthur Ashe, Roger Federer, Elizabeth Jackson, Sherone Simpson, Jon Lester, Michael Johnson, Michael Jordan, Romualdo Kubiak, and Oscar Pistorius.

For more, including details on each of these athletes' feats of courage, check out Nike's site.