Did You Learn Anything, Tiger?

Wow. Nike's first Tiger Woods-centric commercial since everyone's opinion of the golf great drastically changed last fall has surfaced. They aren't brushing scandal under the rug. They have Tiger staring the audience in the eye, while the voice of his late father asks him if he's learned anything. I'm absolutely fascinated by this approach. I find it really powerful. Surprisingly, I don't view it from my regular cynical standpoint. I have lost a lot of respect for Tiger Woods in the last few months, even though I must admit that his personal life is really none of my business. Even so, I really do appreciate the message of facing your demons and learning from your mistakes that this commercial conveys. Nike's standing by their man, espousing responsibility for one's actions. Somehow it almost makes me want to cheer for Tiger's triumphant return. I never would have guessed that a Nike commercial would make me feel this way.

Slow-Jamming the News

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has come up with a brilliant new form of infotainment... slow-jamming the news. With the help of Brian Williams of the NBC Nightly News, a frequent cameo-maker on NBC comedy shows like SNL and 30 Rock, a sultry Fallon delivers the latest news on health care reform. Check it out below.

Friday Breakthrough: Wiki, Wicked, and Web 2.0 Wizard

The Friday Breakthrough is Ottawa's weekly roundup of some of the Internet's best marketing and social media articles for a less-than-intense day at the office.

1. Ten Word Wiki may provide you with a few minutes of enjoyment on this Friday afternoon. Pretty self-explanatory, this site describes random things in exactly ten words. For example, here's the entry for Canada: "Similar to America, except more laid-back, worse at hockey." Whooooa! Them's fitting words. Someone needs to remedy that entry, stat!

2. Just when you thought getting dumped the old fashioned way was depressing, just wait until you hear about Bradley Laborman's company IDUMP4U. Not feeling up to being a decent human being and ending your relationship yourself? Well, you're in luck. For a measly $10 fee ($25 to end an engagement and $50 to initiate a divorce), Mr. Laborman will take it upon himself to call your significant other and break the news. He then uploads audio from the call to the IDUMP4U website, a "therapeutic" act, according to him.

3. Finally, a shout-out to Paul Chaney, the fabulous keynote speaker at the very successful inaugural Ottawa Web Marketing Club event yesterday morning. Check out his blog for some key insight into social media: The Social Media Handyman.

"15-minutes of fame"...and for once, it's deserved.

At 47-years old, Susan Boyle of Blackburn, Scotland, lives alone, doesn't have a job, and has never been kissed.

Four days after an appearance on "Britain's Got Talent," the Internet is absolutely captivated by this unlikely story and performance.

Over 5 million hits on YouTube in 3 days...and rising. This 15-minutes of fame will surely be equally as memorable as her soon-to-be first kiss.

• Watch the YouTube VIDEO

Read the stories:

1) Susan Boyle Restores My Faith in Humanity

2) Unlikely U.K. Singing Star Susan Boyle Takes YouTube by Storm

3) Frumpy 47-year-old stuns 'Idol' judge, catapults to sudden global celebrity

Billy Bob Thornton is viral

Is he really that much of a pompous arse? Probably.

Does he really think we'll remember him for his music, rather than his Oscar win? He probably thinks so.

Did Billy Bob Thornton (B.B.T. for short) really just make this week's most viral online content? Absolutely.

Only hours after Billy Bob Thornton appeared on CBC Radio yesterday morning did the National Post upload the most perfectly worded headline: Billy Bob Thornton makes an ass of himself on CBC.

In what started out as an excellent Joaquin Pheonix impression turned into a piece of online viral video gold. Transcripts, articles, videos, and audio clips will be uploaded and streamed all day today as people all around the world jump on the Billy Bob Thornton crazy train.

B.B.T. spent the duration of his 13-minute interview with CBC Radio's always professional host, Jian Ghomeshi, awkwardly answering questions and making his own band, The Boxmasters, appear very uncomfortable.

Neverthless, millions of people now know the name of the band... right? Whether he intentionally sacrificed his already tarnished celebrity persona, or he found an excellent way to get some viral exposure, one thing is for sure:

Billy Bob Thornton, you are an ass.

If you'd like to see why I've made such a claim, watch the video:
Billy Bob Thornton 'Blow Up' on Q TV