We showed you the teasers last weekend, but now we have Nike's full three-minute World Cup ad that will first air on TV during Saturday's Champions League final and all I can say is...wow.
As unnatural as it feels to fawn over an advertisement, to label this as nothing more than a run-of-the-mill commercial would be plain wrong. Featuring Nike's stable of superstar footballers like Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Landon Donovan and Cristiano Ronaldo, the short film is directed by Alejandro Inarritu ("21 Grams" and "Babel") and contains cameos from Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant and even Homer Simpson.
The story follows a match featuring all of these players (including Ronaldinho, who ended up not making Brazil's squad) and shows how one move can lead to a future of glittering success with statues in your honor and guest appearances on "The Simpsons" or washed-up destitution like a bearded Wayne Rooney with a beer gut, eating beans in a trailer park, all tying into Nike's "Write the Future" slogan.
I could say a lot more, but just watch it and enjoy.