Nike: Write the Future

Have a good look.

You won't see an ad this 'big' very often.  Because, shy of confirming extraterrestrial life, the return of Christ, or the discovery of why two socks go in the dryer but only one comes out- the FIFA World Cup is the only world event worthy of an ad of this scale.

Or vice versa.

So big is this ad, that it had 'teaser' ads made, promoting- not the World Cup- but the segment featuring Britain's Wayne Rooney.

Nike created a similar teaser spot for Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

The spot is airing in 32 countries.  The director is Alejandro G. Iñarritu, known for his Hollywood titles Babel and 21 Grams.

The joy of the spot is the aggregate of countless- and lovely- 'blink-and-you-miss-them'  moments: all the babies named "Wayne," the "Ron's Samba Robics" infomercial, the club dancers paying homage to Fabio Cannavaro's bicycle kick.  To the mere mortals of advertising, these are budget-breakers.

Beyond Rooney, Cannavaro, and Ronaldo- look closely and you'll spot football greats Didier Drogba,  Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva.

The world's biggest sporting event meets the world's biggest sporting brand. Result: an ad that reduces Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, and Homer Simpson to cameo appearances.

For this epic ad, Nike left everything on the field: a metaphor not lost on astute brand-watchers.

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Under 'N' for 'Nikeus Interruptus'- when the much-hyped, much-anticipated full-length spot debuted, England's ITV accidentally cut away from the ad just before the end- depriving millions of viewers in in southern England and Wales of the last few seconds.