We Pause for This Commercial Announcement

Watching as much of the Games as I do, one tends to see a LOT of commercials -- and tons of repeats.  At the moment, two stand out as the gold medal winners.

My favorite right now is probably for United Airlines, with a plane full of U.S. Olympians.  The short version is fun, but the full-length minute commercial is far better, where you get to see the set-up for many of the jokes, not just the pay-off themselves.  Much of it is very clever, and best is that that they use real Olympians rather than just actors.  (Not just because it adds to the authenticity, but as much because those who participate in the lesser-known sports could probably use the money.)  Two of the better-known competitors that I've been able to specifically recognize are speedskater Shani Davis, and figure skater Gracie Gold who has a hilarious bit swirling around with her carry-on.

I suspect they could have kept this going for another minute or more, and have even more fun with it, but what's here is great.

The other comes from TD Ameritrade who has a several wildly clever and touching ads, showing how real Olympians got to where they are.  The ads start on the medal stand of some event, and then using TV and home footage, the film runs backwards to the time when they were little kids. 

The three I've seen so far have all both been wonderful, but my favorite by a hair is probably the one with slider Noelle Pinkus-Pace.  What wins this for me is just the briefest moment that comes at the very end, around the 54-second mark when she's just past being a baby, and you see where the joy of sport all came from.

This is one wonderful ad.