Sketchiest World Cup Ad Yet

Ah, the World Cup. An occasion for Bono and all the rest of us cosmopolitan types to luxuriate in the rich possibilities of a global coming-together. And an occasion, too, to watch on YouTube, over and over, the utterly baffling ways this moment can be represented in advertising. With breasts.

The matches are but a week away, and already there is much rejoicing in the streets naked. In the case of this truly bizarre commercial for Nando's, a South African restaurant chain, the universalism of naked flesh is offered as a knowing (kind of not really) play on how the rest of the world might perceive Africa through National Geographic-branded glasses:



That was disturbing.

Probably no more so than Argentina boss Diego Maradona's madman threats to circle Buenos Aires' famed Obelisk sans pants should his absurdly striker-rich squad bring home the trophy. Presumably in this*. For Maradona's sake, we hope his victory lap around the Obelisk will not climax in a recreation of this.

*-More on this next week, when I'll be joined on his page by some laser-sharp, World Cup/South African/footballer haircut-obsessed friends and colleagues.

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Bonus Beats:

-Nike (who else) and The Fader have commissioned a series of "Pitch Perfect" regional mixtapes. The first one, featuring the awesome Maga Bo, is up here (via LTD).

-And in non-multinationals news: a Dublin (?) indie label has commissioned 32 indie bands to write songs about the 32 nations in the World Cup. More info on the always entertaining Football and Music blog.