# Find Your Greatness



## Kyle R (Aug 10, 2012)

[video=youtube;LsXRj89cWa0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsXRj89cWa0[/video]


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## Sunny (Aug 10, 2012)

What an awesome message.


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## Terry D (Aug 10, 2012)

I kept waiting for a truck.


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 10, 2012)

Pass the sick-bag Mabel...


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## JosephB (Aug 10, 2012)

I guess they didn't want to pan 180 and show the McDonald's.


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## Bilston Blue (Aug 10, 2012)

Reminds me of Private Pile in Full Metal Jacket.


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## Juganhuy (Aug 10, 2012)

I saw this the other day on TV and I was just sitting there waiting for something to happen, then I notice it was a chunky kid. Then I said WTF (The actual words) out loud. I couldn't help but laugh. I felt bad but I couldn't help it.


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## garza (Aug 10, 2012)

No comprendo.


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## The Backward OX (Aug 10, 2012)

There are those around here who’ve said I lack empathy. Well, compared to the likes of garza, and Joe, and Terry D, and Bloggo, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my empathy; I can see where the narrator is coming from. He’s saying that if you feel good about yourself, that’s all that matters. This fat kid feels good. You lot should all take lessons in reading between the lines.


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 11, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> There are those around here who’ve said I lack empathy. Well, compared to the likes of garza, and Joe, and Terry D, and Bloggo, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my empathy; I can see where the narrator is coming from. He’s saying that if you feel good about yourself, that’s all that matters. This fat kid feels good. You lot should all take lessons in reading between the lines.




I know that, but I still needed the sick-bag... What really puzzled me was that the narrator had an English accent, as that sort of thing used to be very un-English, it was more along the lines of:- "_Eh-oop lad, pull thee-self together and get fettling._.."


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## JosephB (Aug 11, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> There are those around here who’ve said I lack empathy. Well, compared to the likes of garza, and Joe, and Terry D, and Bloggo, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my empathy; I can see where the narrator is coming from. He’s saying that if you feel good about yourself, that’s all that matters. This fat kid feels good. You lot should all take lessons in reading between the lines.



It has something to do with that, but the message is even more obvious. It’s about the kid (viewer) overcoming perceived limitations, realizing and pursuing his own “greatness” – the “greatness” that is supposedly within us all. _“We’re all capable of it”_ even this overweight kid. You can’t help but get it if you actually listen to the voice over. No reading between the lines required. 

Too bad it's nonsense. Not everyone is capable of achieving greatness. Someone has to make the fries -- and of course, someone has to eat them. Like this kid. This taps into the “every kids gets a ribbon” mentality that celebrates mediocrity and diminishes the accomplishments of people who actually do achieve greatness. If the overweight kid gets out there and runs and keeps at it -- that's great. But it doesn't have much to do with "greatness." Then again, it's just a shoe ad.


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## The Backward OX (Aug 11, 2012)

JosephB said:


> It has something to do with that, but the message is even more obvious. It’s about the kid (viewer) overcoming perceived limitations, realizing and pursuing his own “greatness” – the “greatness” that is supposedly within us all. _“We’re all capable of it”_ even this overweight kid. You can’t help but get it if you actually listen to the voice over. No reading between the lines required.
> 
> Too bad it's nonsense. Not everyone is capable of achieving greatness. Someone has to make the fries -- and of course, someone has to eat them. Like this kid. This taps into the “every kids gets a ribbon” mentality that celebrates mediocrity and diminishes the accomplishments of people who actually do achieve greatness. If the overweight kid gets out there and runs and keeps at it -- that's great. But it doesn't have much to do with "greatness." Then again, it's just a shoe ad.



Rubbish. You're seeing it through your own eyes. If this fat kid thinks he's great, he's great. It _doesn't matter _what you or anyone else thinks.


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## JosephB (Aug 11, 2012)

I don't think we're really saying different things, OX. Greatness, according to this ad, is relative. That's why I said "his own greatness." I'm just saying it's ultra-corny. Just more pseudo-inspirational claptrap.


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## garza (Aug 11, 2012)

I didn't realise there was a narrator - didn't have my headphones on the first time through. 

Now I've heard it, I agree with Joe. But where does it say anything about shoes?


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## JosephB (Aug 11, 2012)

garza said:


> But where does it say anything about shoes?



Heh. It's not really a shoe ad. It's a brand add -- that's about enhancing perception and positioning of the company -- as opposed to a direct response or promotional ad -- which is more about features/benefits or price -- one that directly results in sales.


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## garza (Aug 11, 2012)

Comprehension continues to elude me, but never mind. There must be a secret code I'm not privy too, but so long as the initiated get the message, that's what counts.


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## Eluixa (Aug 11, 2012)

What I saw when I watched was determination. And I saw the man that kept running, grown, strong, lean and humble, because he knows from where he came, what he had to overcome, and that he did. Even if he gave up fifty times and began again. I wonder how many strong, fit, socially acceptable people were overweight kids and are now severely disappointed at being taken at face value by those that did not know them before and would likely have given them endless crap for being overweight in the past. 
Greatness starts somewhere, with a first try, for everyone. It becomes greatness that even ignorant people can see, when they succeed, but often not during the process, because some people are so ready to throw criticism rather than encouragement in their path.
Why is it so hard to see greatness in putting one foot in front of the other when it is hard, or saying, 'good for you boy!'? Who does that diminish? Maybe someone who is constantly looking from side to side, but not for someone looking within and striving to satisfy themselves.


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## Jon M (Aug 11, 2012)

These kinds of ads are great. Where else would I get my philosophy for living life?


