If the Olympics Can't Unite Mankind, What Will?

The Olympics has a way of bringing the sap out in advertisers.

Visa's "Go World" campaign, no exception, trots Olympian trivia out to American viewers while convincing us these anecdotes aren't just important; they're a source of pride, a means to connect with the world by way of titanic achievement against insurmountable physical odds.

All this to win the synchronized high-dive? Yeah. See spots...

o Bob Deamon
o Kerry Strug
o Nastia Liukin
o Michael Phelps

And here's the crowning glory, Come Together. Le sigh. Feel that pounding in your chest? That's not just bacon; that's patriotism.

It can't just be the trivia moving us to tears. Maybe it's the sepia tone. Or the effect Morgan Freeman's voice has on our inner child. Or that moving message at the very end: "Visa. Proud sponsor of the Olympic Games ... and the only card accepted there."

Nothing pulls the heartstrings like a well-meaning monopoly.