Pro Athletes Square Off to Welcome Winter

A new commercial from Nike is drawing lots of attention, and surprisingly, in our someone-is-offended-by-everything world, not for offending some person or group's sensitivities. Well, I'm sure the entire city of Boston could draw offense at the thought of another winter like the one they had last year, but they're hardy folk, they can handle it.

The scoop from Adweek:

New England Patriots hero Rob Gronkowski seems to have no problem with snowflakes as he headlines this epic, two-minute cold-weather commercial from Nike—ushering in the season of flurries, frozen feet and star-studded neighborhood Snow Bowls.
More than 20 pro athletes turn out for the ad, from Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., and Biscuit Filmworks director Steve Rogers. And no matter their actual sport, they all seem to be playing Winter Olympians for the day—if things like snowball fighting, snow-plow jumping and needlessly shattering lots of frosted glass could be Olympic sports.
In the end, they line up for a football game—fittingly, as the ad will get its first airing Thursday night during the Patriots-Dolphins game. (In fact, the pecking order of celebs here seems inspired by that very game, with Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh being the first character Gronkowski encounters in his SportsCenter-like neighborhood, where only by pro sportsmen and women seem to live.

First the commercial, then the "Behind-the-Scenes" video:

Gotta give them credit, they make winter seem a lot more fun than it actually is.