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## The Backward OX (Aug 11, 2012)

JosephB said:


> Heh. It's not really a shoe ad. It's a brand add -- that's about enhancing perception and positioning of the company





garza said:


> Comprehension continues to elude me, but never mind. There must be a secret code I'm not privy too (sic)



Come on, garza. Do you mean to bald-faced say you've stumbled through life all those years and never seen one billboard or newspaper ad featuring only a company name and/or logo without asking yourself what it meant?


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## garza (Aug 11, 2012)

There's no logo in the video that I could see, and I just went and looked at it again. All I see is a kid who needs to lose about half the weight he's carrying. Is he supposed a logo?


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## squidtender (Aug 12, 2012)

You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.


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## Baron (Aug 12, 2012)

squidtender said:


> You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.


Got out of the wrong side of the bed, did you?


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## squidtender (Aug 12, 2012)

Well, it _has_ been a rough summer, but I can't pass up quoting one of my favorite movies


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## squidtender (Aug 12, 2012)

. . . and no offense to whole milk there in the video. Good for him


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## The Backward OX (Aug 12, 2012)

Baron said:


> Got out of the wrong side of the bed, did you?


The "did we?" read better.


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## Baron (Aug 12, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> The "did we?" read better.


You have to make allowances.  There are some nationalities posting on the forums whose grasp of English might leave them with the wrong idea.


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## Sunny (Aug 12, 2012)

squidtender said:


> . . . and no offense to whole milk there in the video. Good for him



No offense to "whole milk". That _is_ offensive. 

I find it strange when people say things like that. 

"No offense, but you kind of smell." ....  I mean, you didn't say what you did with the intentions of NOT offending, right? It _is _offensive. 

Just sayin'. ;0)


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## felix (Aug 12, 2012)

Surely the idea of greatness being attainable by everyone is oxymoronic in nature? Doesn't 'great' refer to something 'better than normal'? It's like saying that everybody is intelligent; by definition they couldn't be, because you require a majority who aren't quite as impressive as those that are great or intelligent, respectively. 

But still, good on the kid. 

I think perhaps by greatness they merely refer to somebody who can't be classed as insignificant. It all ties down to 'giving everybody a medal' as Joe said and it's just a hollow message to sell shoes, but in principle the concept of nobody being expendable is a very worthy one indeed.


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## squidtender (Aug 12, 2012)

Sunny said:


> No offense to "whole milk". That _is_ offensive.
> 
> I find it strange when people say things like that.
> 
> ...



Actually Sunny, I meant no offense about his greatness. Just sayin'


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## Kyle R (Aug 12, 2012)

The greatness--with jogging, with writing, with most things--is in the effort.

Great is not the man who stands atop a mountain. Great is the man who is climbing it.

^ Check out my ancient philosopher grammar.


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## Tiamat (Aug 12, 2012)

You remember that movie "The Incredibles" where the fat kid wanted to have super powers, so he invented gadgets that gave him powers he didn't have. Somewhere in that movie he said something along the lines of, "I've made it so everyone can be super, and when everyone's super, no one will be."

That's kind of how I feel about it. If everyone were truly great, greatness would be simple mediocrity, and that would be a real shame.


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## Kyle R (Aug 12, 2012)

Yeah, I agree with that.

I think the message, though, is not that everyone is automatically great. It's that everyone is _capable_ of it.

Just like how I believe everyone here can be a successful writer. But it depends on how much you put into it, and how hard you're willing to work for it.


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## Gargh (Aug 12, 2012)

Honestly, that ad made my skin crawl. Not because it was cheesy or moralistic or clichéd or any of that stuff - because I do genuinely believe in people and that ferocity of determination - but because it was from Nike. They're a sportswear manufacturer, a pretty amoral one at best, and they don't have the right to be hijacking all that quasi-religious stuff and forcing it to their own purpose - brand profiling. Advertising is just a means to make you buy stuff and I find this particular one really manipulative and unnecessary. People should be getting these positive messages from their families, communities, educators etc.  NOT from any organisation whose sole motivation is profit.


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## garza (Aug 13, 2012)

Okay. I've watched it again. Listened to the narration again. Where is the mention of any brand name? I know I'm getting old and all, but am I that deaf and blind? I do not see or hear any mention of Nike or any other brand.


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## Sunny (Aug 13, 2012)

I like this one too. And hey, Garza, the Nike swoop is at the end of this video! ;0) 

[video=youtube;_hEzW1WRFTg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hEzW1WRFTg[/video]


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## garza (Aug 13, 2012)

Are you talking about the wingding at the end? Is that supposed to be a logo? If memory serves that's one of an Art Deco set of four available with horizontal and vertical flips. They are useful under signatures and to go with short, emphatic, statements. That's getting a logo on the cheap, if that's what they're using.


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## Sunny (Aug 13, 2012)

Yup! That little wingding at the end, is Nike's logo. I just looked and they've had it since 1971. 

It's changed a bit over the years, I guess, but it's mainly always been the same.


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## garza (Aug 13, 2012)

The way they were using it with the name above it is the way the wingding was intended to be used. It's the same as when you sign your name and do a little swing line under it. I'm thinking their version may be a bit thicker in the curve than the original, but I'm not sure. I don't see it in Microsoft's library of wingdings, but I could probably find an example of it if I were to search, which is unlikely because now my question has been answered and my curiosity satisfied.

Thank you, Sunny.


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## Sunny (Aug 13, 2012)

I never knew that's what a swoosh was used for! Very interesting. I think I might start signing my name like that, just because it'll be fun. 

And you're very welcome! ;0)


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