The Olympics of advertising

I'm a sucker for the Olympics, and this year's games have been far more epic than I could have imagined. Even though it's taking place in a city that arguably doesn't deserve the Olympics, the games and performances themselves have not disappointed.

There have been so many moments, ups and downs, that will live on. Phelps' record-breaking eight golds, including phenomenal individual races that just showcase his physical refusal to lose a race, even if it means a win by .01 seconds that is incomprehensible even when watched in slow motion. Lezak's remarkable turn that won U.S. the 4x100 freestyle against France. The Greek gods of swimmers we had at this year's games: Phelps, Lochte, Peirsol, etc. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson's 1-2 win in all-around gymnastics, especially Nastia's tearful smile as she stood atop the podium - pure Olympic glory right there. Sasha Artemev's rousing pommel horse routine that ensured U.S. men's team bronze, followed by his upsetting fall in individual competition that took away a medal he had clear potential to win. Liu Xiang, a hero in China and an inspiration as first Asian to win gold in a track event, pulling out of this year's competition, in devastating pain as a hurt Achilles heel tore him away from his dream of defending his title in his home country among a packed stadium of expectant fans.

Along with the Olympics always comes a bevy of memorable ad campaigns. The winner this year is Visa's 'GO WORLD', boosted by beautiful, inspiring images of the Olympics and Morgan Freeman's God-voiced narration.

My favorite by far:




Brilliant advertising right there. Such simple, eloquent truths that remind us why we need and love the Olympics.

Visa's always been consistently impressive in their ads. One of my favorite commercials was the 'Life takes Visa' campaign that came out during the 2006 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, I can't find it anywhere in large or embeddable form, but there is a small video available on the website portfolio of Mophonics, who composed its music.

Riding on the current love for Nastia Liukin, gymnastics all-around champion whose aesthetic grace has been unsurpassed this year, here is a lovely 'Impossible is Nothing' Adidas ad from 2004 featuring a 13-year-old Nastia and Nadia Comaneci, which has greater impact now following Nastia's gold medal win:



Another highlight from this Olympic season's batch of advertisements is Nike's 'Courage', featuring The Killers' 'All These Things I've Done.' I'm not a big fan of the band, but I am a fan of the song and it is used perfectly in this one:



This one's not Olympics related aside from coming out during the games, but United Airlines has been producing beautiful ads for their new business class that stand out due to their lovely, dreamlike aesthetic and wonderful use of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue':



GE's been doing a series of Olympics/China related commercials and this charming 'Healthcare Re-imagined' advert is currently everywhere:



The Olympics, along with its advertising, is always the highlight of the season, almost becoming a drug as its conclusion always results in a sense of great loss, for nothing ever seems worth watching without the inspiring unity of the Olympic games. Together we witness the creation of sublime moments that will last a lifetime, see lives defined in an instant, whether it is experiencing the elation of years of hard work paying off and ambitions being fulfilled or feeling the painful defeat of dreams shattered in a split second. The entire spectrum of the human experience is displayed magnificently in the Olympics, and for those two weeks, all the world is united in common admiration for the pure achievement of humanity.

This year's withdrawal will definitely be a difficult one.

Radiohead

Here is my obligatory post on seeing Radiohead live. Twice, in fact. I realize this is coming more than a week after the fact, which is ridiculous considering my ridiculous love for Radiohead. Anyway, I went to the Houston show on May 17th and then the Dallas show the following day, which sounds a bit crazy, but was entirely worth it! Here are some photos:

These are from the Houston show:

radiohead heads


a hardcore fan


noel fielding, is that you?!

RADIOHEAD


jonny on 'pyramid song'




thom and jonny on 'faust arp'


videotape




'there there', ridiculously amazing live




the following four pictures are 'planet telex', amazing lights








thom's eye during 'you and whose army?' just hilarious


this is idioteque




still idioteque...




take a bow, dear lovable genius mr. thom yorke



Wow. Definitely the most perfect band I will ever see live. As you can see from the photos, the show was visually stunning. In a respectable effort to reduce carbon emissions on their tour, Radiohead created an energy-saving, LED-lit stage, which provided for one hell of a visual experience. The lights and visual elements gave greater life to the music and elevated the whole concert experience, making this tour possibly their best series of shows ever. Leave it to Radiohead to create a groundbreaking concert that's both the most environmentally innovative and overall brilliant show I've ever been to.

Between the two setlists, I had a near perfect Radiohead experience. I was pleasantly surprised with how much they changed it up within just two nights. Houston saw some untraditional choices from albums like OK Computer ('Lucky' and 'Climbing Up The Walls'), but they were fantastic to see and hear live. 'Planet Telex' was an absolute thrill; the lights were most incredible on this track, the energy was enlivening. Played toward the end of the concert when I had given up hope of hearing anything from The Bends, this live performance truly gave new life to the song and to the show.

Dallas saw more classics as well as a few personal favorites not played in Houston, which were amazing to see in concert. Notable were 'Bangers & Mash', on which Thom played drums, and 'A Wolf at the Door', on which I nearly exploded. They opened their first encore with 'Fake Plastic Trees', the most beautiful concert experience I've ever had. The entire audience was alit in a sea of lighters, everyone peacefully united in love of the music. With 'Exit Music' and 'The Bends' finishing off the 1st encore, it was almost overwhelming. Their closer, 'Paranoid Android', fulfilled everything and sent me home in a state of euphoria.

There were great songs played both nights as well. Much of In Rainbows (all of it was played in Dallas). 'There There' - probably one of the greatest songs to see live, with Ed and Jonny both taking up drums. 'Idioteque' (Thom dancing), 'The National Anthem', 'Pyramid Song' (Jonny playing his guitar with a bow), 'You and Whose Army?' (hilarious comic relief as the camera zoomed in on Thom's eyes + great great song).

Aside from how amazing this tour is, I really feel lucky to have been able to see them at this point of their career. Through their setlist, spanning all their albums with the expected exception of Pablo Honey, you can really witness the fluid evolution of their music throughout the years and marvel at the consistent brilliance of it despite its intensely varied nature. You also get to see the band revisit all these creative moments in their past, with the same passion and emotional intensity, from their present state, one that seems much more at peace with themselves, freed from the tensions that plagued previous parts of their career and genuinely enjoying themselves. It's a beautiful thing to see.

And with that I've fulfilled one of my life goals: to see Radiohead at least once in my life. It has also given rise to another life goal: to see Radiohead as many times as possible within my lifetime. I can't wait till the next show.

Grand Finale

As the academic year's ending, I'm constantly trying to find a satisfying conclusion, some sense of resolution or at least acknowledgment that it's the end. It hasn't come for the most part. Everyone's always so eagerly looking forward to new beginnings instead of realizing that something quite significant, no matter good or bad, is always coming to an end right before us.

And when I was least expecting it, Professor Jensen (Critical Issues in Journalism) hit me with the conclusion I'd been looking for. He himself was seeking a way to close his course for the year, bringing up the question of what it means to be a human in terms of the world in which we live today and which we humans created. He concluded in a beautifully understated anticlimax, resigned to the fact that there is no great finale, only infinite questions. And it seems that there is never a great finale in life, only ends that lead to new beginnings and new ideas and new questions. After all, when it comes to the end, what will your life have amounted to? Yet another question. And maybe it is the constant birth of new questions that is the driving force and goal of life.