We’ve been told by those in the know that this new effort from McGarryBowen NY for Verizon called “Powerful Answers” actually marks the wireless carrier’s first ever corporate branding campaign. Set to the sounds of legendary composer Philip Glass, Verizon veers from the usual Wireless and/or FiOS promotion to, according to parties involved, “showcase tech solutions that no one knew they did.” As you can see in the spot directed by Park Pictures’ Lance Acord above as well as the anthem clip below, some Verizon folks are lab rats whose tech prowess translates into solutions for medical emergencies just as easily as they could the classroom. We didn’t know there was side to them, but hey, you learn something new every day. Exhaustive list of credits after the jump.

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The confusing thing about this spot from the Richards Group and Park Pictures director and Oscar-winner Joachim Back is which of the groups in question needs to buy a sandwich from QuikTrip?

Is is the men, attempting to console each other before they are trampled to death by women with a hunger for cheap shoes, that don’t have time to take a long lunch break lest their store fall into even greater disrepair? Or is the women, driven mad by the siren call of discounted footwear, that are forced hit up the local convenience store for nourishment before trampling the poor shoe stores employees? Either way, someone in this town devoid of Subway or Quiznos is getting an Italian sub from QuikTrip, and at least once person is ending up in the hospital.

It’s sexist, it’s silly and all in good fun (on par with that movie Confessions of a Shopaholic), but give a convenience store credit for taking a creative leap with their marketing once in a while. Judging by QuikTrip’s website, the store could be planning for a total image redesign soon, so expect to see a lot more ads like this in the future. Caps lock-addled credits after the jump.

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Using the same approach as the Amar’e Stoudemire spot, Park Pictures, Bicoastal/London director Chris Sargent and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Worldwide go back to the future, so to speak, to a Canadian gym in 1996. Here, a young Steve Nash shoots hoops with a boy claiming to be from the future. The time traveler tries to convince Nash that he’s a future NBA star by listing what would eventually be the Phoenix Suns guard’s accomplishments. We’re guessing Doc Brown and the delorean are parked right outside. Great Scott! Credits after the jump.

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Seven seasons in, and HBO’s Entourage still seems to have some marketing strength behind it. In one corner, you have EA Games’ Need for Speed, the most successful (and prolific) racing videogame  franchise in history that’s set to have a new installment, Hot Pursuit, released on Nov. 16. In the other corner are a pair actors whose fame comes from portraying two of the most annoying characters in the history of televised fiction. Thanks to Entourage and the inaccurate interpretation of Hollywood douchebaggery as “kind of cool,” we now have the lame spokesbros of what is sure the be one of the most highly rated video games of the year.

Of course, if W+K Amsterdam opted (or had the budget) for Entourage‘s two biggest breakout stars, Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven, it would be hard take our “loser by day, hero by night” subjects seriously as valets. Then again, we do know Kevin Dillon as “Johnny Drama,” the untalented brother of a Hollywood star who will take any role he can get. We also know him as Matt Dillon‘s less-talented brother, who has no problem picking up his trademark shades and playing a “renegade cop.” We know Jerry Ferrara only as “Turtle,” the hip-hop speaking fat guy who looks pretty good since dropping the weight. Only through the miracle of videogames could these guys really have a shot at being famous, and even then it would only be their online screen names that people know.

In this sense, W+K has it right: no one would think either of these guys has any sort of rebellious alter ego capable of winning an illegal street race or a high-speed chase. We just wonder if Dillon and Ferrara are wise to the joke.

Credits and two more spots with a bit more acting after the jump:

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It’s been quite an offseason for Washington Capitals captain and three-time Ted Lindsay award-winner, Alex Ovechkin. After the #1-ranked Capitals were upset in the first round of the playoffs, Ovechkin had to watch as the Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 60 years. While he sat at home, Wrigleyville went wild, and for the next week the Stanley Cup traveled around Chicago, getting immensely sticky from all of the different kinds of alcohol that the drunk NHL Champions had poured into the trophy.

So, this year, Ovechkin has something to prove. Much like Y&R, which once told us that there are “no words” that can describe the feeling of winning a Stanley Cup, there are no words needed to describing how much Ovechkin and Montreal’s Mike Cammalleri want another shot at the NHL Championship. This year, they’ll get their shot.

Cammalleri’s spot and credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.