Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Vie Awkwardly for Tom Brady's Love in Support of Three Good Causes

If either Matt Damon or Ben Affleck has an actual superpower, it’s their epic friendship—a bond so endearing and renowned that it even won them an award.

Until Tom Brady arrived. 

The #BFFgoals-inspiring pair are facing off for Brady’s affections via Skype in this weird, but charming, promotion for fundraising platform Omaze, which is offering you the chance to win an afternoon in Boston with all three of them, part of an effort to raise money for three charities. 

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Step Right Up and Watch This Air Acrobat Attempt the Most Irresponsible Circus Act Ever

One December day at the International Scene of Contemporary Dance in Stockholm, Sweden, a man named Olle, one of the best air acrobats in the world, did a triple-somersault jump. It was a jump like hundreds of others he’d done before, but this time was different. 

He fell on his head. 

“Within that second I heard my neck break. A moment devoid of time,” Olle writes. “The sound of the neck break echoed in my head, itself an endless, dark, spherical space in which I was hovering weightlessly.” 

Olle crushed several cervical vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord. He was paralyzed from the neck down. The doctors couldn’t say how much brain functioning he’d regain, or even whether he would walk again. One thing was sure: He’d never jump again.

It’s been 10 years since then. Olle has miraculously recovered. Many people like him would count their blessings, move to a quiet town and take up gardening. But in what’s being dubbed “the most irresponsible circus performance ever,” Olle is gearing up to repeat the same jump, with just one difference. This time, he’ll do it from up to 12,000 feet in the sky.

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New York City FC's First Brand Spot Is a Gritty Paean to the City It Calls Home

When Major League Soccer began play in 1996, those of us who lived in New York City had only one team to root for—the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. But despite their odd hybrid name, they were pretty solidly a New Jersey team. They played out at Giants Stadium, and those of us coming from Manhattan would often arrive late to games, as they never scheduled enough buses from Port Authority. Intentional or not, the indifference to fans east of the Hudson was palpable. 

That franchise has since cleaned up its act, and become the formidable New York Red Bulls. They still play in Jersey, though, at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison (which is, admittedly, a lovely stadium). But luckily for New York City fans, there’s been another option over the past two seasons—New York City Football Club, a new MLS franchise that plays its home games at Yankee Stadium. 

NYCFC clinched its first-ever MLS Cup playoff berth this past weekend, and is celebrating with a gritty new spot from Johannes Leonardo, its first-ever brand commercial.

The poetic spot, called “Along These Lines,” is as much a tribute to the city as the team—rallying New Yorkers to get behind their soccer team, using a theme of connection that’s both literal (the subway system connects everyone, and of course stops at Yankee Stadium) and figurative.

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Pro Athletes School Gatorade Drinkers in the Brand's Most Humiliating Campaign Yet

Gatorade is back to gleefully shame more of its own consumers for being lazy and out of shape—this time with a roving crew of top athletes and nasty sportscasters, who all pop out of the back of a box truck to mock them for drinking the beverage while not sweating.

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Why Adidas Is Suddenly Selling Odd Pairs of Shoes … Two Rights or Two Lefts

“Odd, isn’t it? For a man to run when technically he shouldn’t even be walking?”

We live in a magical time, when disability doesn’t have to spell the end of an active person’s journey. And a fascinating new Adidas campaign from India draws attention to something that has never occurred to most of us: Why should a blade-running athlete with only one foot—or anyone else—have to buy expensive athletic shoes for both feet?

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The Tragedy of MLK's Death Is Woven All Through This Brilliant Memphis Grizzlies Jersey

Basketball jerseys might seem like an odd medium for honoring historical figures or making political statements, but maybe the post-Kaepernick sports era is more woke than the one before it. It’s certainly made for better designs, if these images of the Memphis Grizzlies team jerseys are any indication.

