Every once in a while, I come across a piece of advertising that is truly original—an inspiring reminder that, in this business, anything is possible. Last week, I saw an advertising execution from Wieden + Kennedy, Nike and Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation. They created a robot that lets people from anywhere in the world chalk messages of inspiration, hope and encouragement directly on the course of the Tour de France.

Users can submit messages via text message, the advertising campaign website, online advertising banners or Twitter for the chance to be printed on the Tour roads by a street-painting robot, Chalkbot. Once submitted, messages were queued and reviewed, and up to 100,000 were inscribed on the roads that make up the course. The person who originally submitted the message received a link to a robot-captured photo of the chalk design along with its GPS coordinates. Super cool stuff and congrats to the all the creative brains behind it.

Speaking of cycling, bfw’s Juan Carlos Agosto, an art director and avid cyclist, just launched Share the Road Apparel featuring a collection of original t-shirt designs. The mission of ShareTheRoadApparel.com is to spread the word to motorists about the rules of the road when it comes to cyclists. The shirts have a cool, raw design feel and help spread the message of safety with a wearable piece of art. Check it out when you get a chance. Share the Road Apparel donates a portion of its proceeds to various cycling related charities – organizations.

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Paul Amelchenko is Creative Director at bfw Advertising in Boca Raton, Florida. bfw Advertising is a full service marketing and communications firm with strong competencies in new media. The South Florida advertising agency creates and builds client brands with strategic thinking and on-target creative executions. For more information call (561) 962-3300 or visit www.gobfw.com on the web.

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