In a bizarro world concocted by the minds at San Francisco shop Heat, Baltimore Ravens defensive powerhouse Ray Lewis and Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers star Paul Rudd have known each other all their lives. So tis the premise for the latest TV/campaign dubbed “Madden Forever,” which as you can probably gather, is promoting EA Sports’ latest Madden installment, Madden NFL 13.

As you’ll see above, Lewis & Rudd (makes for a decent band name) not only love the lucrative Madden franchise, but grew up as “young thespians” and it was Rudd in fact who taught Lewis how to do his famous “squirrel dance.” The “Interview” web video is just one of several clips from the campaign along with the “Old Rivals” TV spot below (the full series can be viewed here).

While Heat has tried the rivalry concept out for other EA Sports franchises before (remember Steve Nash vs. Hope Solo?),  we have to say the agency has honed the humor angle quite a bit. Thus, the winning streak for EA campaigns continues. Credits after the jump.

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When he’s not starring or moonlighting in VitaminWater ads, getting Bieberized on the b-ball court or directing documentaries, Renaissance man/NBA star Steve Nash is making the most of his lockout time by, yes, playing video games with the one-and-only Hope Solo. In this latest EA Sports campaign from San Francisco’s Heat (and production company Skunk), the sports pros do battle in a game of FIFA Soccer 12. Nash once again shows off his great dry wit in a little pre-game trash talk, where he describes himself as “a gorilla and a leopard” with the straightest of faces. Guess it can be kinda fun watching other people play video games after all

If the Nash/Solo battle doesn’t suit you, a second spot in the Soccer 12 Matchups series stars Landon Donovan and SF Giants pitcher Tim “I’m Not the Guy from Dazed & Confused” Lincecum. See below. Credits after the jump.

Update: Along with getting a credits update (Rehab actually produced the Tim/Landon spot), we forgot to mention why we thought of this campaign in the first place and that’s the 60-second spot we first saw yesterday on Stereogum starring Nash, Solo and SNL‘s Seth Meyers and featuring Battles “Ice Cream” from their great new album, Drop Gloss. Watch it after the jump.

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-San Francisco-based shop Heat promoted Nei Caetano to creative director on accounts including EA Sports and AOL.

-DDB New York ECD Menno Kluin reviews some ads. link

-Liberty Media has a billion bucks ready for Barnes & Noble. link

-Google has launched an official search blog. Just Google it to find the URL.

-Another Cannes Young Lions entry? Another Cannes Young Lions entry (above).

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According to Mike Tyson, the most famous ear-eating (convicted) rapist in America, he got into boxing because getting beat up looked like fun. Okay, earning the title of “The Baddest Man on Earth” and tattooing nearly half of your face might not make you the most reliable narrator. But, as I learned from a recent episode of Ellen I  watched with my mom accidentally saw part of when I was robbing an electronics store, when Iron Mike talks, people listen. In this spot for “Fight Night Champion,” it’s hard to look away.

And, good for EA and the agency behind the 7-minute spot, San Francisco-based Heat, for realizing that in a world where MMA makes professional boxing look like croquet, the sport needs someone like Tyson around to keep breathing his brand of brutality into young fans. On EA’s YouTube channel, a series of videos featuring Tyson, Tommy Morrison and Joe Frazier have a 17+ Mature rating and an age lock as the athletes talk about the “dark side of boxing.” Tyson’s video might start tame, but around the 4:45 mark, he uses graphic detail to talk about his time in prison.

It might seem like an odd tactic for moving copies of a video game. But, when you consider that Mayweather v. Mosley doesn’t carry nearly the weight as UFC’s Velasquez v. Lesnar, it’s time to step up your game. That’s probably why Heat turned to the notorious cultural bad boys at Vice to take over editing the spots. Credits after the jump.

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San Fran-based agency Heat, along with EA Sports, had to go about the launch of EA’s new MMA video game very carefully as to not get it confused with THQ’s UFC Undisputed.  MMA focuses on the hard knocks global training associated with Mixed Martial Arts, giving nods to Japan for judo, Brazil for jiu-jitsu, Thailand for Muay Thai and America for boxing. According to the Heat camp, intensity and training are seen as key differentiators between EA Sports’ MMA and its THQ rival.

Since UFC President Dana White owns all the big names of the sport along with pretty much everything else that has to do with MMA, the Heat creatives had to improvise and rely on something so simple as a price tag to one-up the competition.

The spot above titled “The Sherdog MMA Fighter Exchange” from Sherdog.com will provide fans with coverage and behind-the-scenes footage as EA Sports pairs up four young up-and-comers with Strikeforce’s Luke Rockhold, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, eventually sending all eight to train in Brazil, Japan, and the U.S. On Dec. 4. Sherdog will live-stream the young fighters’ Strikeforce undercard debut. Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, as with other Heat collaborations, handled the media duties.

Credits:

Executive creative director Steve Stone
ACD: Nei Caetano
Copywriter: James Duffy
Art director: Woody Kurupintsiri.
Director: Jason Smith
Prodco: HSI

More: “Heat, NFL Give ‘Madden to the People’“

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.