Nike hit upon a clever and somewhat humorous (if cloyingly so)
ad campaign. A man and a woman are in
love, but live on opposite coasts,
and so pledge running across the country to be with each other (in Nike shoes, naturally -- his
gray, hers
pink). Except, the man is clearly in worse condition, and can't even
escape New York City, instead collapsing and getting taken to the hospital, while the woman (played by singer/actress
Stephanie Lynn) continues transnationally jogging, climbing hills and stairs, even getting an
ice cream cone along the way. In the end, she runs right into the hospital where her love is recovering (to hospital staff applause). Interestingly, the commercial ends with her whisking closed the privacy curtain around the bed with a briefly-glimpsed saucy expression; from beneath the curtain her shoes can be seen leaving the floor, indicating (along with a telltale squeak) that she's hopped into the bed. And the
heart rate monitor begins beeping faster. All implying some kind of physically intimate activity.
Though amusing in its setup and satisfying in its conclusion, the long version drags in the middle (which is something for two minutes of commercial time). And the verse where she sings about love being 'a speeding comet' is so obviously a setup for his line about having to
vomit. And when she sings about feeling
serene while he's crying out for
morphine -- well what kind of guy actually needs morphine after running a few miles? But I confess, if an attractive woman wished to run cross-country and jump in my bed, and be game to snog (and likely more) even in a semi-public place with no more protection than a curtain from prying eyes and ears, well I'd be all for that.
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