Check It. World Cup commercials [The Monday Download].

Football (or as we Yanks would call it, 'soccer') isn't much of a big deal here in Los Angeles or in the U.S., but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the fun promotion and hype coming out of the upcoming World Cup. To wit, both sports apparel empires Nike and Adidas have recently put out creative and amusing ads--with cameos to spare--that'll make everyone feel like a sports fan.

First up is Nike's 'Write the Future' commercial, or rather, near-cinematic masterpiece. The three-minute piece was helmed by 21 Grams and Babel filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, who definitely leaves his dark and swift-moving directorial mark as he takes you on the field for the ultimate football star match-up: Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba versus England's Wayne Rooney versus Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (swoon). Throw in some fun cameos by Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and Homer Simpson, plus the thrill of football fanaticism, and you'll be confused why you never followed the sport in the first place.

Then we have Adidas' input, which really has nothing to do with football at all--although it is apparently "an intergalactic 2010 FIFA World Cup viewing party that you'll never forget," and does features a bit role by David Beckham. Either way, the ad creates a fun game of I Spy by mixing actual footage from the original Star Wars' famous Cantina scene with interactive appearances by Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk, Noel Gallagher and Jay Baruchel, among others. Definitely wish my World Cup viewing party were this fun (Chewbacca included).

The World Cup begins this Friday.

-- Chau Tu