This week's highlight is more of a series of highlights, brought to us by Coca-Cola. Coke are a major sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, so in World Cup year it's no surprise to find them splashing the cash to be all things football, world and, er, cup.
But unlike many other sponsors, they've elected not to shovel stacks of cash in the direction of a few vain footballers for 60 seconds worth of advertising hyperbole. In a more enlightened route, Coke are telling lots of short but emotionally resonant stories about what football means to people all over the world, thereby reminding us that the World Cup belongs to us, not Sepp Blatter, Wayne Rooney or Nike. There are lots of short films to choose from on their YouTube channel, and it looks like there are more to come too. But our vote for the best so far is this one about a football team of grannies. It's a surprising and uplifting story, jarred only by the somewhat forced entry of the product towards the end. (Yes Coca-Cola, take the World Cup trophy on tour and introduce it to fans all over the world, but don't then make them stand around it in a contrived huddle drinking from your admittedly iconic but hardly well-distributed glass bottles. Awkward.) Also, the grannies have such rich storytelling potential that we'd suggest they are worth another extended edit to get a little closer to the characters. But these are minor quibbles. Ultimately, this is good stuff. Let's all hope these films have raised the bar for the impending onslaught of World Cup marketing. Personally, I just can't wait to be told which brand is the FIFA World Cup's official supplier of toothpaste.