Beat This

Usain Bolt hardly needs any introduction anymore. The man is a superstar. When people start tattooing your face or name on their bodies, that's when you know you've really made it. Or wait, is that when you appear in crossword puzzles? Either way, Usain is well known. And fast. Faster than most. He is the only male sprint athlete to successfully defend both his 100m and 200m Gold medals in two consecutive Olympics. Impressive, I'd say. What has really worked in his favour is the big chunk of Jamaican flair that he also possesses.

People all over the world will tell you that besides entertaining them with world record-breaking performances, he's a whole lot of fun to watch too. Comfortably assuming the role of the 'jester of the track', he always has time to crack a joke or two. But it seems making fun of his rivals with his legs, is what he enjoys most of all.

No wonder then that ESPN decided to approach him and make use of his many talents. Known for their very dry, off-beat style of humour, ESPN commercials rarely fail to also entertain its loyal followers by making light of some serious situations.

This particular one with Mr Bolt is another well-rounded effort of theirs. I say well-rounded because everything complements each other very well. The casting of Usain in this particular incident is the first step in the right direction for me. Surely he is the inspiration behind their idea.

There's an insight into the working schedules of some people, in this case Usain's. Perhaps not much of a concept, although with a good enough insight, it almost seems that the insight becomes your concept and in turn that again sustains the integrity of the message.

The two guys having a casual chat at the ESPN offices set a nice tone for our hero Bolt to make his appearance. There is some really sharp camera work done by both the Focus-puller and DOP when tracking backwards and up before pulling focus to reveal the time clock at the top. Usain casually strolls away and the guys give a nice low-key performance to being amazed and envious of such a day's work. It deserves a good chuckle.