Director's cut of Nike's "Take it to the NEXT LEVEL"

Nike Football has made the wise decision to post a 3-minute director's cut (the director being Guy Ritchie) of the "Take It to the Next Level" film that currently has about 3 million views on YouTube. This one is even better, because Ritchie gets to extend the concept--which is the world seen through the eyes of a world-class soccer player--in more ways off the field. Take a look.

Nike tells what William Gallas knows

If you want to see a good, unadorned use of YouTube by a marketer, subscribe to the NikeFootball channel. You will find commercials there, such as the recent Guy Ritchie-directed film, but it's also a repository for short interviews with international soccer/football stars. The four-minute clip I've embedded above features William Gallas, a defender and captain of Arsenal (not that I know my international soccer stuff). It's a straightforward mix of sound bites and highlights, carrying the theme, "What William Knows." This is not the sort of content that is going to send people flocking to YouTube in the tens of millions, but it's a great, ongoing way to connect Nike Football with its formidable , passionate fan base.

Nike comes back to its marriage with Wieden

George Parker actually got credit over at the Adweek site for breaking the news yesterday that Nike has dropped Crispin, Porter + Bogusky from its roster. Good for my drinking buddy! As for Nike's decision, in hindisght, it kind of looked inevitable. For one, throughout its flirtation with Crispin, Nike has seemed like the husband who leaves his wife for another woman. Eventually, it found how good it used to have it in the first place. And then there's the work. Probably the best known thing that Crispin did for Nike was the spot above, and while certainly above average, it wasn't particularly special and inspired, either. It didn't have that hard-to-describe sensibility that makes Nike advertising what it is. Could have just as easily been created for New Balance or Adidas. Wieden + Kennedy doesn't have a lock on that sensibility, as the new Guy Ritchie film from 72andSunny demonstrates, but the agency gets something about Nike that you can only understand if you've worked with the client for decades. I hope that what Wieden has learned from this is that digital should now be a core expertise for all agencies. As you might recall, the shop's relative lack of interactive cred was what supposedly sent the business to Crispin in the first place. Good for you, Wieden. With that, have a great Memorial Day weekend all.

Guy Ritchie Nike spot a YouTube hit

I'm ready to declare the Guy Ritchie-directed Nike soccer spot a hit. It's closing on at least 1.7 million YouTube views after two weeks up on the site. It's wasn't done by Wieden + Kennedy, or Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, but 72andSunny in L.A.