James Marsh's Man on Wire tends to strike a chord with risktakers and thrillseekers. After all, Philippe Petit is kind of the ultimate daredevil.

Supreme New York connected the dots and spliced footage of Petit and badass skater Jason Dill together to promote the launch of their Fall/Winter 2010 collection, all set to a classic Isaac Hayes cut. Put it all together and you get a promo that's ripe for sharing.

Walk on by? Nah. This audience wouldn't dare.

Sony Japan is promoting the Nav-U with the Tokyo Zoo Project, a campaign promoting animal-shaped bike routes that have been mapped out across the city. The concept behind the campaign is simple and playful, yet it manages to be sophisticated and useful enough to appeal to young urban consumers. And since cycling has become more and more popular over the past few years as a cheap way to get around Tokyo, Sony's effort has already begun to hit its target audience where it lives.

Denizen is a different kind of denim, and not just because it's the first product Levi's has ever launched outside of the U.S. or because it's made for China. For Denizen's debut, Levi's has recruited 10 unpaid bloggers — known as The Denizen 10 — to speak freely about the brand over the course of 100 days. (Sound trivial? Consider the context.)

This is could be a really smart move for Levi's. At the very least, the Denizen 10 should generate tons of original content for Levi's to leverage in service of their new brand (people love that stuff). But in a part of the world where censorship is an ongoing concern, this Pan-Asian social media project may resonate on a much deeper level — as long as the results are authentic, that is.

Just when you thought Chatroulette was dead, along comes The Last Excorcism to reanimate it. Add scaring the hell out of you to the list of things this platform is capable of. Then notify your next of kin.

From the looks of it, cross-country trips are hot like fiya this summer. Among other brands, Sears and Levi's have launched grassroots campaigns that follow solo journeys across America — one by tractor, the other on foot.

The two campaigns have a lot in common. Both narratives revolve around a young, rugged-looking dude. Each campaign used Google Maps and YouTube to help set the scene. And if you were to guess that the marketing strategies for both campaigns involve telling a story about honest, all-American products that can endure even the most rigorous wear and tear, you'd be right.

Sort of. Turns out only one of these campaigns is the straight story. In a PR stunt that would make Mad Men proud, Levi's talked the talk but apparently didn't walk the walk.

Still, the end result is a brilliantly crafted campaign — one that arguably outshines Sears' more earnest effort. Which goes to show that sometimes a lie travels faster than the truth in advertising, even if it doesn't hold up as well over the long haul.

Stella Artois may be a thing of beauty, but its social presence could use some serious cosmetic surgery. In this day and age, warhorse brands like Bushmills, Perrier and (of course) Old Spice are exploring bold, inventive ways to refresh their brands online via social media. Putting a few videos on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube simply isn't enough. But since the new campaign just launched this week, we'll give the crown a little more time to build. Here's to your health, Stella.

You know and love those Old Spice commercials. But did you know The Man Your Man Could Smell Like will return your Twitter love on YouTube?

As far as cross-promotion goes, this Wieden + Kennedy beast is half horse, half swan and all sorts of awesome — and it just keeps getting better. Fingers crossed it doesn't jump the shark like some other wildly popular, character-driven campaigns we know.

The World Cup has captured the world's attention this year, and big brands are ponying up to win the hearts and minds of football aficionados. For some, the event is a massive affinity play; for others, it's become a last-ditch shot at damage control.

With so much ad spend in the mix and so much at stake, it's tough to say who will walk away with the prize. Here's who we think are some of the top contenders (in no particular order):

• Google. When the 2nd most valuable brand on the planet is willing to change theirs to promote yours, you know you're doing something right.
  
• Puma. The Hardchorus Song Contest was fun but, if the channel's YouTube comments are any indicator, ended up being a bit too polished for hardcore fans.
  
• Adidas. If you're a statistics fanatic, you'll love Adidas' Football Match Tracker. Bandwagon jumpers, look elsewhere.
  
• Visa. Talk about mass appeal. Visa's YouTube campaign plays to all fields and ties back to the brand like few others out there.
  
• Nike. Pretty sure Write the Future has the brightest future of any campaign here. As aspirational and iconic as anything Nike's produced.
  
• BP. In light of the oil spill, it's unlikely that BP's World Cup ads will do much more than continue to draw negative attention to the brand.

Did we miss any contenders? Leave a comment and let us know.

1. The brand is strong (bonus: it practically owns a vital action verb)
2. The concept is simple (and it ties back to the brand beautifully)
3. The target audience is incredibly vocal (soccer fans go wild like no other crowd)
4. The engagement has universal appeal (who doesn't like to yell at the top of their lungs?)
5. The timing couldn't be better (but the campaign's legs could carry it for an eternity)