ESPN The Magazine reporting, and the coolest ad ever

Reporting from China's National Day of Mourning.

Adidas's TV spot for the Olympics might be the coolest ad I've ever seen. Ever. Certainly the most spine-tingling.

There are two versions floating around, but this is the better of the two, in my opinion. Pictures here, and official adidas press release here.

I know some people, like the commenters in this post, think the commercial resembles old-fashioned propaganda, and others believe it channels "fascist aesthetics," but the only word I'd use is awesome. I mean, if people are disturbed by pencil sketching, what do they make of the ad pictured in this NY Times article?

An example of how eye-catching these adidas ads are: the first time I rode the subway, on my eighth day back, I caught a glimpse of the ads and immediately whipped out the camera. They're really quite stunning.

POSTSCRIPT: I'm beginning to realize why Black and White Cat is popular… I was back-reading posts when I came across this video.