Death to the 50

Enter the Denver 50.

Courage

When Nike named it's new spot Courage, the brand had no idea that it would soon need some of its own.

A few months ago, Speedo built a better swimsuit. A seamless, pricey, high-tech marvel named the Lzr. Nike swimmers put up a brave front. But as world records fell, it became pretty clear that any athlete not wearing Speedo or Tyr will be at a major disadvantage in Beijing.

So Nike finally did what it had to do. It told its swimmers they could switch suits for the Olympics.

It wasn't a move Nike had to make. Few would have noticed if Nike's swimmers had failed to medal. (It's not like they sponsor Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin or Ryan Lochte.) But Nike had the courage to admit it was marketing an inferior product. And the beneficiary is the USA and our Olympic team.

It's not the sort of courage showed by, say, a firefighter. But for a brand that makes a living selling stuff to athletes, Nike showed some guts.

Cross-posted at 300 Spartans Gym.

2008 TD50 entries due August 22

The 2008 TD50 call for entries email went out this morning. The entry specs are at NewDenverAdClub.com. The film Death to the 50 from Citizen will debut any day now.

AdPulp looks at the 2007 Denver 50 book

AdPulp writes:

I rarely look at award show books these days, but this one pulled me in. First off, there's no Best of Show, just 50 big ideas, one after the next. And there are no categories, which I appreciate. A big idea is a big idea. Who cares what media it's expressed in?

Read the rest here.

2008 TD50 deadline coming August 22

Early buzz for this is here, here, here, here and here. And here and here.

McDonald's shoot with Jay Cutler

I grew up in Colorado. Which means I grew up wanting to be the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. But I didn't grow up as big or as fast as maybe I'd have liked. So instead, I'm a copywriter at Karsh\Hagan. And the Broncos are led by Jay Cutler.

I spent most of today at Invesco Field at Mile High, shooting a TV spot with Cutler. He is cool and humble and surprisingly funny. The spot was directed by Jordan Brady. Who is cool and humble and extremely funny.

Over the past few months, there have been a lot of frustrations and late nights. But spending the occasional Tuesday like this, in the company of the most talented group of people you'd ever want to meet, reminds me that this is a good business we're in.