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Von Miller Shows Off His Many Quirky Talents in His Debut as the Old Spice Guy

Denver Broncos linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller has some big cleats to fill as the latest Old Spice guy, following popular pitchmen Isaiah Mustafa and Terry Crews as the star of Wieden + Kennedy’s high-profile ads for the P&G brand.

In a pair of spots tagged “Unforsweatable,” touting Old Spice’s Hardest Working Collection of deodorants and body washes, Miller quickly establishes his game plan. Less self-consciously suave than Mustafa, and way less manic than Crews (who came off like a crazed human cartoon character in some of his Old Spice appearances), Miller exudes a highly relatable vibe, and his confident charm really shines through.

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Hyundai Drivers Do the Most Asinine Things for Football in Brand's New NFL Ads

Hyundai drivers are weird, weird people who do weird, weird things because of football, according to Innocean USA’s amusing new ads for the NFL sponsor.

In “Choices,” a Pittsburgh Steelers fan has to clean up baby mess in his Hyundai Santa Fe. But what if he misses a crucial play while deciding whether or not to wipe up the vomit with his Terrible Towel? Thanks to his car’s 8-inch Touch Screen with Sirius XM recording feature, he won’t miss anything. As for the vomit, well, you can see for yourself.

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Geico Created a Quirky Web Series Made Just for Esports Fans

Everybody’s trying to get in with an esports team … even Geico. 

In an unexpected web series released in August, Geico-sponsored Team SoloMid (TSM) have moved into a new neighborhood. Convinced that the pro players are actually hackers, a nosy next-door neighbor named Russell drops in to investigate. (A dolly stacked with Geico swag also makes an appearance, but that’s pretty much the brand’s only imposition in episode one.)

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Adobe Shows Why Sports Stars Should Never Sign Big Contracts With an Actual Pen

Don’t lose business because you’re still using tedious pen-and-paper legal instruments, says a new ad from Adobe.

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Wilson Unveils a Smart, Data-Tracking Football to Go Along With Its Basketball

Lots of young sports fans imagine themselves playing in the big leagues. Now, sports gear brand Wilson is promising to help them feel closer to the pros with a new Bluetooth connected football, and accompanying app, that can measure stats and offer strategies—making backyard games feel more like stadium epics.

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World Surf League Tries Comedy in Ads Starring the Sport's Offbeat Characters

The World Surf League catches a whole new wave with “Beach Breaks,” a series of comedy shorts from agency Zambezi and director Peter Miller.

Unlike past WSL efforts that focused on the inherent drama and chaos of surfing, the new work casts the league’s athletes, announcers and executives in skits designed to appeal to both long-time fans and those just discovering the sport.

“The WSL felt like they were succeeding in showing the best competitive surfing in the world, but were missing out on some of the offbeat characters and unique fun that is at surfing’s core,” Zambezi senior art director Chris Rutkowski tells AdFreak.

In seven 30-second clips running on WSL broadcasts and the league’s social platforms, the league “stayed true to the laid-back image of surfers with honest, sometimes self-deprecating humor to make the surfing world as inviting as possible,” Rutkowski says.

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Adidas Takes a Shot at Under Armour With an Ad About Creativity, Not Just Hard Work

Playing a sport well, and becoming a career athlete, doesn’t just mean you’ve studied a list of plays, stuck to a workout regimen and mastered exactly how something should be done, though that’s certainly a part of it.

It means you’ve done all that and found creative ways to make the game your own. 

That’s what this high-energy Adidas spot from 72andSunny says, arguing that it is the sports brand for creative athletes—unlike say, Under Armour. Yes, the copy for the new work seems to take a swipe at UA, which has been pitching itself as the brand for athletes serious about training.

“Yeah, yeah, hard work and dedication. But that’s not enough. You look at this cookie-cutter, copy-and-paste BLAH,” the narrator says as the frenetic camerawork—which is the real star of the spot—moves from football fields to basketball courts with what seems to be a reference to Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” and its hundreds of copies of Stephen Curry. 

