Another Nike athelete? Coincidence?

I think Nike's at it again. This time, the fuss is over Roger Federer's wizardry. The clip creating all the hoo-ha was supposedly shot behind the scenes at a Gillette shoot. Here's the clip:

Now, there is no official word from Roger or any of his sponsors on whether what he did was real or not but for those of you who have not seen the other clips featuring Nike athletes that had audiences guessing its authenticity, here they are:

What's even more amazing is that the first day of polling done by the Sydney Morning Herald (link here) shows 68% of the 6780 respondents believing that it's real! The result really surprised me. Maybe they were all impressionable kids.

There is no doubting that Nike (if it was them) is a marketing genius. I have to admit that when I saw the Kobe clip when it went viral, it got me thinking if he'd really done it. However, coincidently, Nike later collaborated with Aston Martin to release limited edition pairs of Kobe's signature shoes. They have created heroes out of the elite atheletes that they endorse. A lot of their ads do provide inspiration (I have some of the older Michael Jordan and Lance Armstrong ads saved on my computer to provide me with that pick-me-up when I needed one) but do we sometimes exaggerate the capabilities of some of these athletes in our heads? As Tiger, Kobe and even Jordan have shown us, they are human and just as susceptible to desires and failures like any one of us. I think it's important to remember that. As far as their talent is concerned , whoever's doing it is really pushing into Hollywood's territory of make believe with the twist being instead of actors, they're using real athletes. AWESOME!

Thank your lucky stars!

Va va voom!

Wow! I never realised she was that hot. Schwinggggg indeed!

I'll take two please...

Behold the Rafael Nadal x Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon.

Now, I like watches and I like watching Rafa play. So, naturally when Richard Mille came up with a collaboration with Rafa I was like, 'Sweeeeeet! Where do I buy one?', but for a whopping US$525,000, my butt hole's spider sense started tingling furiously as if a large cylindrical object was approaching it. Yes, it was the fear of being pummelled up the ol' sewer pipe.

Ok, lets give the watch the benefit of doubt. Besides being limited to 50 pieces, what else is there? Here's the blurb:

The weight equivalent of 20 paper clips!

"Weighing under 20 grams (13g without strap), the incredibly light RM 027 has a carbon-composite case, and the manual-wind movement – itself weighing just under 4 g — is constructed titanium and LITAL ®, lithium alloy containing aluminum, copper, magnesium, zirconium. Power reserve is 48 hours. Lithium alloy is also used in many aircraft parts such as the A380, helicopters, missiles, satellites or even Formula 1 and offers extreme performance attributes. The back bezel and caseband are monobloc to ensure total lightness. The glass; the bezel and the flange in carbon have remarkable properties of stiffness and torsional rigidity."

Hmmm...ok. No diamonds, no gold, no sapphires, no rubies, just a bunch of high grade metals. So, let's say you're playing a high stakes poker game with a bunch of roughies and you're down half a mil with no cash to pay. I think you'd better pray that these guys are illegal weapons manufacturers and have a good sense of humour when you start your sales pitch.

Almost makes the Kobe Bryant x Nubeo below look cheap at US$25,000 a pop.


Ok, ok, I know I sound like a sour puss but credit must be given when credit is due. I love the watch! It's simply a work of art.

Source: perpetuelle

The Secret of Nike Air

Found this to be pretty good.