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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.