For the all screenshots I’d seen of a scantily-clad Adriana Lima holding a checkered racing flag, I didn’t have very high expectations for Kia’s Super Bowl spot. But, I was wrong, and David&Goliath definitely delivered on this :90 vacation to a fantasy world driven by the Optima.

What happens when a man is accidentally given access to the sweetest of sweet dreams? He enters a world of super models, Mötley Crüe, giant sandwiches, fire, rhinoceros rodeos, MMA fighting (featuring a cameo from Chuck Lidell) and, of course, fast cars. But, even a perfect world can’t stand in the way of this hero and his significant other. With his Optima, he breaks into his lady’s dream, “rescuing” her from a white horse-riding hunk who looks dull compared to our protagonist. It’s the kind of “manly” everyman story that beer brands somehow continue to fail at telling with each new ad campaign.

Going into the Super Bowl, the majority of hype is undoubtedly surrounding VW’s sequel to last year’s “The Force” and Honda’s homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. After the big game, we hope to see Kia and D&G receive due credit for producing a commercial better than those from their more talked-about competitors. Credits after the jump.

Update: For a play-by-play on how this spot came to life, see D&G copywriter Justin Bajan’s blog post on Adpulp.

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If you happened to catch any NFL games since the season kicked off on Thursday night, you probably saw any one of three or four FedEx ads that’s part of a new brand campaign from BBDO NY, which aims to emphasize its client’s “customer solutions including healthcare, automotive, small business and sustainability.” The spot called “Hollywood” (above), which boasts FedEx’s ability to, yes, deliver bovine heart tissue in time for surgery, seemed to get the most airplay from our point-of-view. But maybe it was the one below or either of the two after the jump that deserved more rotation–though none of this year’s FedEx spots really elicited a chuckle or two like last year’s “Exchange Student” effort that also launched during the NFL’s opening week. Check out two more from the 2011 campaign (wait, is that Bodie from The Wire as the FedEx guy in the spot called “Two-Sided”?) as well as credits for the various spots after the jump.

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