Nike TV Spot "Need Motivation" for the new Nike Plus running shoe.

Ok...much anticipated and here it is...Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first work for Nike. I've just watched it three times. Certainly an over the top look at the world of the Nike Plus running shoe. A cast of hundreds spanning centuries. And an enormous budget. My initial impression is that it's overblown. A simpler more singleminded idea might have worked better. I'll take Quicksilver's "Dynamite Surfing" anytime over this (see my October posts). But...let's wait for the :30...should correct much of the self indulgence here. And...the false ending with the title card "Need Motivation" followed by the Nike Plus team breaking the glass (Apple 1984ish) is very cool. Breaks on Grey's Anatomy tonight. Then lots of MTV and NFL football. Just remember a key audience, as it always is these days, is viral. That's where this will do best. Let's measure it in two weeks.

Upate on December 19th. I've gotten a lot of visitors googling for the director's name or the names of the music tracks. If you'd like to know more about all the credits for everyone involved take a look at the December 19th entry above.

Catholic Saints Images on Cell Phones: Church Leaders "Horrified" by the New Mobile Santini.

Everyone who moves in Italy has a wrinkled and worn saint card taped to their dash--or in their wallet or purse. So why not download your favorite saint (or saint to be in John Paul II) to carry around on your mobile phone. On Tuesday it became a reality. A sort of modern download that advertises the best of Catholicism (how I as an adguy think of it). Or...just a better, more permanent way to carry your Saint Christopher santini. Seems like a smart idea to me. And would look great on a new iphone.

But not everyone agrees. "This is in really bad taste," Bishop Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, a member of the Italian bishops conference committee for doctrinal matters, told the Turin newspaper La Stampa. "It is a distortion of sacred things...selling 'santini' for cell phones is horrifying," he said.

Not so says the originator of the idea. "We found a need and filled it," Barbara Labate, who developed the concept with her business partner in a cellphone services company based in Milan. "We are merely catching up with the times. I think this will appeal to young people as well as grandmothers," Fifteen saints launched the service. More are planned. About $4.50 a text message initiated download.

Rockstars can only be next. How about Saint Bono? Or Mr. Sympathy for the Devil incarnate, Mick Jagger?

Martin Scorsese Freixenet Ad: A Great Example of The New Advertising

The "Key to Reserva", Fabulous stuff. Long...but this Spanish cinema ad is where advertising should and WILL (well maybe not shot by Scorsese) be going. An ad for Freixenet Carta Nevada Reserva sparkling wine...plus an homage to Hitchcock. If you're into advertising, Scorsese or Hitchcock it's well worth the 9 plus minutes. The creative director Alex Martinez of JWT Barcelona has it right "...it's not enough now to buy the audience time--we have to create advertising that the audience chooses to spend time with." That's the cardinal rule of the new advertising no matter what the delivery system. In two weeks...I predict huge YouTube viewership numbers

Smart Strategies Drive Law & Order "Criminal Intent" (and Law & Order) to Return to NBC on Wed. 1/9/08

Here's the result of Dick Wolf's perseverance and the value of great writing, direction and acting. And a very smart and unconventional programming strategy to move "Criminal Intent" to cable this fall (where it's done great for cable with 2-3 million viewers/episode). A local syndication juggernaut (great ratings) has also helped build momentum. Big news. I'm a huge Law & Order fan (especially "Criminal Intent"). Very positive news for the franchise and its fans (and boy have you tuned into my last posting on the program, thanks...please leave comments). This news gives both programs a chance to survive and fight again (more Vincent D'Onofrio, I hope). A lot more promotional spots on NBC for the shows. Of course, "Criminal Intent" will be reruns from the fall USA Network season. But new Law & Order shows.

From James Hibbert at TV Week:

"The 18th season of "Law & Order" will return with a two-hour premiere Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. Then, on Jan. 9, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will have its broadcast premiere (originals air on USA Network) at 9 p.m., with the flagship program shifting to its former well-worn time period at 10 p.m. The schedule gives NBC a two-hour block of "L&O" franchise episodes during the week, echoing "Criminal Intent" leading into "SVU" last season."

Trojan Condoms TV Spot "Evolve" Music?

See the entry immediately below and take a look at the spot if you haven't seen it. There've been lots of questions about who wrote the music. For those of you not patient enough to scour your search engine here you go. iV music group created it. Steve Keller their CEO and Creative Director took an instrumental originally composed by Rivers Rutherford, built on its foundation, and wrote new lyrics. Keller is the singer...gossip says he did a scratch track (rough version) and the client liked it and went with what you've just heard. Fabulous stuff.

Trojan Condoms TV Spot "Evolve" Now on Google Universal Search.

Google's evolving Universal Search function which combines news, YouTube videos, books, images and more is becoming more and more helpful to me. I love getting videos when I just expect the typical written results. When I was Googling Trojan Condoms the other night for factoids for the Photoshop Contest featuring a Trojan Condom product placement, I ran into this fabulous spot which I should have seen but never did. What a way to break through the clutter. And what a great example of the importance of the music in a TV spot (see more above).

Law & Order Criminal Intent Programming Strategy of New USA Shows and Local Syndication Going Gangbusters.

This is another example of just how the world of network domination is crumbling. Soon...shows will move directly to the internet and skip cable. I love Law & Order Criminal Intent so I'm overjoyed that Dick Wolf and NBC moved the show to USA Network with all new episodes every Thursday night at 10 PM (at least as long as the new shows last before the writer's strike takes its toll). Ironically, in an amazing reversal, reruns may appear on NBC at some point down the road. More impressive, because the show runs on cable now, NBC Universal decided to sell the show into local station by station syndication for old episodes. The result has been a ratings bonanza, recently attracting 2 million viewers/week in syndication...with enormous strength in the women 18-52 audience (thanks to Vincent D'Onofrio, love the way he cocks his head and looks distant, and Chris Noth).