Nike gets naked in new viral video

Typically, when I see a company resorting to lots of bare skin and punny risque jokes to attract consumers, I shield my eyes in either disgust, or discomfort, depending on the situation. It's not a marketing strategy I'd suggest. But a new "viral" video from Nike (NKE) is make the rounds on Twitter, blogs and email lists (it even popped up in a bike activism list to which I subscribe) and has me charmed and giggling.

The video, which depicts the "Bear Butte" running camp -- in which world-class runners train naked (bare butts are, indeed, shown, but the video blurs out the runners' other private parts) -- is designed as a marketing ploy for Nike's new Nike Free 5.0 running shoe, meant to make your foot feel as if it's running barefoot. And it is certainly obvious that many retakes were necessary to avoid having U.S. champion runners burst into laughter as they deliver lines like, "I let it all hang out," and "as we like to call it, super-natural running."