ESPN World Cup Ads: Group B

To promote the coverage of this year’s World Cup, ESPN and their ad agency Wieden+Kennedy commissioned the South African artist collective AM I  Studios to create 32 posters depicting the 32 countries participating in the World Cup.

GROUP B

Argentina star Lionel Messi is depicted kicking a golden soccer ball that shines like the Sun of May. Meanwhile in the background  we see soccer stadiums housing Argentina’s previous two World Cup victories.

Greece‘s poster depicts the national team in an ancient Greek ship as winged forward Theofanis Gekas leads the way. My favorite detail in this poster is Head Coach Otto Rehhagel in the back of the ship wearing a toga over his suit.

Nigeria is represented by what appears to be midfielder Ideye Brown riding atop a green eagle in reference to the Nigerian squad’s nickname, the Super Eagles.

South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup and finished in fourth, a surprising result for a team that had never won a World Cup match before. The bars in front of the Korean tiger show how they broke out in 2002. The South Korean team hopes to have similar results this year.

Because Sometimes You Need To See Batman Rave

If this is what The Green Hornet‘s going to be like, I’m excited.

ESPN World Cup Ads: Group A

To promote the coverage of this year’s World Cup, ESPN and their ad agency Wieden+Kennedy commissioned the South African artist collective AM I Studios to create 32 posters depicting the 32 countries participating in the World Cup. Over the next few days, we’ll look at all of the posters.

GROUP A

South Africa is represented by a fan playing the vuvuzela, the plastic horn which has quickly become the soundtrack of the tournament. At the moment it looks like the South Africans will become the first host nation to not advance to the knockout rounds.

France‘s three big stars are depicted as the Three Musketeers. Amusingly, Henri’s left hand is depicted as glowing. This is probably a reference to a controversial goal he scored against Ireland in the qualifying rounds that by all appearances was scored with a little help from his hand. By sharp contrast at the moment France has scored no goals in the 2010 tournament despite finishing in second in 2006.

Mexico‘s coach Javier Aguirre is depicted atop a Mayan pyramid while fans of El Tri cheer on below. At the moment the Mexicans look ready to advance to the Round of 16.

Uruguay‘s poster features the national symbol, the Sun of May. The Sun’s face has been replaced by one of the national team’s stars (perhaps captain Diego Lugano?) and is seen holding the World Cups it one in 1930 and 1950. It’s worth mentioning that 1930 was the first World Cup and that Uruguay was the host.

I Hope They Use This in the Thor Movie

Adventures in Mixology: The Churchill

Legendary bartender Joe Gilmore worked at the Savoy Hotel’s American Bar for 36 years and served as Head Barman for 21 of those years. During this period he invented cocktails for many politicians, royals and entertainers including this created on one of Churchill’s many visits to the bar.

The Churchill

• 1 1/2 Ounces Whiskey (Preferably Scotch)
• 1/2 Ounce Lime Juice
• 1/2 Ounce Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 Ounce Triple Sec

Shake the ingredients in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice and pour in to a cocktail glass.

An interesting side note: Gilmore would later make cocktails to celebrate Churchill’s 80th and 90th birthdays.

Everything’s Better With Yakety Sax

Oh Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, there were so many things you could have done so much better. That being said, the internet has provided one improvement for you:

Lookwell!

We here at Postcards are proud supporters of Team Coco. So to that end, today we’re featuring an old project of Conan O’Brien’s from the early ’90s. Before Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was born, Conan teamed up Robert Smiegel, creator of TV Funhouse, for a brilliant pilot called Lookwell! starring Adam West. West starred as Ty Lookwell, an actor who played a TV cop in the 1970s. However, now it is the ’90s and Lookwell thinks he actually can solve crimes like he did on television. The program was never picked up, sadly, but the pilot episode of Lookwell! is available on youtube. Enjoy.

The Curious Case of Orson Welles and the Frozen Peas

Late in his life, Orson Welles was forced to record voice overs for commercials to make money. There’s an amazing outtake of a Welles recording session for a few commmercials that has floated around the internet for years. Commonly called “Frozen Peas” this recording features Orson criticizing the ad copy he has to read. Hilarity ensues.

Welles’ outburst were later parodied on The Critic.

Adventures in Mixology: The Algonquin

During 1920s, America’s greatest literary and drinking society was the Algonquin Round Table. This collection of wits would meet daily for lunch at the Algonquin hotel and make quips that would be later repeated in their own newspaper columnists. Amongst some of the more notable members were Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, George Kaufman and Robert Benchley.Despite it being Prohibition, the group had many cocktails named in their honor. Most of them are not worth discussing, but there is one that has stood out over time. Although the Round Table being more of a highballs and martinis gang, this is an up cocktail. It’s a little sharp, which fits, considering the pointed wits of the table’s regulars.

The Algonquin

• 1 1/2 Ounces Whiskey
• 1/2 Ounce Dry Vermouth
• 1 Ounce Pineapple Juice

Stir the ingredients with ice and then strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass. Some enjoy shaking this drink, but this will cause the pineapple juice to foam, so watch out. Garnish the cocktail with an orange peel.

Adventrues in Mixology: The Godfather

There are some great drinks that unfortunately don’t have an origin story. The Godfather is one of these drinks. It was quite popular in the 1970s and was probably created as a tribute to the film and book of the same name. It’s a nice, basic mix of scotch and amaretto on the rocks.

The Godfather

• 1 and 1/2 ounces scotch or bourbon
• 3/4th ounces amaretto
• Pour the ingredients into an old fashioned glass over ice and serve.

Alternately, one can substitute Vodka for the Scotch to make a Godmother.