It’s funny, though. For a campaign arguing for creativity, Adidas seems to be cribbing from its two major competitors. The Under Armour references serve as the advertising version of a subtweet, which is fun and arguably works for what the brand is intending. But the freewheeling, opinionated voiceover, whether intentionally or not, feels a lot like what Nike’s been doing lately, and that doesn’t seem to gel with the ad’s core argument. 

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Bo Jackson and Brian Bosworth Totally Cheat at Tecmo Bowl in Kia's Nostalgic New Ads

Bo Jackson really, really, really, really loves Tecmo Bowl.

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A British Candy Brand Will Air This Funny Ad Entirely in Sign Language With No Subtitles

Channel 4 in Britain recently made one of the greatest ads ever about disability with “We’re the Superhumans.” The spot, timed to the 2016 Paralympic Games, was a follow-up to 2012’s “Meet the Superhumans” but went well beyond the original to create its own brilliant, freewheeling world of fun.

But it didn’t end there. Channel 4 also dreamed up a companion contest called “Superhumans Wanted,” which challenged U.K. brands to develop a bold, creative campaign with disability and diversity at its core.

The winner has just been announced, and it’s pretty great—though quite different than the larger-than-life “Superhumans” spots. It’s a campaign for candy brand Maltesers, and the ads, by AMV BBDO, feature disabled actors telling amusing stories of awkward everyday situations that involved their disability in some way.

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Von Miller, Noted Chicken Farmer Who Also Plays Football, Is Your New Old Spice Guy

From raising chickens to tackling the world’s biggest men to dancing for the nation, it seems there is nothing Von Miller can’t do. And now, he’s adding the revered title of Old Spice guy to his résumé.

Procter & Gamble today announced that the Denver Broncos linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP will be the face of Old Spice for the 2016 season. He will promote the brand’s Hardest Working Collection. The first creative will be here early in the season, the brand tells AdFreak. For now, you’ll just have to enjoy these two photos.

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NFL "One team" (2016) 1:20 (USA)

The Star-Spangled Banner electrified version played by St. Vincent wafts its over the scene of grounds crew creating stencils out of spray paint on astroturf. But instead of marking each team by name, (i.e. Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks) it all says the same thing despite the logo: Team USA. Why? Because it’s the Summer Olympics. Nice way to co-opt the Olympics– a brand that is known for being really persnickety when it comes to other brands who aren’t official sponsors.

This Condom Maker Just Designed Some Sportswear Out of the Same Material

A new fashion-flavored campaign is putting a new spin on the idea of a full-body condom.

To prove how comfortable its proprietary non-latex material really is, condom brand Skyn decided to create a line of athletic wear, and put it to the test.

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Esports Team the Immortals Just Made an '80s-Style Dating Video … for Underwear

MeUndies, the makers of perfectly serviceable skivvies, just inked a sponsored ambassadorship with esports team the Immortals … after discovering that one of its members doesn’t own underwear. (Wait. We’ll get there.) 

This week, they released an ’80s-style dating video about finding love. In your pants. 

Titled “Perfect Pair: The Quest for Immortal Love,” it was shared on Facebook and features Huni, Reignover, WildTurtle, Pobelter and Adrian against a laser backdrop, the kind you probably chose for a school picture at some point, if you were stylin’. 

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Surfers Are Audacious Snails in Samsung's Latest Paean to the Waves

Why did the snail cross the road? To go shoot the curl, of course.

This new ad for Samsung frames the enterprising spirit (or, skeptics might say, the biological hardwiring) of a slug in a shell as as a source of great inspiration—namely, for surfers.

That may sound a little stupid, but the the marketers at the consumer electronics company know it—the minute-plus commercial, by Leo Burnett Chicago, somehow manages to be existential and lighthearted at the same time, musing on the inner life of a mollusk as a metaphor for a young boy who loves the sport of surfing.

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